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14 March 2024

Open Evening

Explore Part-time and Executive MBA programs at Luiss Business School Milan Luiss Business School opens the Milano Luiss Hub doors to anyone interested in pursuing an Executive MBA or Part-time MBA and invites you to attend the Open Evening, in Italian, on Tuesday, April 9th at 6pm. During the event, Prof. Maria Isabella Leone, Head of MBAs Programmes, will illustrate the MBA portfolio to all candidates by sharing the innovative teaching approach of the programmes, detailed information on the pathways, the international activities envisaged, and career opportunities. Joining her will be Dr. Nicola Ontario, Manager at Tim Enterprise and Executive MBA participant of the previous edition who, by sharing her experience at Luiss Business School, will provide interesting and stimulating insights: from the challenges she faced during the programme, to the skills she acquired, to how the MBA positively influenced her career. The event is an opportunity for participants to meet MBA staff who will be able to answer any questions about the programmes' educational offerings, content, admission requirements and procedures, costs and benefits of completing the course. Open Evening participants will be exempt from paying the admission fee of 100€ for the next selection dates on 18 and 11 April. Attend the Open Evening and prepare to embark on a new path for your career development! When: Tuesday, April 9th Where: Milan Luiss Hub Time: 6.00 - 7.00 pm CEST Registration is required to participate. 14/03/2024

05 March 2024

Part-time MBA Rome – Last Chance to Meet the Director and the Staff!

Luiss Business School presents its flagship programme, the Part-time MBA, in an online event that will be held on Tuesday, March 19th starting at 5:30 p.m. During the event, which will take place in English, the Director of the MBA, Prof. Alessandra Perri, will illustrate the innovative teaching approach behind the programme and its international opportunities. Starting in April 2024 and organized during weekends in the wonderful Villa Blanc frame, the programme represents the perfect choice for those who want to acquire managerial skills smartly, without missing out on School’s networking opportunities. You will be able to interact with MBAs’ Staff and ask questions and curiosities about the structure of the program, the content, and the application process. Scholarships are still available, and we look forward to answering all your questions about the next admission appointments. Do not miss this opportunity of career’s boost! Speaker: Professor Maria Isabella Leone, Head of MBAs at Luiss Business School; Professor Alessandra Perri, Scientific Director of Part-time MBA – Rome and Associate Dean for Faculty. Agenda: Initial greetings by Prof. Maria Isabella Leone, Head of MBAs’ Business Unit; Presentation of the Programme by Professor Alessandra Perri, Scientific Director of Part-time MBA – Rome and Associate Dean for Faculty.  Roundtable with the Staff, Q&A Session. When: March 19th, 2024 Where: Online Time: 5:30 – 6.30 pm CEST Registration is required for participation. REGISTER 05/03/2024

01 March 2024

Successful Communication Strategies: a Journey into the Automotive Industry

Inspirational Talk with our MBA community Luiss Business School announces the event Successful Communication Strategies: a Journey into the Automotive Industry that will be held on Thursday, March 21st, from 6 p.m., at Villa Blanc, in Rome. The event, in English, is dedicated to all those planning to pursue an MBA pathway and be will feature Maria Isabella Leone, Head of MBA Programs at Luiss Business School, and Tim Bravo, Director of Communications at Lamborghini, who will offer insight into the world of the luxury automotive industry. Please note that the MBA portfolio will be presented during the event, offering an in-depth view of the educational program. The MBA portfolio will also be presented during the event, offering an in-depth view of the educational programme, workshops and activities that characterize the Luiss Business School MBA programmes. It will also be possible to meet the Luiss Business School coordinators and staff who will be able to answer any questions about the programme, the admission and enrolment process, and the facilities and scholarships available. SPEAKERS Maria Isabella Leone, Head of MBA Programs, Luiss Business School Tim Bravo, Director of Communications, Lamborghini AGENDA 18:00: Arrival 18:15: Welcome and registration 18:30 - 20:00: Talk 20:00: Networking The Successful Communication Strategies: a Journey into the Automotive Industry event is part of MBA Inspirational Talks, the series of meetings that not only allows participants to enrich their knowledge in their fields of interest, but also provides an opportunity to expand their professional network with industry experts and potential mentors. When: Thursday, March 21st, 2024 Where: Villa Blanc - Via Nomentana, 216 Time: 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. CEST Registration is required to attend the event. 01/03/2024

22 February 2024

The transformation of organizations and work in the current competitive context: trends, challenges, and opportunities

Executive Talk Take part in the Executive Talk organized by Luiss Business School on March 22nd at 6 p.m. at Villa Blanc and discover the new trends, challenges and opportunities that characterize the current competitive context. During this special open lesson, the dynamics driving the transformation of organizations will be explored, examining how they are adapting to the changing needs of the market. New perspectives on human resources management, changes in working models, winning strategies, and the importance of training to thrive in a competitive environment will also be illustrated. Participants will have the opportunity to network and make valuable connections with industry professionals and lecturers. It will be an ideal time to enrich one's knowledge and share experiences in a stimulating atmosphere. During the event, it will be possible to meet the Executive Programme Coordinators who will be able to provide information on the educational offer, the admission process, and upcoming selection dates. Join us to discover how innovation is transforming the way companies manage their human capital and promote staff development. Agenda: 17:00 - 18:00 Accreditation 18:00 - 19:30 Executive Talk Greetings Raffaele Oriani, Dean and Full Professor - Corporate Finance, Luiss Business School Moderator: Emanuele Mangiacotti,  Adjunct Professor Luiss Business School Panelist:  Paola Boromei, Chief Human Resources Officer, SNAM  Adriano Mureddu, Chief Human Resources Officer, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Group  Giuseppina Falcucci, Chief People Officer, Lottomatica  Matteo di Pasquale, Chief Human Resources Officer, Valentino 19:30 - 20:00 Aperitif When: Friday, March 22nd, 2024 Where: Villa Blanc - Via Nomentana, 216 Time: from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. CEST Registration is required to participate. 22/02/2024

16 February 2024

Online Open Evening | Master Full-time

Explore our Masters Degrees and chat with our Alumni Take part in the online Open Evening dedicated to the presentation of Luiss Business School Full-time Masters on Tuesday March 19th, 2024, at 4 pm. The event will be a unique opportunity to get a closer look at the training offer, to meet the Recruitment Office, the Coordinators and Luiss Business School Staff. We will provide you with all the details about the selection process for the academic year 2024-2025, enrolment procedures, costs, scholarships and financial facilities available. During the presentation, you will have the opportunity to meet with the International Office and the Career Service who will explain the many international activities planned, internship opportunities and personalised services to support the development of your professional skills. In addition, it will be possible to chat with our Alumni who will be able to talk about their educational path and their experience within the Luiss Business School community. In addition, Open Evening participants will be exempt from paying the €100 admission fee for the next selection dates, set for 4 and 5 April. At the end of the event, you will receive instructions on how to access the admission process and the contacts of the Recruitment Office to schedule an orientation session with the Coordinators. When: Tuesday, March 19th, 2024 Where: Online Time: from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Registration is required to participate REGISTER 16/02/2024

08 February 2024

Boost your Career with our MBAs and Build the Future you Want!

The Online Open Day is a unique experience of meeting Luiss Business School and its staff wherever your work keeps you busy. During the event, the head of the MBA area will take you through the disciplines, workshops and activities that characterise the Luiss Business School programmes, illustrating the peculiarities of the increasingly accessible and innovative teaching methodology. Our masters are designed to meet the increasingly challenging needs that the marketplaces on junior and senior professionals and which Luiss Business School manages to interpret and manage effectively thanks to high-profile career advisors. Their experiences will animate the webinar and will be valuable opportunities for discussion. Excellence and a boundless, intimate, and transformative training model require care in class formation through an admission process that will be explained in detail by our Recruitment Office. Scholarships are among the training support opportunities offered to our prospects. Ask for more details during the event. AGENDA Presentation of the training offer Q&A session Breakout room dedicated to individual MBAs WHEN: 6 December 2023 TIME: from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. WHERE: Online Participation in the event will allow you to be exempt from paying the Admission Fee of €105 for the next two selection dates: 14 or 21 December 2023. Registration is required to participate. REGISTER For further information, please contact the recruitment team by sending an e-mail to recruitment@luissbusinessschool.it 7/11/2023

01 February 2024

From Luiss Business School a new Major in Furniture Design Management

Press Release Developed with FederlegnoArredo and some of the most representative companies in the field, the programme in Furniture Design Management trains future professionals of an industry that is undergoing a significant evolution and is one of the most important for Made in Italy. Upon completion of the programme, participants will have the opportunity to undertake internships in partner firms that will facilitate their entry in the working world. Luiss Business School, FederlegnoArredo, Design Holding, Magis, and Zordan have signed a collaboration agreement for the creation of a programme in "Furniture Design Management", major of the first-level Master in Management of Creative and Cultural Industries. This 12-month programme aims at creating managerial profiles with an extensive and in-depth knowledge of the furniture-design sector, the production chain, key players, and different business models operating in the global market. The consistent transformation of the sector, matter of fact, calls for an ever-increasing number of professionals who understand the peculiarities of this industry and are capable of creating value in various organizational areas. The Italian furniture macro-system, which also includes bathroom furnishings and lighting, includes approximately 21,750 companies with over 140,000 employees. The production turnover almost reached 29 billion euros in 2022. It is a strongly export-oriented production chain, which represents the 53% of the total turnover. The main destinations for Italian furniture and lighting exports are France (€2.5 billion), the United States (€1.87 billion), and Germany (€1.4 billion)[1]. The major in Furniture Design Management is scheduled to start in September 2024 and, given the sector's strong inclination towards export, will be held in English to satisfy the interest of both a national and international audience. Classes will be held in Lombardy and Veneto to take advantage of the proximity to the major industrial districts of the sector, thus combining the managerial and strategic perspective with operational and production aspects which will also be explored during company visits to the headquarters and production facilities of partner companies. The training programme is designed to progressively ensure and support the professional and personal growth of participants, with a practical and strongly experiential approach. In addition to lectures, the program includes case studies, group work sessions, and labs aimed at developing and reinforcing the soft skills necessary to effectively perform the role of a manager in an industry with such a significant strategic value. The programme employs a high-level faculty that includes not only Luiss Business School’s professors but also experts and professionals from the design world, through partnerships with FederlegnoArredo, Design Holding, Magis, and Zordan. Sharing their experiences and knowledge with participants will allow the latter to acquire the skills needed to be competitive in the market. Moreover, students will receive support from Luiss Business School's Career Service to navigate and manage the transition into the work-world, including the activation of curricular internships with partner companies. Luca Pirolo, Head of Specialized Masters, Luiss Business School: "Luiss Business School’s multi-campus approach is focused on enhancing the peculiarities of the individual territories in which it operates. The choice of themes and sectors in which to develop educational offerings and the identification of relevant partners who can provide content and experiences for our students are fundamental drivers for the renewal of the school’s programme portfolio. Indeed, it is through the combined action of educational and networking activities that the school ultimately achieves the goal of enriching the professional model of its students and facilitates their entry into the work-world". Gabriele Meroni, President FederlegnoArredo: "The Master, designed together with Luiss Business School and other partner companies, aims to meet the growing demand for experts in the complex mechanisms of the industry we represent. Our sector combines the best of creativity with product engineering and the evolution of use of various, diverse, business models in a complex supply chain. The wood-furniture industry needs to train highly specialized professionals whose contribution will be crucial for the strategic development of this industry that has a strong international vocation. The initiative undertaken with Luiss Business School is essential to achieving this goal". Daniel Lalonde, Chief Executive Officer Design Holding declares: “Our Group is pleased to participate in this project aimed at training future managers in our sector. Representing the leading high-end design group on the international scene, we are delighted to share the creativity, innovation and expertise of our brands to make the students' educational journey "real and experiential". Alberto Perazza, CEO Magis: "Magis has become a major design laboratory for home, outdoor, office, and contract, believing in experimentation and emerging talents. And it is with many of them, who have now become famous on the international scene, that it has grown. Participating to this training project for young managers is in line with our company's spirit and working together with Luiss Business School and high-quality partners, we are confident will allow us to contribute to shaping the managerial figures that our sector increasingly demands". Giuseppe Caruso, Managing Director Zordan: "Participating in this project together with Luiss Business School, FederlegnoArredo, Design Holding and Magis makes us proud and happy. Intrinsic in our DNA is the strong motivation to share knowledge and skills in the creation of retail spaces for absolute luxury, and this collaboration born with Luiss Business School allows us to make it possible once again to concretize the generational transfer of know-how to future managers in the sector. Our experience, also as a Benefit Company, allows us to enrich the curriculum of these young people with fundamental information regarding sustainability in a complex and articulated supply chain such as that of furniture [1] 2022 Budgets. Data from FederlegnoArredo Study Center

29 January 2024

Open Day | Master Full-time

Start the New Year with a strong start, invest in your future! Luiss Business School invites you to take part in the Open Day dedicated to the presentation of the Full-time Masters, which will be held on Wednesday, February 21st, at 4.30 p.m. at the Sala degli Specchi of Villa Blanc in Rome. The event will be an opportunity to get to know, compare and exchange views with Luiss Business School Recruitment Office, coordinators and staff, who will welcome you, provide you with all the details on the training offer and answer all your questions on the selection process for the academic year 2024-2025, enrolment procedures, costs, scholarships and financial facilities available. During the presentation, participants will meet the International Office and the Career Service, who will present the numerous international activities on offer, internship opportunities and customised services to support the development of the skills needed to embark on a career path in line with students' aspirations.   Open Day participants will be exempt from paying the admission fee of 100€ for the next selection dates scheduled on 7 and 8 March. At the end of the event, participants will receive instructions on how to access the admission process and contact details of the Recruitment Office to schedule a specific orientation session with the coordinators. Admission to the Open Day is permitted subject to availability. In the event of unforeseen circumstances or inability to attend, please inform us in good time. Agenda Plenary: presentation of educational offer and services (Sala da Ballo) Q&A (Sala da Ballo) Information sessions dedicated to individual Masters (Sala degli Specchi) When: Wednesday, February 21st, 2024 Where: Sala degli Specchi, Villa Blanc - Via Nomentana, 216 Time: from 4.30 to 5.30 CEST Registration is required to participate.

24 January 2024

Call for Adjunct Professors, Luiss Business School – Dubai

Luiss Business School – a leading business school headquartered in Rome – invites outstanding candidates to express their interest in teaching courses as adjunct professors at its Dubai site. Candidates for adjunct professor positions should have an MSc (or equivalent) from a university as well as at least 10 years of industry experience. As Luiss Business School expects strong growth of its Dubai site in the near future, the purpose of this broad call for expressions of interest is to identify professionals and academics who are eager to teach one or more courses. Candidates can teach in specific subject areas and, where relevant, in the context of specific industries. Positions are (expected to become) available in the following fields: Strategy Business modelling and planning Marketing and Distribution Finance Accounting Entrepreneurship Organization and People management Leadership and Soft skills International business Supply chain and Operations management Digital business Project Management ESG and Sustainability Family Business Positions are expected to focus (albeit not exclusively) on the following industries: Fashion Luxury Tourism and hospitality Food and beverage Media and entertainment Arts and culture Sports and Leasure Fintech Mobility Management Real Estate and infrastructures Energy Circular Economy Role and Responsibilities We seek candidates who are committed to teaching and who aspire to contribute to Luiss Business School’s international expansion and visibility. Mandatory qualifications: Experience in academic or managerial positions At least 10 years of work experience MSc (or equivalent) degree from a university Passion for teaching and education Fluency in English Confidence in using digital teaching tools Preferred qualifications: Teaching experience in post-graduate and executive education Embeddedness in the (local) business community A PhD or MBA degree Based in UAE Salary and benefits: Competitive hourly salary Official recognition as a member of Luiss Business School’s extended faculty The appointment lasts two years with time-to-time contracts Candidates must: Undertake a minimum of 12 teaching hours per year in Luiss Business School’s programmes; the distribution of teaching activities among the different programmes will depend on the School’s teaching needs Be available to design and manage executive or custom programmes, coordinate master’s programmes and/or be involved in applied research projects About Luiss Business School Established in 1987 as the Management School of Luiss University, it was named Luiss Business School in 2006, and it has been based in the prestigious setting of Villa Blanc in Rome since 2017. Over the years, the School has consolidated its leadership into the national market of higher education, with a focus on the development of managerial skills. Thanks to international accreditations - AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA - it is actually ranked among the global elite of business schools, and, through the multi-hub model, it is pursuing a strategy of enriching the training experience with programmes delivered in different locations, both in Italy (Rome, Milan, Belluno), and abroad (Amsterdam, Dubai).The Faculty represents one of the distinctive factors of Luiss Business School thanks to its ability to implement the educational model, strengthen ties with the corporate world and increase the level of internationalisation of the School. Conditions of Engagement Luiss Business School is dedicated to inclusion and mobility, collective leadership, and responsibility with the aim of overcoming conventions, roles, and purposes in order to transform borders into horizons. The School is focused on the promotion of diversity in its academic and student bodies. Our commitment to diversity, inclusion and excellence is unwavering. These values are central to our mission as a leader in research, teaching and society. We know that varied perspectives help generate better ideas for solving the complex problems of today’s changing – and increasingly diverse – world.Luiss Business School is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer with a zero-discrimination tolerance policy.To further promote diversity in our faculty, all underrepresented minorities. All expressions of interest will be considered without discrimination on any grounds. Expression of Interest To express your interest in one of these positions, please provide the following: A motivation letter including information on the subject fields (and, if relevant, the industries) you intend to cover when teaching at Luiss Business School, A curriculum vitae based on the format found in the attached example and Copies of your most relevant published research (if applicable). Applicants should send these documents to selection@luissbusinessschool.it by 17 March 2024.For further information, please contact faculty@luissbusinessschool.it. DOWNLOAD CV FORMAT

24 January 2024

DBA in Higher Education Leadership and Management: A career booster to break the glass ceiling in university management

Professor Mathias Falkenstein presents the programme of Luiss Business School dedicated to senior managers and academic leaders that want to build their career in higher education management In today's competitive global arena, higher education institutions are grappling with a multitude of challenges, including privatization and the intense competition for top-tier students and faculty. To effectively manage these complexities and maintain a competitive edge, universities require expertly trained and skilled managers. The Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) in Higher Education Leadership and Management (HELM) programme at Luiss Business School addresses this crucial need by providing aspiring and current managers with the comprehensive academic and professional expertise necessary to navigate the intricate world of higher education administration. The DBA HELM also serves as a powerful career accelerator, empowering individuals to shatter the glass ceiling in university management and ascend to positions of leadership. "The DBA in HELM offers a curriculum that empowers managers to pursue their professional goals within the academic sphere," stated Mathias Falkenstein, Professor of Practice in Higher Education Management at Luiss Business School and Scientific Director of the DBA. "Our meticulously crafted programme is designed to equip individuals with the knowledge and skills required to address the pressing challenges facing higher education institutions in the ever-evolving global landscape." What are the global challenges that the higher education sector is facing now? The higher education sector is facing a multitude of global challenges that are transforming the landscape of education worldwide. One of the most significant trends is the privatization of higher education, which is leading to increased competition and a focus on quality assurance. Traditional research universities are now facing competition from private institutions that prioritize teaching and applied sciences over research. This shift is driving universities to adapt to international standards and provide a comprehensive range of services beyond academics, including career development, recruitment, and marketing. To remain competitive in this ever-evolving environment, there is a growing demand for well-trained managers who can navigate the complexities of higher education administration. These individuals need to possess a blend of academic expertise, managerial skills, and an understanding of the latest trends in higher education. As a result, there is a pressing need to invest in professional development programmes that equip these future leaders with the knowledge and skills required to succeed in this dynamic industry. Managers in higher education are quite new in the academic contest, what are the profiles? The emergence of managers in higher education has introduced a new breed of professionals who must navigate the complex intersection of academic research and business acumen. To thrive in this dynamic environment, these managers need to possess a unique blend of skills and expertise. Our DBA programme  specifically targets this niche of hybrid professionals, individuals who have combined administrative and managerial experience with a deep understanding of business principles. Our comprehensive programme is designed to empower managers to excel within their institutions without completely immersing themselves in academia. Instead, they will harness their academic foundation to refine managerial practices and contribute to the success of their organizations. How? The DBA in Higher Education Leadership and Management is a programme that will equip managers and academic leaders to better understand the higher education context. Many universities are organized in silos, making it difficult for managers to have a comprehensive understanding of the entire institution. With our programme, they will gain a broader perspective of the entire higher education landscape. Additionally, they will be trained as doctoral students, exposing them to research methods courses and providing them with guidance throughout their research development process. This training can lead to the publication of academic papers, which can form the foundation for research-based lecturing. What are the skills that managers operating in higher education institutions must have and implement to overcome these challenges? In the dynamic landscape of higher education, managers and academic leaders need to possess a multifaceted skillset that transcends siloed thinking and encompasses a holistic understanding of the institution's goals and objectives. We teach our students to navigate the intersection of academic rigor, institutional governance, and financial sustainability. They will develop the ability to foster innovation, implement effective HR practices, and engage in strategic change management to drive positive change within their institutions. Students engage in real-world projects, collaborate with industry experts, and publish their research in peer-reviewed journals. This combination of academic rigor and practical experience prepares them to become highly sought-after leaders in the field of higher education. By nurturing a deep understanding of the big picture and empowering managers to think strategically, we aim to elevate the leadership landscape in higher education. Our graduates will become catalysts for positive change, driving innovation, enhancing faculty and student success, and shaping the future of higher education. What type of leadership is needed in higher education and why? Effective leaders in higher education must embrace diversity as a source of strength and innovation, fostering an environment where individuals from diverse backgrounds can thrive and contribute their unique perspectives. Sustainable leaders possess a multifaceted skillset that encompasses strategic thinking, cross-cultural understanding, and the ability to navigate complex power dynamics within institutions. By embracing diversity and fostering inclusive environments, sustainable leaders can create a competitive advantage for their institutions, attracting top students and faculty who seek a supportive and enriching learning experience. Moreover, such leaders can foster innovation, collaboration, and a culture of continuous learning, driving their institutions towards excellence. Our DBA in Higher Education Leadership and Management (DBA-HELM) is designed to nurture these qualities in aspiring leaders, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and mindset necessary to drive sustainable change and innovation in higher education. Our graduates will emerge as transformative leaders, shaping the future of higher education and fostering a more equitable and inclusive educational landscape for all. Which are the four core modules? The first module is “Contemporary International Higher Education: A Global Perspective” with the Module Director Prof. Hans de Wit. The second one is “Strategic Change Management and Innovation in Higher Education”, led by Prof. Nick van Dam. The third is the Module dedicated to “Sustainable Leadership” (Prof. Tony Silard) and the fourth Module is “Lifelong Learning, Business-Model Innovation and EdTech in Higher Education”, co-directed by Prof. Sarah Grant and Nick Barniville. The university is called upon to provide skills in line with market demands. What should a higher education manager do to shape programme and respond to this need? In today's dynamic and competitive landscape, higher education institutions must conduct a comprehensive 360-degree analysis to ensure they are attracting the right students, shaping the right curricula, and aligning their programme with the evolving needs of the employment market. This strategic approach requires a deep understanding of the target student population, identifying the skills and competencies that employers are seeking, and aligning the curriculum to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and industry demands. What is the Target market of DBA HELM? The DBA in Higher Education Leadership and Management (DBA-HELM) is designed to empower aspiring and current university leaders to excel in their professional endeavors and make a transformative impact on the higher education landscape. This esteemed programme is specifically tailored for individuals with at least a master's degree and substantial work experience in the higher education industry. We seek to attract senior and emerging managers and academics, including: Academic and professional programme managers, Directors or managers of international offices and external relations, Directors or managers of executive education programme, Vice-deans or directors of programme, HR directors and managers, Directors or managers of communication, marketing or recruitment, Directors of strategy and policy, Directors or managers of career services, Directors or managers of quality services (accreditations, rankings), Managers of admissions. 24/01/2024

16 January 2024

Boost your Career with our MBAs and Build the Future you want

Join the Online MBA’s Open Day on February 15th at 5.30 p.m. and get ready to embark on new career paths. The event, in English, is a unique meeting experience with Luiss Business School and its Staff. Professor Maria Isabella Leone, Head of MBAs, will show you the disciplines, laboratories and activities that characterize the Luiss Business School MBA programmes. Our Programmes respond to the challenges that the international market poses to junior and senior professionals and that Luiss Business School can effectively interpret, with its global outreach network of Faculty and managers. The boundless, intimate, and transformative training model of the School assures care during students’ learning experience starting with the Admission process that will be detailed by our MBAs' Staff. The event is an important opportunity to meet with speakers who will be able to answer all questions about the programme, the admission and enrolment process, and the facilities and scholarships available, that are among the opportunities offered to our prospects. Don't miss the next Part-time MBA Rome, starting on April 12th, in the beautiful setting of our Villa Blanc campus. Scholarships are still available! Discover our MBAs Offer in English, addressed to professionals from all around the world: MBA Part Time (Rome and Milan), Flex MBA (hybrid) and Full Time MBA. Speaker: Maria Isabella Leone, Head of MBAs’ Programs and MBAs’ Staff Luiss Business School Agenda: Presentation of the MBAs Portfolio, Q&A session, Breakout room dedicated to the single MBA Programme. WHEN: February 15th, 2024 WHERE: Online TIME: 5:30 – 6:30 pm Registration is required to participate. REGISTER 16/01/2024

04 January 2024

Career-booster for Higher Education Managers: Introducing the DBA in Higher Education Leadership and Management 

Join us on Monday, January 29th 2024, at 5.30 p.m. and participate in the DBA presentation webinar in Higher Education Leadership and Management (HELM) at Luiss Business School. This DBA program, held in Amsterdam, Rome, and online, is designed to enable participants to maximize impact in the Higher Education sector by promoting personal and professional growth through a highly personalized learning path and an innovative teaching methodology. During the program presentation event, Dr. Mathias Falkenstein, Professor of Practice in Higher Education Management at Luiss Business School and Scientific Director of the DBA, will delve into the innovative training approach at the heart of the program, with the program starting in April 2024. Speakers: Prof. Maria Isabella Leone, Head of MBAs’ Programs and MBAs’ Staff Luiss Business School Dr. Mathias Falkenstein, Professor of Practice in Higher Education Management, Luiss Business School Dr. Nick van Dam, Director IE, Center for Corporate Learning & Talent Management, Professor at IE Business School, Nyenrode Business Universiteit and The University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education, US Agenda: Initial greetings from Prof. Maria Isabella Leone, Head of MBA Programs Luiss Business School; Presentation by Dr. Mathias Falkenstein, Professor of Practice in Higher Education Management at Luiss Business School. Round table with Q&A session.  WHEN: Monday, January 29th, 2024 TIME: From 5.30 – 6.30 PM CEST WHERE: Online Register to attend the event! REGISTER 04/01/2024

13 December 2023

Online Open Day | Full-time Master

Explore the English-taught Masters and the Luiss Business School Hubs in Italy and Europe! Join the Online Open Day on January 16th at 4.00 p.m. to discover the full range of Full-time English Master's Degree Programmes offered by Luiss Business School and get to know first-hand the educational offer that awaits you. An opportunity to discover the advantages of studying in one of the three main hubs in Rome, Milan and Amsterdam, the distinctive features of the programmes and of the school, and the services offered to students. The Virtual Open Day is an opportunity to meet the coordinators, the recruiting team and the career service who will be able to answer all your questions: admission process, nuances of specific programmes, costs, financial facilities and scholarships available, placement or about life on our campus. The Luiss Business School is committed to providing high-level education and promoting a mindset based on change, innovation and transformation to train the leaders of the future capable of driving positive change in the business community, supporting sustainability at every step. Don't miss the Virtual Open Day dedicated to undergraduates and recent bachelor's and master's graduates! WHEN: Tuesday, January 16th, 2024WHERE: OnlineTIME: 4.00 - 5.00 p.m CEST Registration is required to participate.Open Day participants will be exempt from paying the admission fee. REGISTER 13/12/2023

24 January 2024

DBA in Higher Education Leadership and Management: A career booster to break the glass ceiling in university management

Professor Mathias Falkenstein presents the programme of Luiss Business School dedicated to senior managers and academic leaders that want to build their career in higher education management In today's competitive global arena, higher education institutions are grappling with a multitude of challenges, including privatization and the intense competition for top-tier students and faculty. To effectively manage these complexities and maintain a competitive edge, universities require expertly trained and skilled managers. The Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) in Higher Education Leadership and Management (HELM) programme at Luiss Business School addresses this crucial need by providing aspiring and current managers with the comprehensive academic and professional expertise necessary to navigate the intricate world of higher education administration. The DBA HELM also serves as a powerful career accelerator, empowering individuals to shatter the glass ceiling in university management and ascend to positions of leadership. "The DBA in HELM offers a curriculum that empowers managers to pursue their professional goals within the academic sphere," stated Mathias Falkenstein, Professor of Practice in Higher Education Management at Luiss Business School and Scientific Director of the DBA. "Our meticulously crafted programme is designed to equip individuals with the knowledge and skills required to address the pressing challenges facing higher education institutions in the ever-evolving global landscape." What are the global challenges that the higher education sector is facing now? The higher education sector is facing a multitude of global challenges that are transforming the landscape of education worldwide. One of the most significant trends is the privatization of higher education, which is leading to increased competition and a focus on quality assurance. Traditional research universities are now facing competition from private institutions that prioritize teaching and applied sciences over research. This shift is driving universities to adapt to international standards and provide a comprehensive range of services beyond academics, including career development, recruitment, and marketing. To remain competitive in this ever-evolving environment, there is a growing demand for well-trained managers who can navigate the complexities of higher education administration. These individuals need to possess a blend of academic expertise, managerial skills, and an understanding of the latest trends in higher education. As a result, there is a pressing need to invest in professional development programmes that equip these future leaders with the knowledge and skills required to succeed in this dynamic industry. Managers in higher education are quite new in the academic contest, what are the profiles? The emergence of managers in higher education has introduced a new breed of professionals who must navigate the complex intersection of academic research and business acumen. To thrive in this dynamic environment, these managers need to possess a unique blend of skills and expertise. Our DBA programme  specifically targets this niche of hybrid professionals, individuals who have combined administrative and managerial experience with a deep understanding of business principles. Our comprehensive programme is designed to empower managers to excel within their institutions without completely immersing themselves in academia. Instead, they will harness their academic foundation to refine managerial practices and contribute to the success of their organizations. How? The DBA in Higher Education Leadership and Management is a programme that will equip managers and academic leaders to better understand the higher education context. Many universities are organized in silos, making it difficult for managers to have a comprehensive understanding of the entire institution. With our programme, they will gain a broader perspective of the entire higher education landscape. Additionally, they will be trained as doctoral students, exposing them to research methods courses and providing them with guidance throughout their research development process. This training can lead to the publication of academic papers, which can form the foundation for research-based lecturing. What are the skills that managers operating in higher education institutions must have and implement to overcome these challenges? In the dynamic landscape of higher education, managers and academic leaders need to possess a multifaceted skillset that transcends siloed thinking and encompasses a holistic understanding of the institution's goals and objectives. We teach our students to navigate the intersection of academic rigor, institutional governance, and financial sustainability. They will develop the ability to foster innovation, implement effective HR practices, and engage in strategic change management to drive positive change within their institutions. Students engage in real-world projects, collaborate with industry experts, and publish their research in peer-reviewed journals. This combination of academic rigor and practical experience prepares them to become highly sought-after leaders in the field of higher education. By nurturing a deep understanding of the big picture and empowering managers to think strategically, we aim to elevate the leadership landscape in higher education. Our graduates will become catalysts for positive change, driving innovation, enhancing faculty and student success, and shaping the future of higher education. What type of leadership is needed in higher education and why? Effective leaders in higher education must embrace diversity as a source of strength and innovation, fostering an environment where individuals from diverse backgrounds can thrive and contribute their unique perspectives. Sustainable leaders possess a multifaceted skillset that encompasses strategic thinking, cross-cultural understanding, and the ability to navigate complex power dynamics within institutions. By embracing diversity and fostering inclusive environments, sustainable leaders can create a competitive advantage for their institutions, attracting top students and faculty who seek a supportive and enriching learning experience. Moreover, such leaders can foster innovation, collaboration, and a culture of continuous learning, driving their institutions towards excellence. Our DBA in Higher Education Leadership and Management (DBA-HELM) is designed to nurture these qualities in aspiring leaders, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and mindset necessary to drive sustainable change and innovation in higher education. Our graduates will emerge as transformative leaders, shaping the future of higher education and fostering a more equitable and inclusive educational landscape for all. Which are the four core modules? The first module is “Contemporary International Higher Education: A Global Perspective” with the Module Director Prof. Hans de Wit. The second one is “Strategic Change Management and Innovation in Higher Education”, led by Prof. Nick van Dam. The third is the Module dedicated to “Sustainable Leadership” (Prof. Tony Silard) and the fourth Module is “Lifelong Learning, Business-Model Innovation and EdTech in Higher Education”, co-directed by Prof. Sarah Grant and Nick Barniville. The university is called upon to provide skills in line with market demands. What should a higher education manager do to shape programme and respond to this need? In today's dynamic and competitive landscape, higher education institutions must conduct a comprehensive 360-degree analysis to ensure they are attracting the right students, shaping the right curricula, and aligning their programme with the evolving needs of the employment market. This strategic approach requires a deep understanding of the target student population, identifying the skills and competencies that employers are seeking, and aligning the curriculum to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and industry demands. What is the Target market of DBA HELM? The DBA in Higher Education Leadership and Management (DBA-HELM) is designed to empower aspiring and current university leaders to excel in their professional endeavors and make a transformative impact on the higher education landscape. This esteemed programme is specifically tailored for individuals with at least a master's degree and substantial work experience in the higher education industry. We seek to attract senior and emerging managers and academics, including: Academic and professional programme managers, Directors or managers of international offices and external relations, Directors or managers of executive education programme, Vice-deans or directors of programme, HR directors and managers, Directors or managers of communication, marketing or recruitment, Directors of strategy and policy, Directors or managers of career services, Directors or managers of quality services (accreditations, rankings), Managers of admissions. 24/01/2024

03 August 2023

Luiss Business School has been awarded AACSB Accreditation and can pride itself in being a triple-crown accredited School

Raffaele Oriani: It is a great achievement that recognizes us as a unique, smart, flexible learning platform with an impact, and drives us to challenge ourselves even more to be a reference point in the Higher Education ecosystem.    Luiss Business School has achieved the AACSB accreditation, a distinguished hallmark of excellence in management education. Established in 1916, AACSB is the longest-serving global accrediting organization for business schools and among the world’s most renowned business education alliances. Being awarded AACSB, Luiss Business School holds the three most prestigious accreditations for business education. Schools that achieve all three accreditations, the European EQUIS (European Quality Improvement Systems), the American AACSB (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) and the British AMBA (The Association of MBAs), are called Triple Crown Schools. Less than 1% of business schools worldwide have achieved triple accreditation. This remarkable feat demonstrates Luiss Business School’s commitment to achieving the highest quality standards and being a cutting-edge institution in the higher education ecosystem. Professor Raffaele Oriani, Dean of Luiss Business School, comments on the achievement: "We are very grateful to AACSB, as the accreditation process has challenged us deeply and allowed us to improve exponentially. It has been a great learning experience for us, at all levels, and we are aware the journey is just at the beginning as we truly believe continuous improvement should be a journey, not a destination”. Professor Oriani, Luiss Business School has been awarded AACSB accreditation: why is it such an achievement? Achieving accreditation is a process of rigorous internal focus, engagement with an AACSB-assigned mentor, and peer-reviewed evaluation to assess whether Luiss Business School meets the quality standards and purpose of the AACSB Accreditation process.  What has driven us in this journey is our ambition to nurture creative, resilient leaders capable of facing the social and economic challenges that await them. Here at Luiss Business School we provide our stakeholders with a lifelong, continuous learning ecosystem, a boundless space, open to anyone who has the curiosity and determination to make a difference. We design our game-changing programmes embedding a managerial learning experience that values the economic, social and human capital, as well as a transformative path and a knowledge production attitude.  The recognition we receive from AACSB as well as the ones from the other accreditation bodies, shows just how relevant and effective Luiss Business School is in empowering the growth and transformation of our stakeholders, in inspiring people to thrive together as a community. This achievement recognizes the process of transformation, change and improvement that is embedded as a trait of Luiss Business School’s DNA and will drive us to leap forward to meet the challenges ahead. And what does it imply? Being awarded AACSB, Luiss Business School holds the three most prestigious accreditations for business education, thus joining the top 1% of business schools worldwide recognised as “triple crown” accredited schools. This long journey started in 2015, with EQUIS accreditation, and went on with AMBA in 2020. These accreditations are a global benchmark of quality and ensure that our programme portfolio will be recognised throughout the world for its value, degree of innovation and relevance for its stakeholders, including institutions and corporate partners. They are the official confirmation of the quality of our organisation, our faculty and staff, our educational model, and the overall approach to all School initiatives. It implies a continuous effort in monitoring processes, evaluating performances, scouting cutting-edge tools and initiatives to participate in. It is a never-ending commitment to continuous improvements to provide our stakeholders with a managerial learning experience of the highest quality.  In doing so, we are committed to ensuring a cooperative and stimulating environment, directly engaging with all our stakeholders, and leveraging  our multi-hub structure. By involving a heterogeneous set of players in our strategic and operative decision-making processes, and by adopting a logic of co-creation and co-design, we ensure diversity in the approaches to - and assets available for- the School’s strategic development. Business education: its value is often questioned. What is Luiss Business School's response to the higher education demand of future "leaders for a better world"? Our goal is to generate positive effects for communities at the local, national, and international levels. So, we are investing even more in providing students with deeply transformative learning journeys, enriching their paths not only by providing skills and competencies but also by promoting positive values and by constantly offering them new opportunities for personal and professional growth. Our commitment to educate “leaders for a better world” is not just a quote but the thread that binds us together. Our mission is to contribute to the development of management education by engaging with both local and global business communities, fostering the debate on societal impact, and promoting the idea that knowledge production, innovation, education, collaboration, and networking are crucial steps in the sustainable evolution of the higher education ecosystem. At Luiss Business School students are constantly challenged in their expectations, equipped with lifetime opportunities, immersed in a supportive, stimulating environment and exposed to collaborative, real-world scenarios that test and stretch their creativity and resilience. The School nurtures a tradition of developing business leaders who will have a positive impact on society and serve the community with their respect for the principles of ethics, sustainability, and responsibility. Our commitment for the future is to be part of the group of changemakers in management education – and to generate momentum to develop initiatives that have a meaningful and sustainable impact. 3/08/2023

26 July 2023

Luiss Business School’s MBA, an universe of opportunity

Professor Enzo Peruffo explores the structure, activities and perspectives of MBAs programmes A Master in Business Administration represents the excellence in managerial education for young professionals, middle and senior managers and entrepreneurs who want to seed and feed their skills, enhance their career, engage with the school’s network. Luiss Business School has created an MBA formula which mixes skills empowerment, networking, internationalization, connections with corporates. Professor Enzo Peruffo, Associate Dean for Education, Luiss Business School, explores the most important aspects of this weapon for success. Professor Enzo Peruffo, how can an MBA seed and feed our skills? An MBA fine-tunes and consolidates students’ skills as well as letting them acquire innovative and cross-sectoral skills required by contemporary competitive market. As presented in the latest 2023 WEF Future of Jobs Report, in-demand skills are: being able to leverage analytical and creative thinking to improve business practices; to push the traditional boundaries of doing business through exercising leadership, having entrepreneurship and social influence; having the ability to reinforce emotional intelligence, empathy and active listening to improve the relationship with employers, colleagues, customers/consumers and all other stakeholders affecting one’s professional life; being able to work on motivation and self-awareness. How can an MBA enhance someone’s career? An MBA acts as an accelerator to speed up students’ careers by empowering them to boost their personal and professional development with leadership and career-enhancement activities. Also, this kind of master gives students a mindset to always stay curious and eager to learn, in a lifelong learning approach that helps them  shape (or re-shape) their professional goals. How is the MBA involved in  the school’s network? MBA students are constantly called to put themselves to the test thanks to precious and fruitful exchanges with faculty, renowned guest lecturers/speakers and fellow participants, that encourage peer-learning and best-practice sharing. The MBA paves the way to invaluable networking opportunities with business leaders, institutional and company/corporate representatives, and it also lets participants enter a community of students and alumni that extends beyond the geographical and temporal boundaries of their programme. What is the added value that Luiss Business School gives to MBA programmes? Our MBA programmes stand out from those of other institutions owing to Luiss Business School’s key differentiators, namely: boutique approach; exceptionally strong connections with the corporate world; innovation of the Learning Journey. What is the “boutique” approach? Luiss Business School’s MBA is a relational hub where human connections are fostered, and the School’s student-centric approach creates a lifelong sense of belonging to the Luiss BS Community that goes beyond the 12, 22, 19 months duration of Full-Time, Part-Time, and Executive MBA. The optimal composition of MBA classes is paramount to create that intimate environment that makes Luiss Business School stand out from its competitors. For this reason, when selecting its MBA students, the School considers their personal and professional backgrounds, talents, ambitions, age, nationalities and other key variables to ensure that each class is heterogeneous and stimulating for participants. At Luiss Business School, MBA students are placed at the centre of the educational journey since the beginning through teambuilding activities, ice-breaking labs and pre-courses to make their experience at Luiss BS as inclusive as possible. This intimate environment and feeling of belonging are enhanced by the so-called Edu-Care activities, where students’ learning goals and needs are specifically addressed through a series of specific career development activities and services that emphasise the School’s corporate DNA. The learning experience is tailored to each individual’s specific needs, so that MBA students are guided towards the acquisition and consolidation of knowledge and skills, but also the development of personal, relational, and intangible qualities, which are essential for them to generate value, maximise their potential, and have a positive impact on society. MBA students can avail themselves of one-to-one sessions with qualified assessors such as career advisors, mentors, coaches and industry experts, who provide them with a concrete and measurable toolbox for their personal and professional growth. How do they do this? They make students aware of their potential and teach them how to enhance it. Also, they assess their positioning at their company, teach them how to expand their network of contacts and which organisational behaviours to adopt when working in a team. Last but not the least, they elaborate an action plan for fostering constructive personal change and improving their performance and reputation at the company. How does Luiss Business School relate with the corporate world and how does this relationship impact  MBA students? Built on Luiss Business School’sstrong relationship with the business community in general, and on its close ties with the Confederation of Italian Industries (Confindustria), Luiss Business School’s MBAs give students the possibility of learning from a world-class faculty and meeting regularly with experienced business managers and professionals, thus gaining valuable real-world advice in a boundless and dynamic learning space. As the School’s goal is to create leaders for a better world that positively impact their communities, MBAs aim to enrich students’ paths both by providing entrepreneurial skills and competencies as well as by promoting positive values. By offering them new opportunities to think outside the box and leave their comfort zone, MBAs represent “pathways to impact” that allow participants to contribute to business performance, leaving their mark and creating positive outcomes not only on their organisation but also ontheir community of reference. What makes Luiss Business School’s MBAs innovative? The School ensures its MBA students are highly attractive for the job market worldwide, through the innovativeness of the teaching methods adopted and the widespread use of digital technology within and outside the classroom, whether physical or virtual. Luiss Business School has perfected active and adaptive learning methodologies that enhance the interaction between on-campus and off-campus teaching, with a hybrid combination of synchronous and asynchronous innovative methods such as interactive lectures, break-out sessions, presentations, business game simulations, flipped classrooms, problem-based learning, active learning, MOOCs, case studies, group projects, seminars with experienced business managers and consultants, internships, simulations. The School also strives to stay ahead of the latest EdTech innovations (e.g., VR and AI-powered tools) and integrate them in its educational offering, in order to ensure the attractiveness of the School’s programmes in a fast-changing world, while the use of blockchain micro-credentials – in the form of badges and certificates – issued for both curricular as well as extra-curricular activities (e.g., MBA Talks), ensures the validity and quality of Luiss BS’ qualifications. In addition, all MBA students are led to challenge themselves and improve their cross-cutting skills through laboratories (Skill Labs) characterised by a highly experiential and practical approach, that aim to enhance the soft and transversal skills relevant in real-life settings such as organisations and top-level firms. What do labs and electives allow for? First of all, hyper-personalisation of the learning experience as students can customise their journey and construct their learning experience according to their needs, interests, and professional ambitions/aspirations by choosing the electives and labs that suit them best and by selecting both a functional track and an industry focus. Also, fertile cross-programme networking as labs are open to participants from all MBA programmes, regardless of the format (part-time, full-time, executive), and the location (Milan, Belluno, Amsterdam), exposing students to different backgrounds and encouraging the creation of valuable connections, with Luiss Business School acting as a true relational hub. Networking. Today it is one of the most important resources for professionals. How is this value cultivated within the MBA path? One of the main characteristics of Luiss BS is its long-lasting relationship with the business community, which allows theory to shape practice and vice versa. There are different kinds of  activities offered to MBA students to expand their network and make relevant connections. There is the Week-long, highly experiential executive intensive programmes that combine educational, networking and recreational activities with an industry or functional focus on relevant issues that characterise the complex and competitive world of today, thus allowing students to gain a holistic view of the organisation and get real-world advice from top executives and company representatives. There are also networking conferences, seminars, cafés, which help students nurture useful relations for their professional growth and start a spontaneous process of reciprocal exchange of best practices, knowledge, and experience. Digital and physical events such as webinars, workshops, masterclasses, open lessons, virtual meetings, and Q&A sessions help students interact with academics and business leaders on trend topics and understand how managers, professionals and entrepreneurs can meet successfully present and future challenges. The field projects held during the final months of the MBA give students the possibility to apply the knowledge and skills learnt throughout the programme, supported by academic supervisors, and highly experienced managers with professional expertise. Links with the international context: how important are they in MBA training? After joining in March 2021, Luiss Business School is currently chair of an alliance of internationally renowned business schools (the FOME Alliance). Being part of the Alliance entails that MBA students are offered a comprehensive range of international experiences. Moreover, MBA students have the possibility of participating in Global Business Challenges that connect students from Italian and international business schools on issues brought forward by leading companies. There are also Business Case Competitions (team activities for testing and developing entrepreneurial, managerial, and problem-solving abilities in cross-country issues). The MBA International Week isfocused on the most recognisable “Made in Italy” brands and companies worldwide (e.g., Maison Valentino, Prada, YOOX, Lamborghini, Benetton Group), which are open to all MBA students around the world and allow participants to work in multicultural teams on a business case launched in collaboration with a leading Italian company in a specific sector. The initiative leverages the School’s reputation both at the national and international level, as well as its strong corporate connections to attract applicants from the best business schools in the world and thus allows for fruitful exchanges of people and ideas. There are also International Exchange Programmes (mutual international experiences organised with partner Business Schools); and Double Degrees with partner schools (such as NUCB – Nagoya University Commerce of Business, Japan), which allow students to complete part of their Master’s studies abroad and obtain two qualifications from each of the host institutions. The link between Luiss Business School and the business world is solid: how does this asset emerge in the MBA programme? Building on its solid relationship with the Confederation of Italian Industries (Confindustria) and the business community at large, the School helps sustain and encourage contact between MBA students and corporate partners through strategic projects: business challenges, laboratories, corporate involvement in the design of the programmes, as well as the cubic and compound dimension of its Faculty and Professionals. Opportunity to study in Italy and abroad with MBA Luiss Business School: what is the advantage of being able to differentiate also the geography of an MBA? MBA students can decide to attend the MBA in Rome or at the School’s hub in Milan  and, regardless of the main location chosen, they can all spend an alternative term at the Amsterdam Hub, where they can create networks not only with Luiss BS’ students coming from other hubs but also with exchange students coming from  prestigious partner business schools. However, the exchange of people and ideas is not only outwards, since the School also hosts a number of students from every corner of the world, thus making the MBA classroom an international and stimulating environment, in line with the School’s G-Local ideal of nurturing leaders with a global mindset who are able of generating value for their local realities and communities. 26/07/2023

23 May 2022

How to manage secondary trauma among healthcare workers

The Covid–19 pandemic has complicated lives in healthcare organizations. A meeting at Luiss Business School Amsterdam Hub examines how leaders must face secondary trauma and its effects The Covid–19 pandemic has changed all the work life balance of healthcare workers and exacerbated the long–lasting phenomenon of post–traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in this field. Hospitals were reorganized. Treatments for patients have been stopped. Operations have been canceled. Nurses were relocated. Teams were not cohesive anymore. Managing these situations is a challenge worldwide as healthcare workers are likely to experience acute and chronic, often unpredictable, occupational stress leading to PTSS. Mental life wellbeing is a concept that more often returns in leadership discussions. During the event Secondary Trauma Challenges Impacting the Healthcare Ecosystem, Dr. Anthony Silard, Associate Professor of Leadership and the Director of the Center for Sustainable Leadership, Luiss Business School, explored effective approaches to identify and improve post–traumatic stress symptoms. Special emphasis has been given to the role that managers and leaders play in helping health employees to process secondary trauma and restoring a healthier working environment. What is secondary trauma and how to tackle it Secondary trauma is challenging the healthcare ecosystem. “Also known as vicarious trauma or compassion fatigue, secondary trauma refers to an emotional state in which a focal person experiences the pain, distress, sadness or other negative emotion of a second person” (Parker & Henfield, 2012). This happens at three levels: intrapersonal, interpersonal and organizational. Healthcare work can be challenging, especially in the domain of managing emotions. In healthcare organizations, employees might pay a considerable emotional toll in helping individuals living with primary or personal trauma emanated from life-threatening situations such as crime, violence, imbued clients poverty, illness and natural disasters. Over the past few decades, the term "secondary trauma" or "vicarious trauma" has evolved to depict the distressing emotional state an individual is likely to experience due to  protracted interaction with a second person experiencing primary trauma. There are 5 primary emotions in human life: anger, sadness, joy, fear and love. Each of them leads to secondary emotions in the person who is experiencing the first one and in others. It requires deep resources to cope with these feelings. «Secondary trauma is our most toxic emotion because it arises from a loss of hope», said Silard. The emotion prototype approach provides a useful organization framework for discrete emotions. Whether related to primary trauma or secondary traumatic stress/vicarious trauma (STS/VT), stress symptoms and effects are very similar and can significantly impact individuals, teams and organizations. A large body of evidence exists which links such events to associated mental health issues among healthcare workers. As healthcare personnel perform their job duties – which might involve displaying care, empathy and compassion for trauma-affected clients – they put themselves at high risk of incurring secondary trauma. This challenges organizational lever for retention and recruitment. How do leaders manage changing emotions If a team is experiencing a primary trauma, then leaders can receive some of it and develop secondary trauma. At interpersonal level, they can manage it. The leader emotion management (LEM) is concerned with “the processes and behaviors involved in assisting employees in regulating their emotion experiences so as to facilitate the attainment of organizational objectives” (Kaplan et al., 2014:566). LEM behaviors will respond to the needs of employee with secondary trauma experiences. First, leaders must display empathy, and acknowledge and validate team member secondary trauma experience. «Secondary trauma exists, believe it or not», said Silard. LEM behaviors that improve secondary trauma consist of facilitating staff emotion regulation abilities; fostering follower post–traumatic growth; modeling emotion complexity. Still, there is a silver lining of secondary trauma: it may help both staff experience and the organizations for which they work. The Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG), such as the one experienced after Covid pandemic, leads to be more open to new experiences; value themselves more; reevaluate their life priorities, goals, relationships and spirituality; might prepare for future adversities. In a trauma–informed management strategy, leaders must be compassionate companions. Compassionate companionship behaviors support the trauma and encourage growth; help the other person back up from the tree and see the forest; don't fall into the problem person/solution person false dichotomy; meet their vulnerability with your own. The organization level is about policies and getting people together, around the trauma debrief. «Create an emotional processing culture, an authentic climate where people can express their emotions», suggests Silard. How to manage secondary trauma in healthcare organizations In a roundtable led by Luca Magni, Professor of Practice, Luiss Business School; Scientific Director of the Executive Programme in International Pharma and Healthcare Administration, Luiss Business School, has been discussed how to manage secondary trauma in healthcare organizations. «We had a huge global experiment: Covid pandemic – said J. A. Hans Romijn, Professor of Medicine, University of Amsterdam; Internist, Former Chairman and Dean of Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam; Coordinator of the merger of the two UMCs in Amsterdam – It required a whole reorganization of hospitals. Treatments of patients have been stopped. Nurses were relocated. Teams were not cohesive anymore. There were running out of material, fear of getting sick. People were dying without their families. This has led to a large amount of stress». «Starting from secondary trauma, the question must be: is the world ready to create compassionate enterprises? – asked Laura Mckeaveney, Patient Advocacy Expert, with relevant experiences in multiple corporate roles, the latest being the one of Global Head of Patient Advocacy, Novartis – We have so much journey to travel to get to more humanistic organization, even if we need to do profit». «Language has an important task – says Daniele Raugi, Head Global HR Corporate Functions & Europe, Sanofi – We must normalize talking about feelings. Covid forces organization to look at the whole human being. Leadership has been evolving and the role of the leader is changing they must develop and grow people. It goes from empowerment to be authentic. As a leader, you create the right environment». 5/23/2022

15 April 2022

Domenico Crescenzo: «Me, a servant leader thanks to the MBA Luiss Business School»

A tortuous path and the desire to test his skills outside his area of expertise, engineering, pushed the young start-upper towards the Luiss Business School higher education. The result? A new adventure and new arrows to his bow Domenico Crescenzo is not the classic engineer who is confident only of his abilities. In order to understand his personality that many would define “multi-potential”, it is important to tell his story from the beginning. Domenico is first of all a natural leader. His first role arrives very early, during the years of the Giulio Douhet military aviation school in Florence that he attended between the age of 16 and 19. He became course leader of 40 cadets: along with the effort he put into his studies at high school, he also had the responsibility of his peers in his course. Then he started his academic path in energy engineering (Aspri course of studies, Alta Scuola Politecnica Research and Innovation) at the Politecnico in Milan. After completing his studies, it was time for an experience abroad, to be precise in Stockholm, at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), where he followed a path of design engineering, specializing in the branch related to combustion and internal combustion engines. The arrival in Scania, a leading company in the production of industrial vehicles, seems rather obvious. In the meantime, Domenico also completed a patent linked to an algorithm capable of measuring fuel injection efficiency. But something is not working in his work-life equation: Domenico feels that his true fulfillment is in the business world. He launches his first start-up, but things are not going as they should: he is very young and joins a team made up of friends, who, however, do not share the same vision. He thus began to frequent the Italian business world, before joining Janssen, the pharmaceutical division of Johnson & Johnson. This has been the beginning of continuous contacts with many innovative realities, including Keethings, a start-up in which he explored all the roles that can be filled in a company of this type. Due to this experience he realized that consolidating managerial and entrepreneurial knowledge was no longer a choice, but an imperative. Hence the decision to enroll in the Luiss Business School MBA programme. Thanks to the fertile and stimulating environment, Domenico put himself back in the game and consolidated his knowledge. Along the way, amidst the pandemic, he also created his second start-up, Screevo, the most accomplished expression so far of his desire to be an entrepreneur. Domenico Crescenzo, what made you choose the part-time Luiss Business School MBA? I really enjoyed my job at Keethings and I didn’t want to leave it since I gained experience in areas I had never worked for in the past. I have always been an engineer, a technician, but with a strong drive towards entrepreneurship. Since I wanted to achieve both at the same time, studying and putting into practice, the part-time formula, even if challenging, was the most suitable for my project. Why Luiss Business School? Because it is one of the programs, if not the most important program in Italy. In addition, since it is in Rome, it allowed me to build and strengthen the network I already had in this geographical area. What kind of environment did you find at Luiss Business School? The adjective that best expresses my experience at Luiss Business School is "different". First of all, my class was made up of many different profiles, a real added value: from the corporate profile to the entrepreneur, there were different types of people. The environment is informal, very interesting, which allowed me to approach and talk easily with anyone I wanted. You are the Co-Founder and CEO of the startup Screevo. Which skills - hard and soft - acquired during your MBA helped and help you to play this important role? Surely those related to the economic-financial part, like budgeting and the ability to sit down and try to plan all the activities in the short, medium and long term. We attended entrepreneurship courses where they taught us how to make a presentation for investors, how to understand and grasp the main aspects of a market, as well as some marketing courses where they taught us how to notice certain things. Thanks to a broad set of courses and subjects your are able to go deeper into the things that matter most to each individual person. Regarding soft skills, I think that when you start an MBA, after attending the lessons, you don't come out as a completely different person. It only happens if you really put yourself out there along the way. The series of leadership courses, for example, combined with coaching, must then be applied so that a real transformation takes place. I had a challenge in mind. Which? When you start with a start-up and you are very young, with few resources, and you ask more senior people to work for you for free, to follow a dream, in pandemic times, without ever seeing each other, it requires important leadership. It depends on you, but also on your  vision and what you communicate to the people in front of you. The goal I had in mind was to make sure that others could also see what I saw. So I had to be good at communicating that dream and the MBA helped me to refine the tools to do that. Soft skills, how did you work on this area during the master? In the leadership course I was struck by a phrase said in class: «It's not about you. It's about the others». Servant leadership, making yourself available, being the first to get a slap in the face, creates a spirit of trust that drives the whole team to get involved. In front of big investors I took a lot of slaps and my team thanked me for this! In coaching I had to put myself in the game 360 degrees: here I explored my limits as a person and then as a professional. What do you mean? From my experience, I can say that limitations of the professional are closely linked to those of the person. I have always been a good communicator, but emotionally rather closed: in some cases this can become a problem even at work. When you cannot express what you feel, both positive and negative, misunderstandings can arise. This limitation grabbed my attention, which forced me to train this characteristic. The MBA is not a series of courses, which you can acquire by reading books: you have to question yourself in order to start from a more solid base. In your position, leadership is a fundamental quality: what does it take to be a true leader? Serving, listening, confronting each other. For some people, dealing with difficult discussions is very complicated. It rather must be done clearly and quickly. We have to be transparent towards ourselves and others. Consequently, you have to deal with these issues every day in order to create a climate of trust, which should not be betrayed. A good leader is a person who is trusted by employees and staff, so they are prepared to do the extra mile. Your CV is very rich: in which of your experiences do you think the Luiss Business School MBA could have changed your performance? I think this kind of training would have made a difference in many moments. In my engineering career I have never been involved in business issues. I started university with the idea of finishing as soon as possible, but at the end I found that I didn't fully like what I had studied. Competitiveness: do you feel you have trained this soft skill during your time at Luiss Business School? I am extremely competitive by nature, but not towards others. In the MBA there is no internal competitiveness, but there is a desire to go forward as a unit. The various facets of each person combine to create a single body. You have the opportunity to get the best out of each member of the class. Many alumni have experienced the value of networking at Luiss Business School. What has been your experience? I'm still in the middle of the programme, six months to go. I've had contacts with people interested in my start-up Screevo. I launched an initiative, Startup Group, where we organised a call: 60 alumni came forward with innovative ideas. Pandemic and course: how did you experience distance learning? Distance learning has its limits. But it is the first time for everyone. The networking experience has suffered, but I am sure there will be opportunities to fill this gap. What are your plans for the future? Do you think you will go back to training? The future will be on Screevo. Then I don't know: I cultivate the dream of fueling my passion for teaching. Tell us about Screevo. It is a voice assistant for Industry 4.0. The manufacturing sector has been swept by a wave of digitisation. Operators and technicians, who know how to work with their hands, used to spend more time in front of the computer entering data than in the field solving problems. In fact, after fixing a machine, a report has to be compiled. The idea is that the hands of operators and technicians should once again be free to generate value. That's why our pay-off is "Free From Typing". With Screevo you can talk while you work: what you say is automatically transcribed into the customer's software fields. Screevo remaps what is said and inserts each answer in the specific fields provided by the software. Screevo can also help us to book a trip on the Trenitalia website. I can book a train on Trenitalia's website using Screevo: it knows which fields to fill in with the answers we give. The start-up won the Boost your ideas competition, launched by Regione Lazio, and gained us admission to the Luiss incubator. During the second week of Luiss & Labs we were contacted by an acceleration programme in California and now we are about to open a second office there. Open innovation and Millennials: what recipe for creating engagement? It is important that corporations empower young people at their own risk. At J&J, I was empowered and, despite the fear, I felt involved. A young man with a university degree, with his own ambitions, who thinks he's going to break the world, and goes to work into an office, where he sees little added value, where he doesn't feel the pressure of responsibility, quickly disengages.  You run away either from pressure or from boredom. That's where we have to work on: communicate the vision to make them feel part of something. What are your suggestions for future students and in the classroom on how to fully grasp the opportunities of the Luiss Business School course? The key to success - and I speak as someone who is going through this journey himself - is the courage to take risks. And this is not something you only do as an entrepreneur. You succeed when you push for change, which takes courage, energy and risk. An MBA student who wants to seize the opportunities of the course must be able to innovate because it is necessary to grow, to change the system, but also the country. To innovate requires courage. You can't just do it by following the rules. Sometimes it is necessary to know how to move between the rules, and this involves some risks.

17 March 2022

Why Luiss Business School Amsterdam Hub is the answer for your upskilling

Choosing an executive programme abroad is the starting point to enhance one’s career. Here’s why Amsterdam is the place to be Health and pharma, sustainability, fashion and luxury, regional headquarters of global companies, an abundance of tech start-ups, and the international gateway to Europe: there are many reasons to start a programme at the Luiss Business School Amsterdam Hub. Enrolling for an executive programme is a way to improve your skills, expand your network and boost your career. Joris Ebbers, Full Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Academic Dean of the Amsterdam Hub, explains why in Amsterdam you can find the key to revolutionize your career. Work and education: what are the main trends in Amsterdam? A first trend regards data analytics and AI, which are important, especially in combination with business and statistical skills. Professionals need understand the value of data, how they can be analysed, and how they can support the business. A second trend is sustainability and circular economy management. Because of potentially irreversible environmental trends, such as resource scarcity and pollution, the challenge is how we can be as economic as possible with our planet’s resources, by using as little as possible and reusing as much as we can, and lower our dependence on non-renewable fossil energy. A third trend is health, pharma, and biotech, due to the large Covid crisis. After the Brexit, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) of the E.U. moved from London to Amsterdam. This has further accelerated the development of a strong health, pharma, and biotech cluster around Amsterdam, with companies originating from many different countries around the world. Which are the key points of the Luiss Business School Hub in Amsterdam? There are a couple of focus areas. One of them is creativity, which is of crucial importance in relation to artificial intelligence (AI).  AI is very good at answering specific questions. However, we need creativity to produce valuable questions that we want AI to answer. For professionals, it is therefore very important to be aware of the need for human creativity, be more creative themselves, and learn how to manage creativity in organizations. That is why Luiss Business School in Amsterdam has a specific focus on creativity, creative skills, and creative leadership skills. But creativity also means entrepreneurship. In addition, we need entrepreneurship to translate and transform new questions into valuable business opportunities. It is all about developing winning new business models that can solve problems or satisfy (latent) needs. For this, professionals also need leadership skills: you must have these skills to be sure that the organization is aware of the opportunities and threats it is facing, and support the organization to continuously adapt. For this, you not only need to foster creativity and entrepreneurship but also organizational change management skills. What are other reasons for studying at Luiss Business School’s Amsterdam Hub? Amsterdam is a great city for business. The Netherlands is very well connected because of infrastructures like the harbour in Rotterdam (#1 in Europe) and Amsterdam airport (#3 in Europe).. In addition, but only few people know that Amsterdam is one of the biggest Internet exchanges in the world (#3 in Europe). A lot of the Internet traffic goes through the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX) . As a consequence, there are lots of economic activities around data and cloud computing In addition, Amsterdam has a strong start-up ecosystem and is rising quickly on global startup rankings of best places to start or locate new companies. Besides regulatory reasons, and the fact that many Dutch people speak English, this is also related to the presence of AMS-IX. This has facilitated a powerful mix between tech and start-ups, including local successes Adyen and Booking. Why choose an international executive programme to improve one's skills? Focusing on executive education is very important. The world changes, so you must improve your skills, increase your knowledge, and meet other people of your industry from who you can learn. A lot of the learning in executive educational happens through peers who share their experiences. Through that, you will automatically build a network, which a very important aspect. As regards the international aspect, it is important to cross borders and meet other cultures. Finally, because of the considerable number of big companies moving their regional (EMEA) headquarters to Amsterdam especially after Brexit, attending a programme here, at the Luiss Business School Amsterdam Hub, is an excellent choice which leads to new opportunities. Discover more about the executive education Luiss Business School at Amsterdam Hub.Join the Virtual Open Day on April 5th. REGISTER

08 February 2022

Giancarlo De Vuono Di Luca: «Take calculated risks and go out of your comfort zone with the Luiss Business School MBA»

Born in Canada to Italian parents, he attended the MBA to become a well-rounded professional, exploring  the finance world and taking on challenges such as his new job in Vodafone. There comes a point in life where you feel you have to make a big change. Giancarlo De Vuono Di Luca felt the same. At 26, he decided to leave Canada, where he lived with his family, and flew to Italy, his parents' homeland. With a scientific and financial background, Giancarlo chose Luiss Business School's Master in Business and Administration. «I wanted to pursue a career in finance and Luiss Business School definitely offered me the opportunity to explore that field in depth». Now, at 29, he's ready to switch from a job position of Financial Controller at Majorel, in Milan, to Vodafone Italy. «My approach to MBA was: going out of my comfort zone, taking risks, but calculated. That is also my approach to work». Giancarlo De Vuono Di Luca, why did you choose an MBA from Luiss Business School? The Master in Business and Administration of Luiss Business School gave me the chance to focus on finance, but also to look at aspects of a company at 360 degrees. We took courses like marketing, corporate strategy, business strategy, even topics that were outside the normal business practice like international taxation. These courses added value to my portfolio of competences and gave me joy in learning new things overall. I've always been a curious person and I've always wanted to take on new challenges. What really pushed me outside of my comfort zone was the feeling of been not fully prepared. The MBA ultimately was a very rewarding experience because it gave me the tools to do exactly the work that I do now. Which are the benefits of the program offered by Luiss Business School you experienced? I was looking for an opportunity in the finance field, but also an exposure to other aspects of a company, whether marketing or commercially related. All of these aspects add value to the company. So, for me the exposure to that made me feel a more well-rounded student and  professional. One of the biggest impacts that MBA had on me is related to the importance of maximizing stakeholder value as opposed to shareholder value: it's an issue a lot of companies can face at times through governance structure and the implementation of investments plans. Companies can get carried away with maximizing short-term value, that is usually aligned with shareholder interests but ultimately losing focus on longer-term and more impactful value creation that can benefit other parties or stakeholders as well. This is my business approach and the one that also future managers and professionals alike must keep in mind. Another real great benefit was that MBA gives you exactly the tools you need, both on a personal and professional level. Which have been the best moments of your MBA in Luiss Business School? Luiss is situated in Rome, in my opinion the most beautiful city in the world, the experience as a student of Luiss Business School was fantastic, unique, and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life. The people I met along the way, fellow students, collaborators, we were all enthusiastic and coming from all over the world. This international context was something special and generated great value. I still keep in contact with some of them. What about the courses you attended: which one was important to you? In terms of courses, I was able to take financial planning and analysis, financial statement analysis, Accounting 101, which brought me back to some things I had already learned but also gave me new perspective and competences still. Corporate finance was fantastic because it's essentially what I will use in my time at Vodafone Italy, in terms of evaluation of projects and investment opportunities. There’s a general misconception that finance is simply about numbers. It's not: it's much more than that. It's about telling a story and I get some sense of pride in being able to tell a story with numbers. That's why I love what I do and why I loved Luiss Business School's MBA. How did you work on soft skill during your MBA? Another great thing of MBA is that it's just not focused only on technical skills, but also on soft skills, one of the most important things to create a well-rounded professional and person. The technical skills can always be learned, but the soft skills are really important. People management, negotiation, communicating with people: all of these are important because people are what make up companies. Most importantly, the ability to communicate ideas, intentions, tasks are the hallmark of a great manager. It creates efficiency and adds priceless value to the company context. The MBA offers courses such us public speaking, people management, negotiation. If these are not your strong points, the best approach to these courses is to just close your eyes and go for it: these are prime examples of courses the MBA offers that really push you out of your comfort zone. Have you worked on an entrepreneurial project during your MBA? Could you please tell us about this experience? How did it change or influence your career? I didn't personally take part in the Adventure Lab, experimentation an entrepreneurial experience starting from scratch, creating financial models and business plans. But I had great admiration for those who improve themselves in these start-up projects. I was more focused on the courses. You recently enter a new job position in Vodafone: how will you use your MBA experience, hard and soft skills, in your job? I had several opportunities here in Italy already, also thanks to the MBA which is great in term of business networking. Vodafone has a well-structured and international context. They have many opportunities in terms of extension of their existing business segments and exploring new potential business segments. What I will going to do won't be the normal activities related to financial analysis or forecasting or budgeting, but I will focus on evaluation of projects and potential investments opportunities. The position seems more like a business partner between the rest of the departments of the company. Did Telco sector give you the opportunity of developing your professional? For me telecommunication is something different: working for a company that has the 30% of the market will be a great opportunity for me to get exposure to this industry and learn more. It's good to find the sector you're really interested in but, as a young professional, it's also important to get as much exposure as you can to different industries and learn as much as you can to develop a basket of competences that makes you a well-rounded professional. It's a blank paper, a great challenge and I love challenges. What are your goals for the future? I'd like to become a CFO in a multinational context, here in Italy or in Europe. I love the European lifestyle so for me would be great to stay here in the long term. Canada is a great country, but it's a little cold in the winter! So, I'd love to be in a place where I could live well, eat well and where I could have great relationship with people, and in Canada it’s a little bit difficult to do that. Being in Italy is for me now the perfect combination, knowing the language, understanding the culture and coming from an Italian background. Let's give some advice to future students and those who are evaluating the decision of get into MBA world in Luiss Business School. In my opinion and in my experience, the best approach in my opinion is to be curious, to want to learn and be humble about that. In most case I've seen that the less you know, the better. MBA gives you the blank sheet to start with and that stimulates curiosity. When I started the courses, I was wowed. I knew there was so much to be learned, but at the same time I was very curious. I think that this approach creates a lot of value for yourself and eventually you will take all of this and use it to apply them to the working world and real world as well. 2/8/2022

13 January 2022

Michaela Nelson: «Luiss Business School showed me how to be a leader»

The American alumna chose the Luiss Business School's Big Data and Management master. Now she has become People Data Analytics & Admin Manager at Senti Biosciences, and recommend this experience as «the best challenge of my life» Thinking about the master in Big Data and Management at Luiss Business School, Michaela Nelson has just one regret: having not learned Italian first. Now she is People Data Analytics & Admin Manager at Senti Biosciences and says, «data are everywhere», so it's more and more important having a background in this field also to catch all the opportunities behind data. But Statistic is not just about numbers and technology: it's about people. In Rome, at Villa Blanc, Michaela learned how to lead people and to be more confident. Michaela Nelson, why did you choose a master in Big Data and Management from Luiss Business School? I studied in California, and I knew I wanted to do an international career. Since I wanted to work in Business Analytics and Data Science, the best way to reach my goal was to choose an international school. So, I look abroad at a couple of other schools in different countries, and I saw that Luiss Business School has a very comprehensive programme, they had all the classes I needed and that they were taught by professor and business people who were coming and share their knowledge. All of this would really start me off on my international career. Which are the benefits of the program offered by Luiss Business School you experienced? I was in the fourth year of that master, so they were still developing the programme. When they had professors came in, they were teaching from their real place of business. We were getting a selection of people from very different industries who came in to teach us how to use skills in very multi versatile way. So, one of the biggest strengths that Luiss Business School has is that it can get people and professors from different backgrounds to come and teach how to be the most well-rounded students they can be. Which have been the best moments of your master in Luiss Business School? The first day that I showed up at Villa Blac, I was very nervous. I was learnt I was the only non-Italian in the programme, and I was very concerned that people would not like me. I couldn't be more wrong: I was welcomed so warmly in the programme since the first day! I did a couple of projects with the same group of students, who became some of my best friends. Because I'm not Italian, they wanted to teach me everything! What did they teach you? We ended up doing a project once from the home of one of the other students and well, while we were there, they taught me how to do Carbonara and we had that kind of cultural exchange while we were learning together and that was important to me. What about the courses you attended: which one was important to you? I have a Statistic background. So, from a technical perspective, I felt like I've learnt the most out of some of the programs in classes, like the Machine Learning one that was very challenging for me. It was one of the classes I've never taken before and it was an excellent next step in my learning, taught by Professor Ragusa. He really pushed us to challenge ourselves. I checked them during my internship and then, coming to the real world, I now use of those methods and knowledge in my current work. I'm grateful for that course. How did you work on soft skill during your master? Luiss Business School had some soft skill workshops. Those were very interesting because sometimes we got to do this with other masters as well, so we got to meet new people. I think that outside those workshop Luiss Business School has teached to all its students how to be self-sufficient and how to work in teams. We were eleven in class and from the beginning to end I felt like I had a team. Now, being a part of this real career world, I know how to chat with people of different backgrounds: we can learn how to work together, how everybody has different strengths and that together we can make very successful projects. So soft skills like collaboration and cooperation are incredibly important. So, you have participated on a project work during your master? Could you please tell us about this experience? How did it change or influence your career? Working with other students in Luiss Business School was much more collaborative than I've ever experienced before. We were split in group between 3 or 5 students to work on a project together. We were organized in finding who was good at which part of the project, how we could help each other learn. I spent several nights in campus with my teammates, using the white blackboards, sharing screens, writing down ideas. Now that I come back to United States, I'm in my office and when my manager come to give me a project, I say «Well, I need these three people on my team, and this is how they're going to work». I feel I can be a leader because I've been in a place where someone has shown me how to lead and how to bring people of different backgrounds together. You studied Statistic: what did the master add to your knowledge of this field? It was an application-based programme. Statistic is incredibly versatile just as an area of study. To make a career out of it, I wanted to learn how to make it in to practice in the best way. We did study some technical classes, but then learning from professionals who use these skills in their everyday lives helped me shape what I wanted to do form my career path. So, I know now that I want to be a statistical consultant, I want to work in different fields so that I get to work on projects in different industries. Professors showed me how versatile these skills really are and how much of an impact I can have on any business using my skills. What are the most important memories of your internship in Iconsulting in Rome, after your master? Was the internship research step easy or difficult? Did Luiss Business School help you find it? Getting in there was not very simple for me only because I didn't speak fluently Italian: there were many internship options available. The Prof. Venturini, my Marketing and Analytics teacher, said: «Hey, actually we could use an English speaker». Until now, it was one of my best professional experience of my life. I think it was the best introduction to work life. I've made some great friends. I've got to learn a new software from the very beginning: it was very interesting to me. I felt very successful for the whole way. Since you are from the US, having the internship in Rome represented a plus from a professional point of view in your career? Definitely, I came out my whole my experience in Italy thinking I can do everything. I went to Rome with knowing nothing and no one, none the language. I was completely unprepared. It was the best challenge of my entire life. So, when I came back to the United States, people say «Wow, you studied in Rome! That's interesting». I think I can take every challenge now. You are a People Data Analytics & Admin Manager at Senti Biosciences: how do you use your master experience, hard and soft skills, in your job? From a technical perspective, my job at Senti Biosciences I use data analytics to monitor the company culture and how employees are doing. The point of my job is monitoring the activities to grow in the right direction. From a soft skill perspective, I work with people, in a place where people are happy to be. It'is not just computer. This job offers me a chance to work with people in very two different ways: once I have the data, I go in there and ask, «what is the best way to solve this issue?» or «how can we make this aspect of the company better?». Having been with Luiss Business School I feel very comfortable in making questions. I want to communicate better. Senti Biosciences is a start-up, so, I just don't work one job. How Big Data will reshape our lives and why it is important to improve knowledge in this field? Data is everywhere. It happens when you don't even understand it is happening. It's learning something about us all the time. It may be scary, but it offers a lot of opportunities. The possibilities are truly endless. Our skills as data scientists are applicable in every industry: it's imperative for future students to take data classes and statistic classes so we can all be part of a growing digital system. For everybody to be included in a more growing technical world, we must have a technical legacy throughout the population. As an American woman, what do you think about gender gap in Italian workspace, especially in Stem fields? What we need to do to create a more equal scenario? Just based on my classes anagraphic, there were 3 girls and 8 boys. So, from a learning space, there is a gender gap. In my internship there were more men than women. I think the offering this master and the internship is very important. One of the reasons I wanted to go so badly to Luiss Business School was that graduating from my class in the US was incredibly difficult to get a job right out the college because I was a woman and because she doesn't have so much experience. Going to Luiss Business School and having the perfect curriculum, as well as a whole section of the program that was devoted to work experience – there wasn't nothing more valuable to me than helping a young person, a woman, to enter the real workspace. Advertising this program to undergraduate students, specifically women, is going to be very important to not get lost in the idea that Big Data seems too much technical. People would be very surprised to find out the places the master could take them. Let's give a piece of advice to future students and to those who are evaluating the decision of enrolling in a master at the Luiss Business School. If you are nervous about the decision to go, don't be: you will have a wonderful time! Something that would be very useful before is to learn a little bit of Italian first or at least studying a little bit before you go! Going to Luiss Business School is a real privilege: it's a beautiful school with very dedicated professor, that are there for you, to let you learn what you want to learn. Ask your questions, talk to the professors because their resources are there for you. I'm so lucky that I have this opportunity. So go for it, use everything you have and enjoy every second: it was truly the best academic experience of my life. 1/13/2022

05 October 2021

The evolution of the pharmaceutical sector between digital transformation and new regulatory processes

We thank HBR Italia for the report about the two "CEO Round tables" which took place during the kick off of the “Executive Programme in International Pharma and Healthcare Administration” with the participation of: Pierluigi Antonelli, CEO Angelini, Silvio Belletti, Partner BCG, Elcin Barker Ergun, CEO Menarini Group, Ugo Di Francesco, CEO Chiesi, Deborah Dunsire, CEO Lundbeck, Eriona Gjinukaj, COO Dompé, Jens Grueger, Director and Partner BCG & President ISPOR, Jordi Llinares Garcia[1], Work Stream Head at European Medicines Agency, Gianfranco Nazzi, CEO Almirall, Guido Rasi, Professor of Microbiology, Tor Vergata University, chair by Luca Magni, Professor of Practice Luiss Business School. The full version of the article is now available in English. The new "CEO Round table" will be held with the start of the second edition of the programme on October 19, 2021. The Impact of the pandemic on the pharmaceutical sector and the relationship between innovation and regulation: two of the hottest topics on the table of the CEOs of the pharmaceutical sector were discussed in the two panels organized by the Luiss Business School to present the first edition of the Executive Program in International Pharma and Healthcare Administration. The debates, introduced by Silvio Belletti and Jens Grueger, Partner of the Boston Consulting Group, were attended by main exponents of the Italian and world industry, and moderated by Luca Magni, Professor of Practice Luiss Business School. During the first of the two panels, attended by Pierluigi Antonelli, CEO of Angelini, Ugo di Francesco, CEO of Chiesi and Deborah Dunsire, CEO of Lundbeck, as well as Guido Rasi, professor of microbiology and former director of AIFA and EMA, we discussed how the pandemic has impacted the operational dynamics of the pharmaceutical sector, focusing on three main themes, introduced by Silvio Belletti (BCG): the interaction between companies and doctors, the regulatory dynamics and clinical development, smart working. Company-doctor interaction: towards a new-generation Customer Engagement The pandemic first blocked and then reduced for several months the visits of scientific informants to doctors, forcing companies to reinvent the way to interact with prescribers, leveraging virtual instruments. If it is true that, as a BCG survey shows, more than 50% of doctors expects or hopes that the relationship between virtual and face-to-face interactions will remain the one seen during the pandemic, it is also true, as Deborah Dunsire pointed out, that "personal promotion and face-to-face interactions remain crucial, especially when it comes to promoting a new drug being launched". For this, Pierluigi Antonelli hoped for "the transition to a hybrid model", also stressing that it is "crucial that the development of digital skills is not limited to the sales force but involves the whole organization". Ugo Di Francesco is also on the same wavelength, highlighting how "the adoption of a digital-oriented business model has reached different levels of maturity depending on the geographical areas", much more advanced in China and the United States, than in Europe. Dunsire and Di Francesco also underlined how it is essential that pharmaceutical companies exploit the digital opportunity to promote contents that are as tailor-made and personalized as possible, in order to maximize the doctor's customer experience and to express the commercial resolve in greater returns for companies. Regulatory dynamics: new scenarios, but Europe risks being left behind Just as the pandemic has impacted the interactions between business and physician, the world of clinical development has also seen significant changes along at least two main directions. In the first place, with COVID the so-called virtual trials have doubled, that is to say those clinical studies where the recruitment of patients and/or the evaluation of the results take place remotely. Also, the pandemic and the vaccine rush have shown the possibility of significantly shortening the development and approval times of drugs (typically above 5 years). It will now be essential to understand whether these accelerated development and approval timelines (which depend on various factors, including greater involvement of regulators in the development phases, parallelization of the same and the use of surrogate endpoints) can become the rule and not remain an exception due to the exceptional circumstances of COVID-19. In this regard, Professor Rasi underlined how it is "more difficult for this to happen in Europe than in the United States". The reason, however, would not be due to a more "conservative" approach by EMA compared to the FDA, but rather to the "difficulty in bringing together 27 member States in which a culture typically averse to risk prevails". Smart working: towards a hybrid model Finally, the round table focused on the issue of remote working, a particularly hot topic in this moment of transition from a due smart working to desired smart working. As Antonelli pointed out, "even before COVID, hypotheses for the introduction of remote work were being studied" and, from this point of view, "the pandemic represented a sort of forced test that highlighted the strengths but also the limits of this model ". While it is true that the logistical advantages are out of the question (provided that employees are equipped with adequate tools), it is also true that collaboration and innovation risk to be, if not compromised, at least limited. Consequently, as shared by Dunsire and Francesco, the need to "define hybrid models that allow you to benefit from the advantages of working from home without this translating into abandonment of the offices", which must remain the beating heart of the company's life, or the “backbone”, as Antonelli defined it. Keeping up is essential Rather than creating the need for a change, therefore, the pandemic has brought out needs that in a certain sense were already latent, imposing the need for companies in the sector to know how to reinvent themselves quickly and accelerating the introduction of new operating models, with a strong push on the digital element. The ability of companies to be able to seize this challenge in the required timeframes and in the best ways will be fundamental to obtain an advantage over competitors and, on the one hand, to capture market growth in the post "rebound" phase COVID and, on the other hand, be prepared for long-term challenges. The second roundtable hosted Elcin Barker Ergun, CEO of Menarini, Eriona Gjinukaj, COO of Dompé, Gianfranco Nazzi, CEO of Almirall and Jordi Llinares, Head of the Research and Innovation Department of EMA, spoke. The introduction by Belletti and Grueger focused on how innovation in the pharmaceutical sector has been the protagonist of the last decade. Just think, for example, that the drugs for rare diseases approved every year in the United States ranged between 50 to more than 300, or that the market for "novel modalities" (such as, for example, gene therapies), which currently has revenues of approximately $ 3 billion, should increase its value tenfold in less than 5 years. Despite a wave of innovation, which has made it possible to obtain results that were unthinkable until a few years ago from a clinical point of view, there are still several obstacles that complicate the approval processes or market access for new drugs. USA and Europe: the numbers and the reasons for the gap As shown by a study by the Boston Consulting Group, of the 220 drugs approved by the FDA in the United States between 2015 and 2019, only 97 were also approved in Europe and only in 22% of the cases this happened with shorter deadlines than in the United States. For Eriona Gjinukaj "especially small and medium-sized companies in Europe encounter difficulties in obtaining approval from the regulatory body". This requires a "greater flexibility in the evaluation of data relating to medicines that are administered to patients who often, without a cure, they would risk losing their lives”. Jordi Llinares was also on the same wavelength, underlining that in Europe there would be "a cultural reluctance to collaborate between regulatory bodies, pharmaceutical companies and key opinion leaders in the clinical development phase, attributable above all to fears of possible conflicts of interest for the latter”, which would result in an inevitable slowdown in the approval times for drugs. It is also interesting to note, as highlighted by Elcin Barker, that the gap between Europe and the USA is not only registered in terms of drug approval times, but also in the access times to individual national markets. In fact, if it is true that in some European countries, such as Germany, "it is preferred to allow patients immediate access to the drug, solving the issues related to price and reimbursement at a later time", there are other national realities where instead the opposite happens, and “a long negotiation on prices heavily slows down the entry on the market of even highly innovative drugs”. In this sense, Gianfranco Nazzi stressed "the need to work together to find a solution that has a financial basis and that allows the problem to be solved". Outcome-based models and the role of digital: a long but inevitable road The discussion then moved on to how satisfy the need for payers to keep costs under control and, at the same time, guarantee the highest level of quality of care, with outcome-based reward models, which provide a reimbursement linked to the success of the therapy. In this sense, Eriona Gjinukaj reiterated how for some time the industry has been trying to propose outcome-based models, which however "clash with the complexity of large-scale management even in countries - such as Italy - which have been the front line since several years". To this end, according to Grueger it is fundamental "to work on a common model among all European countries", which potentially leverages - as Llinares hypothesized - on a "federation of European databases that uses data of type real world” to facilitate the adoption of outcome-based payment systems. Emerging Countries: political instability undermines efforts towards advanced regulatory systems The final parenthesis on emerging countries is also very interesting: if for Europe the fundamental issue is to close the gap with the United States in terms of flexibility of regulatory processes and marketing access, in emerging countries " several drugs are not even available and the regulatory agencies are poorly structured and not very transparent”, underlined Gianfranco Nazzi. According to Jordi Llinares, "there have been efforts at a global level to create a sort of" African EMA "and the EMA itself has entered into bilateral agreements with various developing countries to strengthen the skills of local regulatory bodies". Political instability, however, weighs like a boulder on the attempts to carry out these projects and to bring emerging countries in step with the more economically developed ones. Renew regulatory processes to capture innovation A situation in which, as Silvio Belletti pointed out, innovation grows at a much higher rate than GDP, witnesses the difficulty in being able to capture the value of innovation itself. To reverse the trend, it therefore becomes essential to renew the regulatory processes, simplifying them and aligning them, as far as possible, with US best practice. Shorter approval and access times, collaboration between companies, key opinion leaders and regulatory bodies even during clinical trials, outcome-based models that reward products with the greatest impact on patients' health: the challenges are not lacking, it's up to Europe collect them and direct them towards creating a success story. [1] With great sadness we join the grief of family, friends and colleagues for the sudden and unexpected passing away of Jordi Llinares Garcia. 10/5/2021

07 September 2021

Be a change leader: the post-Covid challenge of the Luiss Business School

This is the main goal addressed by Matteo Caroli, Associate Dean for internationalization, during the Graduation Day with the students of the international Masters: «It's your time to inspire». «You can achieve everything in life if you don't give up»: is the message of the student Jolda Tomani, during the Valedictorian Speech. «It's time to become change-agents». With this advice Matteo Caroli, Associate Dean for internationalization of the Luiss Business School, hailed the Graduation Day of the students of the nine international masters, edition 2018/2019. In the post-Covid world, while we're facing the effects of the pandemic on our economy and society, being a change leader, a person who can inspire personal and professional communities, will be a key factor for the years to come. «It's time to become change-agents in the evolution of your organizations and time to adapt yourself to the frequent changes and transformations», said professor Caroli, who recollected all the stages of the long path walked by the students. They improved their skills and acquired new ones, expanded their network and, by the end, they had «the opportunity to grow». Graduation Day is the final step in this educational path, but it is also «the starting point» for their personal and professional future development. This complex, dynamic and challenging environment requires change agents who can also be leaders of this New Normal time. Thus, Luiss Business School believes that «education is much more than what you learn; it is about how you think and how you act. Our daily commitment is to develop passionate and inspiring leaders who believe growth and entrepreneurship are essential to achieve great results». «Being here showed me that you can achieve everything in life if you don't give up – said Jold Tomani, student of Risk management and insurance, during the Valedictorian Speech. – After finishing my bachelor’s degree in Albania in Business Administration, I decided that I had to find an opportunity to attend the master abroad or not to do the master at all: being accepted with a full scholarship taught me that if you want something, you have to try and don't give up». Living abroad, without friends who speak your language and share the same culture, makes students grow in many ways and let them change their mindset. Thanks to all the experiences shared by professors and successful leaders, students can learn how to translate vision into reality. «The most important thing that I've gained from the master is the development of the soft skills – continued Tomani, who dedicated the degree to her father – I do believe that it is very important to strengthen the hard skills and doing the best in what you do. But if you don't have the soft skills to cooperate and communicate effectively with others, even the best product won't be sold. And the best product is ourselves». The Luiss Business School Alumni become ambassadors in all professional communities, in Italy and abroad. This is powered by the “Connect” community, an exclusive network platform where the Luiss Business School Alumni have the chance to keep on talking with their peers and colleagues, matching with new professional opportunities. Starting from the Graduation Day every is welcome to “Connect”, where all the photos of the ceremony are now available. Register now! 9/7/2021

04 August 2021

Dalia Caterino: «The real boost for my career? Competencies, competition and soft skills»

The Luiss Business School values cannot be counted only thanks to its educational offer, but mainly through the people who passed through our classrooms, collecting excellency in their professional path. This is the story of Dalia Caterino, Creative Office Library & Vintage at Gucci, for #MyLuissBusiness series A study of the World Economic Forum reveals that 65 per cent of children attending primary school, in future will hold job roles not existing yet. Dalia Caterino, alumna of Fashion and Luxury Business – Major of the Master in Fashion, Luxury and Tourism Management at Luiss Business School - proves it: nowadays she works in the Design Department Team at Gucci, in Rome offices, especially dedicated to the Creative Office Library & Vintage. During an interview for a vacancy in the Communication Department, Dalia told her experience carried out in the Design Department at Valentino, an opportunity achieved through the Master, and she caught the eye of her Recruiters: they allowed her to adapt her skills to a professional role supporting designers in the creative process. After a Laurea Triennale in Moda e Costume (comparable to a Bachelor of Art in Fashion, *not) at La Sapienza University in Rome, Dalia has chosen our School’s Master in Fashion & Luxury to enhance her education. Nowadays, she is 28, an alumna in the true sense of the term: «Every time I am telling about my path in Luiss, I always keep a light in my eyes». Educational offer, focus on language competencies, and soft skills developed during courses: these are Dalia’s acceleration factors in the fashion world. Dalia Caterino, why did you chose Luiss Business School? I had already got positive feedbacks by other people, who had chosen it for their education. Actually, I had compared Luiss’ program with similar proposals from other universities, but ever since I participated to the Open Day, I have been charmed by meeting the Professors. Which do you think to be the strengths of the master in Fashion & Luxury? The focus on English language: I think it is fundamental for fashion industry. When started, despite my English level was high, I was a little bit awed: anyway, the master allowed me to boost my English. The comparison with people belonging to different cultures has been really valuable: in my class, we were 17. Moreover, the educational curriculum – wide, but not generalized – convinced me: every aspect would have been examined in detail and not generally treated. Along the path, this helped me to understand what I really wanted to do in my life. How? When attending a master for the fashion industry, where roles are many and various, it is difficult to pinpoint the most specific ones. Thanks to this master I have been driven towards the understanding on where-to-be in the next future. How much important has it been the development of soft skills declared in the curriculum? I used to be an introverted person: thanks to the master, I have been able to step forward. Comparing oneself, not only with the Professors, but also with Professionals, it represents a bit of what is going to happen outside the comfort zone. Too often, the main scare of young people is not being able to measure up: we are often said not to have studied enough, or not to be adequate experts about a certain topic. I believe that with Luiss Business School masters instead, thanks to its wide but curated educational offer, it is possible to seize the necessary. There is no redundancy. The most significant moments of your path in Luiss Business School: what have they been? The final exam, where we managed to put in practice what we have been learning. It is about teamworking: you must match your ideas with those of other team members, but you must also compete. This last point is very important: without it, you cannot grow. It allows to overcome one’s own limits: otherwise, you do not get out of the comfort zone. Another important activity is the on-site visits to corporates’ headquarters. What do you remember about such experience? Above all the visit at the Design Department at Valentino’s headquarters in Rome marked my path. Over there, we have visited their historical archive. Along the interview aimed at the internship within Gucci, I told the recruiters about such experience. This pushed them to offer me the position I currently hold, even though I had applied for another role within the company. What position have you applied for? I wanted to work in the Communication and Public Relations Department. By the way, through soft skills labs, and courses aimed at analyzing them, I realized that what is generally told about the world of fashion is a bit misleading: nobody tells you what you’re really going to do, what the real job is. It is possible to dream about a non-existent role.  Hearing from the Communication Director of Alexander McQueen has been very useful: he helped us to understand what are the underlaying mechanisms of this role. I have always tried to observe and learn from professors, from professionals, but also from colleagues. Till today, I have never stopped myself thinking about where I am. I have been dreaming to join Gucci since I was younger, and I have got it, but in a job role I didn't know existed. What did bring you to such awareness? We must have a goal in our lives, to be reached with little steps, concentrating on what we are doing into the here and now; on what we can bring with us in the future. You work in the Style Library & Vintage Office at Gucci: what do you do, in detail? My Team works on library management, supporting the designers in the initial development of the collection, and to the Vintage management, which is part of the company’s property. It is a cross-sectional position to the whole Design Department. In two years and a half the position has been growing a lot: in other companies, it does not exist. My and my boss are shaping it on our desires, on the company’s exigencies too, and I feel to be growing a lot. I firmly believe that part of this merit is due to the trail I have walked within Luiss’ walls. Coming from Luiss world, has it represented a plus in entering the professional world? Have you noticed any difference? Absolutely yes. Luiss Business School is a nationally and internationally recognized institution. You are constantly in touch with the world of practice, and this makes the difference. Without a specialization I wouldn’t have been able to deal with it, even if I had been the most prepared person in the world. Apparently, the world of luxury and fashion seems to be less masculine than other ones, but in holding certain job roles, difficulties persist.  Being a woman, and the educational path carried out in Luiss, have they helped you to build up an armor? Yes, they have: in comparing each other in the classroom, but also soft skills labs have been very helpful. The Design Department represents a challenging reality: it constitutes the fashion world at its utmost. The master helped me to get stronger. Playing the game and competing with others: they give a higher self-confidence and help to overcome some barriers, demonstrating the real oneself, without feeling disadvantaged just because women. In the future, do you ever think to carry on building up yourself in the field, or would you rather “go back to school” to acquire new skills? I would rather do it right now! I graduated at the master two-and-a-half years ago, and I soon started working at Gucci. But I am very curious, I love learning and I would appreciate diving back to coursework. Fashion is not the same as 20 years ago. There are many topics – sustainability and innovation, among others – which are changing the governance of many corporates.  How is Gucci juggling this? When it comes to environment and sustainability, Gucci is the first one to expose itself. Within the Design Department, we keep ourselves updated about such topics. When working in fast-paced environments, you do not have much time to keep up-to-date, and it is very positive when your workplace pushes you to get informed and educated. You have also been a mentor for Coursera: have you put something borrowed from Luiss, within this experience? Every single piece of what I learnt! Despite I was just out of the university, it has been very interesting being a mentor for people like me. Providing ideas about how to get informed, which is something we have always been doing at Luiss, is fundamental: staying curious and updated should not be undervalued. Your tips to those approaching. Observe and learn; ask professionals as much as you can. Look for internships since the beginning. Before the end of master, we felt very anxious about the search of the internship experience. It takes not to fall by the wayside when looking for the internship. Do not give up, believe that something is ready to welcome you. By the way, Luiss Team is constantly by your side when preparing the interview: along the whole path, full sustain is ensured. 8/4/2021

04 August 2021

Luigi Caldarola: «Career change is easier, thanks to Luiss Business School»

After five years in Nike, the alumnus launched himself in a new adventure, diving into an industry to be discovered according to his personality. To back him up, skills and a wide curiosity. Luigi Caldarola’s story, after the Major in Corporate Finance, for #MyLuissBusiness series Leaving the job of his dreams in Nike, diving into the unexplored: Luigi Caldarola has chosen to try it, without any fear. The university journey made at Luiss gave him energy and self-confidence. Nowadays he is 30, training himself to become the European Senior Financial Analyst at StockX, a company working with limited-edition products reselling. The bravery to start again with solid skills and great curiosity, it comes from the Major in Corporate Finance of the Master in Financial Management, that Luigi attended at Luiss Business School. Luigi Caldarola, why did you chose to enroll in the Major in Corporate Finance at Luiss Business School? I got my Bachelor in Economics and Management – Administration, Finance and Company Control at Luiss Guido Carli. After an educating experience in London, both at a personal and professional level, I have understood what to do in my life. What happened? During my first experience, I had to deal with investment funds based on climate change. Afterwards, I understood that I wanted to get closer to the Corporate Finance world. Then, being very attached to my roots and family, I decided to come back to Rome and to go on with my education thanks to the Major in Corporate Finance (MACOFIN) at Luiss Business School. Why have you chosen a Master program instead of a Master’s degree? Holding a Master program outweighs abroad. The world of practice is very competitive, especially at an international level: I wanted to try to accelerate the whole process. How was the environment you found at Luiss Business School? A splendid, serene, international environment: it allowed me to make friends along the whole journey together. I have met a stunning team, and we keep on staying in touch: we have never been only colleagues, but real friends, studying and going out together. The relationship with the faculty members has been wonderful, and the teachings have been excellent. A limited number of students constitutes each class, and this is a factor which allows professors to provide attendants with a specific, student-oriented mindset. At the beginning, I did not know it would have been like this. MACOFIN is fully in English: has this fact been a threat or an opportunity? I have started with a good English basis, since I had had the opportunity to practice it, but it is very important to be in touch with the language every day: speaking, understanding, reading it and express oneself. Even among us we tried to speak English as much as possible. The master enhanced it, thanks to the concentrated focus on Corporate Finance glossary, a brand-new subject for me. Soft skills: how have you worked on them during the master? Communication is everything: we have tried to communicate each other as much as possible. Building up relationships, even with small talks is basic, a factor which helped me both in the past and in my current job. How to work in teams has also been pushed as activity, in addition to the change of the group itself, aiming to interact with everybody. The master has given us a specific mindset on how to approach particular themes in the future environment. What about the most significant moments along this journey? There have not been significant moments above others: the whole path has been wonderful. Starting a new chapter of your life with people you get on well with, it represents a plus, indeed. The only worst moment arrived at the very end, when we were perceiving to be almost concluding the year, and we were about to separate each other. Instruction and teachings: what did make the difference? Among professors, some more, some less – important names were counted within Faculty team – had collected important experiences along their careers. Everyone used to arrive in a happy mood to lesson, aware that there would have been important people to listen to. In addition to be actual teachings, they have been life lessons. From Luiss Business School to Nike: how did you get there? Working in Nike has always been the dream of my life, and I got there by chance. I was in Croatia, and I thought to send an email to the HR department to ask about vacancies. I was not expecting an answer, but I received a prompt one instead, offering me the possibility to do an interview immediately. I had a pending offer from British American Tobacco, but Nike was my dream. So, I said to myself: “Let’s see how it goes”. Coming from Luiss world, what did it mean? It meant a lot, as I told before, it is an international environment. The approach with the English has been important, in addition to how teaching experience was. About your moving to StockX: did the experience in Luiss make the difference? Luiss has represented the core. When I introduce myself, I start from the basis, from my university path, and I widely highlight this. During the application I have been doing, in the drop-down menus the Luiss item was among the very first ones. It is very popular, especially abroad. What position are you going to hold at StockX? I will be Senior Financial Analyst at European level. StockX is a big company born in America, ready to land in the Old Continent.  The company has two hundred employees in London’s offices and the Finance Department is currently empty: I am the first and only resource of the sector. It is a very dynamic position, in need to be organized at a structural level, and I am going there for this reason. This is a new, increasing business and it must be in-depth analyzed. I will report to the headquarters, in the United States, despite I will largely work in smart working, travelling among The Netherlands, London and the United States. How will your life be in StockX? A famous proverb says the devil you know is better than the devil you do not. This is true regarding Nike: life in its campus has been incredibly beautiful. By the way, now the corporate routine is different for all. StockX allows me to be in smart working, I won’t go to the office daily, thus at a human level it will be completely different.  For this reason, I requested in person meetings in the headquarters: personal encounters are essential. What will you bring from Nike? I will try to bring with me all the multiethnic experience I have made, being more open-minded compared to when I started, trying to be a better business partner. Moreover, I carry on keeping in mind Nike’s structure and technical skills, which I have been strengthening in Luiss, also. What are your future plans? Do you ever think diving back to education? I consider my career still at a beginner step. I was not planning to change, but it happened: it may happen the same with studies. Nowadays, changing and finding something new is very difficult, but it is possible. Competition is huge. Once I feel to be able to deal with both, I would like to try to carry on my studies for expanding my knowledge, one of the reasons which drove me towards the change. Have you students been trained to competitiveness during your time spent at Luiss Business School? Yes, we have, but I found a “nice” concept of competitiveness among colleagues. Your suggestions to current and future students: how to fully catch opportunities along the path? Above all, believe in that: I collected a difficult experience at high school. But I always have had specific objectives on which I have focused my attention, and I never surrendered. Life must be eaten up: this is something Luiss taught me. Another fundamental aspect is to seize every moment: years at Luiss have been tough but beautiful. To which creativity to appeal, since the last students have not had the opportunity to live what you could do in presence? How to compensate for? The human factor is fundamental, I have experimented it on the work field. Last year spent in smart working allowed me to come back home, but the ideal is the right mix between the office and the screen. You are about to face an important career switch: did the journey made at Luiss Business School help you in in this passage? Yes, it did. In Luiss I have learnt to widen my vision. At first, I thought I would have worked in Italy, but during my journey in Business School, having to do with many cultures, I have learnt to let me go. Since there, it was born my desire to try to join Nike, in The Netherlands, and I have not been scared anymore. I must be grateful to my family, who has stayed by my side, supporting my choice. I am thankful to whom has been close to me during this journey, a person in particular. I am also grateful to whom contributed to make this experience as unforgettable. After my first experience abroad, after many difficult moments, I felt braver and said to myself: «…why not to try with a smaller reality, to make it greater? ». But there is also another question to which I am going to answer, sooner or later. What? We often talk about brain drain from Italy. I think we have the moral duty to take back our experiences: I believe that one day I will put together all of these, to make them greater in our homeland. 8/4/2021

04 August 2021

Discovering Villa Blanc

Villa Blanc, Luiss Business School headquarter, it is considered a symbol of eclecticism, revived and renewed in order to become the heartbeat of management education, a talent and innovation forge connecting young people, corporates and institutions, in a unique frame in the world. Villa Blanc was born under the sign of transformation: in 1893 the Baron Alberto Blanc has bought the site from the vineyards belonging to Lezzani family, in the surrounding territory of the famous Basilica dedicated to Sant’ Agnese Fuori Le Mura (Saint Agnes outside the Walls). The complex was at first an “out of town” rural property, then transformed by the Baron, once he had become the Minister of Foreign Affairs during the third Crispi government, in an elegant residence, more adequate to the new office. The construction of the Villa underwent an experimental project, driven by the designer Francesco Mora and by the archaeologist Giacomo Boni, combining archaeological elements, fine decorations and advanced techniques in its architecture and infrastructure. The decorations of the Villa have been attributed to Alessandro Morani and Adolfo De Carolis, and have reached eclecticism levels never seen before, particularly in the works of external glazed earthenware, put in the façades surrounding the Winter Garden and the Fumoir. The Mirror Room is the most ancient interior of the Villa: here the Baron had gathered and exposed a precious collection of 18th century Flemish tapestry, nowadays kept in Amsterdam. In the Dining Room, put at center between the Mirror Room, the Winter Garden and the Fumoir, the white marble monumental chimney outstands. Three arches are framing the outlook on Winter Garden, one of the places added by Giacomo Boni to the central side, together with the Ballroom. It is considered the biggest winter garden in Europe: for its setting, 10.000 tulip bulbs, lilacs, roses and azaleas, had been imported from the Dutch city of Haarlem. Under the Dining Room lies the hypogeum, probably used for esoteric rituals and gatherings. The Ballroom, completed at the end of 1896 after an enlargement of the Villa, reaches very high eclecticism levels, thanks to the metallic structures and the ceiling inspired to a Middle East style: the stained-glass windows and the full view on the park strengthen the idea of the highest level of integration between the Nature and the work of man, highly sought-after in the 19th century culture. The garden is featured by a similar match of styles, themes, suggestions too, in which coexist antiques and exotic plant species, such as a collection of palms. When the Baron Blanc died in Turin, in May 1904, the Villa was inherited by his wife Natalia first, then by their three children. The park has then been enriched with seven smaller buildings. After years of neglect, in 1997, the Luiss Guido Carli has purchased the complex during a public auction, and after a long and thorough research, design, restoration and valuation work, Villa Blanc became the Luiss Business School headquarter. 8/4/2021

04 May 2021

Luiss Business School joins The Future of Management Education (FOME) Alliance, the global network of leading business schools

Luiss Business School, the higher education management school of Luiss Guido Carli University of Rome (Italy), becomes a new member of the Future of Management Education (FOME) Alliance. This network brings together faculty, senior management, Edtech project managers, learning designers, and media experts from each school to co-create the very best online learning experiences. Entering into the FOME Alliance, Luiss Business School joins ten partners: BI (Norway); ESMT (Germany); EDHEC (France); Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Hong Kong); IE (Spain); Imperial College Business School (UK); Ivey Business School (Canada); Johns Hopkins Carey Business School (United States); SMU (Singapore); The University of Melbourne (Australia) and insendi, the London-based leading online education company, as technological partner. As a new FOME member, Luiss Business School will provide existing members with new opportunities, including resources, expertise and leadership, which will assist in the development of advanced online practices. Great attention will be paid to the field of digital transformation, and the opportunities that will arise from this, to encourage an attitude of change. The Luiss Business School will further contribute with resources, expertise and leadership to assist with the development of best online practices of innovative technological tools and pedagogical models. "We are deeply proud of this achievement which is both a goal and a recognition of the value of the educational offer of the School at the same time – says Paolo Boccardelli, Dean of the Luiss Business School. –and we have already started working together with our counterparts from the ten nations represented in the Board of the Alliance. We see digital transformation as a mindset, the main path to follow to implement our mission. In this scenario digitalization conquers the role of a key dimension, thus enabling the innovation of the teaching methods adopted, to strengthen the learning experience of our students. The Luiss Business School ethos is strongly committed to contribute to the FOME vision and mission due to their strong alignment with our School’s philosophy. Being the only Italian Business School in this network invests us with a great responsibility”. 05/04/2021