School Notes: School of Management
May/June 2012

SOM students consult in South Africa

A group of 25 Yale MBA students spent their spring break consulting pro bono for social enterprises in Cape Town, South Africa. The group comprises the Global Social Enterprise (GSE) elective course, which doubles as a student-led club founded in 2004 to allow students a hands-on opportunity to design and engage in consulting projects for clients in developing countries. The students worked remotely with their clients while completing fall-term coursework focused on Cape Town and South Africa, entrepreneurship in developing countries, social enterprises, and business planning. The spring break trip allowed them to work on-site with their clients for one week. This year’s group is working with five social enterprises, including a nonprofit that connects professional designers and a seasoned marketing team with local craft producers, and an organization that provides women with the training and business skills to create independent sewing cooperatives.

World travel for first-year students

In early March, first-year students at Yale SOM set off for nine destinations around the world—the culmination of their International Experience courses. The required IE courses allow students to apply the Yale MBA core curriculum’s multidisciplinary, integrative approach to analysis and problem-solving to a targeted examination of one or more global markets. Students prepare for their trip by studying the economies and cultures of their topic regions, and once abroad they meet with business, government, and nonprofit leaders to complement their study. Learn more at http://mba.yale.edu/MBA/curriculum/core/international.shtml.

New campus reaches milestone

On February 10, the new Edward P. Evans Hall “topped out,” with the last beam of structural steel being fastened in place. The shape of the building is now apparent; and as winter transitioned to spring, construction continued at an aggressive pace, with crucial work both on the inside and outside of the 242,000-square-foot building. Concrete floors were poured; electrical conduits, air ducts, and plumbing were installed; roofing work was begun. Over the next several months, workers will begin hanging interior and exterior glass.