McDonough Offering Intensive Learning Experiences to Evening MBAs

The McDonough School of Business is offering seven Intensive Learning Experiences (ILEs) for Evening MBAs this summer. These courses cover topics beyond the school’s core curriculum and other electives, and are offered in short time periods usually lasting between one-to-two weeks.

“ILEs allow us to deliver innovative course topics that aren’t traditionally offered at a business school. Students are able to learn about issues that are highly relevant to their career interests — the business of water, for example — that don’t necessarily ‘fit’ in a standard curriculum,” said Kerry Pace, associate dean for MBA programs.

The ILEs being offered this summer are listed below:

• Mutual Funds: This course teaches students the various mutual fund investing styles, how to calculate common mutual fund statistics, and how to make and justify mutual fund recommendations. Students are discussing the most recently developed metrics used by academics to predict mutual fund performance. This ILE exposes students to the latest academic and practitioner research related to the mutual fund industry.

• Startup Factory: Students in this course are engaging in how to be a successful entrepreneur. Students are being challenged to create their own business models, propose and immediately test hypotheses, and talk to customers, partners, and competitors.

• Sales: Art/Strategy/Process/Management: Students are exploring the different types and places where sales matters and discovering reasons that motivate people to buy, then using this knowledge to create effective pitches and strategies.

• Leadership Conversations: This course examines the larger scope of business, the “why,” not just the “how” of commercial life. Students are talking with extraordinary leaders to hear how they navigated challenging journeys and identifying the principles that undergird the life of a business leader who thrives.

• The Business of Water: As water becomes scarce, new business risks are created. Students in this ILE are exploring how companies can turn a water shortage into an opportunity with a clear understanding of the issues and a strategic vision. They are investigating how the risks and opportunities are different in developing countries, and how water actually works, where it comes from, and where it goes.

• Statistical Process Control and Six Sigma: Students in this course are utilizing statistics to make decisions, change processes, and improve company performance. They are being taught a vast set of tools to help improve process in products and services.

• Cyber Risk: Students will develop and hone practical and analytic skills necessary for effectively managing risk in the complex realm of cyber security. They are preparing operations plans for a cyber crisis and testing their plans under catastrophic conditions.

regions: Washington, DC

About the Author