2011-04-11 15:49:22 - During the course of the Asian residency from the 4th to the 15th of January 2011, participants on the WU Executive Academy’s Executive MBA had the privileged opportunity to gain a cohesive impression of both Chinese and Indian economic zones - in Guangzhou and Hyderabad respectively. While mornings were given over to MBA study units, during the afternoons participants visited local and international businesses in each region, gaining firsthand knowledge of the characteristics unique to that market, its consumers and the corresponding growth strategies appropriate to them.

“It is simply not possible to grasp globalisation without leaving the house. Certain knowl-edge cannot be gained through reading, it must be experienced firsthand”, states Prof. Bodo B. Schlegelmilch, Dean of the WU Executive Academy.

In line with this motto, the WU Executive Academy sends its MBA participants on residencies all over the globe.

New partner university in India
Last year, the WU Executive Academy formed a new, synergetic partnership with the Indian School of Management in Hyderabad. One of Asia’s leading business schools, ISM places highly in important rankings, has a fine, modern campus with around 600 students and invests heavily in research - not necessarily a given for Asian universities.

Firsthand Experience
Globalisation is very much a core topic throughout the 14

month program, during which participants rarely sit still for long.
“Residencies are much the best learning environment for this. No video, book or periodical can transmit what the participants learn, live and onsite, in selected companies in China and India”, continues Schlegelmilch.

Participants have the chance during the two weeks to gain broad experience of two of the fastest growing economies in the world. The itinerary of the current residency included one of the most significant south Chinese economic zones, Guangzhou, as well as Hyderabad in India. In the latter, the Executive MBA students visited (among other companies) the regional bases for Infosys and Google, where they were connected via teleconference to Google in Singapore, to discuss with HR managers their experiences. They learnt from managers why the Asian market is so interesting, its unique characteristics and what one should take into account, if one aims to be successful here. A further highlight was a company visit to Microsoft, during which the participants were able to try out the latest product innovations from the New Year, onsite.

“Now I have a much better idea how to meet my opposite number, and how to identify his or her strengths and weaknesses. The company visits were extremely well chosen and offered real insights into varying industries, from banking to electronics and IT, in two of the most important economic regions for the 21st century”, opined Alessandro Ischia, Operation & Maintenance Department, Trans Austria Gasleitung GmbH.

In stark contrast to the huge international corporations, the group also visited a small Indian village to see a project which is playing an important part in transforming the health system in India. As part of this initiative, villagers have their first chance to undergo a professional medical examination at mobile medical stations kitted out with the most modern medical equipment. These ‘clinics-on-wheels’ travel around different regions in India, providing medical care to even the most remote settlements.
As one participant noted, “A great example of how modern technology can contribute to the exercising of social responsibility. We could not have afforded not to have seen this with our own eyes”.

WU Executive Academy – Executive Education at the Highest International Level
The WU Executive Academy of the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), Europe’s largest business university, brings more than 100 years of experience and an excellent reputation to the field of executive education and belongs to the top 100 business universities worldwide.
The executive education portfolio of the WU Executive Academy includes MBA/MBL/LLM programs, university certificate programs, corporate programs and seminars. In recent years, it has become one of the leading providers in Central and Eastern Europe.
As part of the WU, the WU Executive Academy is EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System) accredited. EQUIS is an internationally recognized accreditation system offered by the European Foundation of Management. Moreover, the outstanding quality of the MBA programs has been recognized by AMBA (Association of MBAs) awarding its renowned global accreditation.
With this, the WU Executive Academy is one of only two business universities in the Ger-man-speaking world to meet the high quality standards of both accreditations.

Current achievements of the WU Executive Academy:
- Financial Times European Business School Ranking (2009): # 34
- Financial Times Executive MBA Ranking (2009): # 41 worldwide
- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung MBA Ranking (2005): # 1 Alumni satisfaction in the German-speaking countries
- Handelsblatt MBA Ranking (2006): Among the Top 50 MBAs worldwide
- Ziarul Financiar MBA Ranking (2010): # 1 MBA in Romania

Each year, as many as 3,500 executives, experts and high potentials from over 50 countries graduate from our programs. At present, residencies and programs are conducted in more than 15 countries on three continents.
Being part of the WU, the WU Executive Academy provides access to the expertise of some 400 faculty members and countless experts in more than 200 partner universities all over the world. The knowledge we provide is of immediate practical relevance and is kept up-to-date through our scientific research capabilities.
The faculty of the WU Executive Academy consists of both internationally renowned professors and top executives. Together, they provide the latest scientifically-based knowledge and in-depth views of state-of-the-art applications of management models.