Last week another exciting block in the EMBA curriculum took place. Due to Covid 19 restrictions the classes had to be conducted online, using live interactive video meetings and online collaboration tools. Despite these restrictions the set-up created an atmosphere of being connected and fostered close and lively exchange among each other – even an Apero – a virtual drinks reception took place and participants shared their favorite drink recipes.
The week kicked off with Prof Hilb`s seminal module “Digital Value Creation”, which is one of the key themes in the Executive MBA UZH with focus on Digital Transformation. The module featured guest lectures and live cases with Ricola and Livesystems thanks to Dragan Dojcinovic and Rasmus Nutzhorn Viemose. Then the topic changed to “Coaching as a Leadership Tool” with Rita Kunz, which is part of the Personal and Leadership Development strand and allows participants to add practical leadership skills to their repertoire. The following day the class worked with Marius Boesch on exploring LIFO – a tool that allows you to understand your own leadership behaviors and the leadership needs of your team.
Then the focus turned to Strategic Management with Prof Felipe Monteiro. In cases and discussions with leaders from industry the EMBA participants learned to apply strategy frameworks to business challenges. A particular highlight was the live case discussion with Bengt Steinbrecher from Lafarge Holcim Maquer. Dr Anna-Barbara Schluer, Head of the Department of Nursing Science, University Children’s Hospital Zurich said “It was very inspiring for me and I enjoyed to get some real-world feedback and experience of working together with start-ups. Also, it was great to see what really can be changed even in quite traditional organizations.”
The following day participants of the EMBA dissected the TAG Heuer Connect case. Following in depth discussions in class, Jean-Claude Biver, the “Wizard of Swiss Watchmaking” himself connected and the participants had a chance to ask questions, discuss their conclusions and learn more about leadership from the former CEO of TAG Heuer, who now serves as non-executive Chairman of the LVMH watchmaking division. “Spontaneous, passionate, authentic, I could have listened for hours… In 60 minutes I got a lot of inspiration, I hope I will reach one day this level of leadership” said Clara Pelloni, Sales & Marketing Manager at PostFinance.
The next EMBA block in December will feature Digital Value Creation, Professional Development and Managerial Accounting – we are looking forward to December!
