What Makes TIEMBA Different from Other EMBAs?
When I was packing my luggage and flying back from Beijing in September, I realised how fast time flies. It is already three months and three modules into the TIEMBA programme. Before long, our class will be finishing the last module, defending a thesis and graduating from a high-ranking EMBA programme. There is so much happening during this journey: intense study sessions, networking events, dinners and drinks, long hours of preparation and massive reading lists, lots of travelling, making new friends, creating new ideas, self-reflection, and the list goes on…
TIEMBA Class of 2020 brings together 44 diverse individuals from all over the world with an average age of 37 years and an amazing gender diversity (near-equal number of male and female participants), whose industry experience ranges from the public sector, mining and manufacturing to banking, pharmaceuticals and IT.
Therefore, this is a perfect setting to learn, work on leadership skills, build new relationships and friendships, expand horizons and get to know more about how the world works.
The TIEMBA experience is drastically different from anything I have ever experienced before and here are five reasons why:
#1: Diverse, holistic learning
You learn from your classmates as much as you learn from professors. Each participant brings to the programme his/her unique background and experience, and every academic concept or business case we discuss immediately sparks multiple ideas in the classroom. Diversity – be it in terms of industry, experience, age, gender or culture – truly works wonders.
#2: Practice-oriented
Looking at academic content through the lens of managerial experience opens new perspectives and brings insights, while sharing experience with your classmates broadens your horizons and completes the overall picture of how concepts and theories are related to real-world situations.
#3: A safe environment to explore
TIEMBA is about trying, failing and getting feedback about your failure in a safe environment. As Mark Zuckerberg noted in his 2017 commencement speech at Harvard University, “success comes from the freedom to fail”, but very often, corporate settings leave little room for error because the stakes are high. Being in a business school, however, provides you with the opportunity to try different roles, take some risks and learn in the process. And in TIEMBA, everyone is there to help.
#4: Lots of networking
You get to meet a lot of people: your classmates, professors, guest speakers, alumni, and many more.
It’s an infinite ocean of opportunities that you can tap into. One of the biggest values of TIEMBA is in the relationships that you build and the alumni network you become part of. And some of the people you study with will become your friends for life.
You can master academic content on your own, but only by struggling together through tough times can you build strong interpersonal relationships – and that is truly invaluable.
#5: Insights into China
TIEMBA’s curriculum has a focus on China. China will be the world’s biggest economy in a few years and understanding how to do business in/with China is paramount for any company or manager to be globally competitive.
People come to TIEMBA for different reasons, but the most common of all is leadership: to be a better leader. We all want to make a difference in the world by being better managers, better individuals, better versions of ourselves – and TIEMBA does exactly that.
