By Kate Beach
Led by the Darden Center for Global Initiatives, the University of Virginia Darden School of Business announced it is expanding offerings of Darden Worldwide courses for the 2018–19 academic year to an all-time high of 19 faculty-led courses, rising to meet increasing demand from students for global learning opportunities.
When the Darden Class of 2018 graduated in May, 79 percent of the class had participated in at least one global academic course during their Darden degree program. In alignment with Darden’s goal to prepare students for global leadership, the new Batten Foundation Darden Worldwide Scholarship program covers the global course fee for every eligible full-time MBA student, starting with the Class of 2020, which arrived this August.
“My greatest takeaway from these global courses is that the more you learn, the more complex and complicated the world becomes,” said Aly Yarris (MBA ’18). “I had some set expectations going into Japan, Singapore and Sri Lanka, and South Africa, but each trip showed me complexity beyond what I had imagined. I found that the experience became more intellectually complex when you go with a classroom mindset and ask a lot of questions of yourself and those you meet.”
Darden Worldwide courses are typically categorized as either global immersion or global topic courses. This year, 12 global immersion courses will allow students to explore a particular location through the lens of a business theme present there. Global immersion courses include a variety of company visits, guest speakers and unique cultural opportunities. Additionally, seven global topic courses will allow students to learn about a particular topic best enhanced by the global setting, such as studying leadership lessons from World War II in Normandy, France, or design thinking amid the art and architecture of Barcelona, Spain.
Darden will offer four new global immersion courses this year:
- “Honoring the Traditions of the Past While Confronting the Challenges of the Future — Dubai and Bahrain” led by Professors June West and Yiorgos Allayannis
- “Luxury and Exports — Italy” led by Dean Scott Beardsley and Professor Luca Cian
- “Global Competitiveness: A New Zealand Perspective” led by Professor Alan Beckenstein
- “Technology and Sustainability in Business — Brazil” led by Professor Raj Venkatesan
The immersion course to Uganda, which explores the interplay among health care, education and entrepreneurship as catalysts for economic and social prosperity, will run for the third time this year. View a short video recap of the Uganda immersion held in May 2018 to catch a glimpse of what students experience on the ground during a Darden Worldwide Course.
About the University of Virginia Darden School of Business
The University of Virginia Darden School of Business delivers the world’s best business education experience to prepare entrepreneurial, global and responsible leaders through its MBA, Ph.D. and Executive Education programs. Darden’s top-ranked faculty is renowned for teaching excellence and advances practical business knowledge through research. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
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