A group of 18 MBA students from the Universidad Catolica de Uruguay (UCU) gathered at FIU Business in October 2023 for a week-long executive education certificate program in leadership, international business, innovation, technology and digital transformation.
“What I valued most was networking and how each individual’s experience was unique,” said Andres Diaz, one of the UCU students. “I fell in love with FIU’s campus because there is a cultural strength here.”
The courses explored the latest trends on developing human capital, data analytics, the internet of things and the nuances of politics in international business.
“The objective of this course is to gain new knowledge,” said Ignacio Bartesagni, director of the Instituto de Negocios Internacionales at UCU. “Of course, the experience is also about spending a week at a university of FIU’s caliber, with this campus that is not common in our country.”
Aside from learning and exploring FIU’s campus, the students took tours of companies including Sony Music Latin Miami headquarters, led by president Bruno Duarte (MIB ’19), and WTDC Worldwide Logistics, accompanied by its president Sean Gazitua, as well as PortMiami.
“It was interesting, the parts on digital innovation, digital transformation, data analysis in international business,” said UCU student Eugenia Grande. “We talked about the topic of data strategy, and I think the professor was very meticulous when it came to explaining the theory, how to put together a digital transformation strategy, what is coming and is what is going to evolve.”
The innovation and technology panel included two FIU Business alumnae - Maria Florencia Sciaroni (MBA '22), CEO of Sur Supply, which specializes in the import and distribution of animal protein in the U.S., and Maria Romano (MBA '22), vice president of health equity and medical informatics at Premise Health.
“The great challenge is to see how they apply the technology available internationally to the specific cases of the companies in which they have some type of role in,” said Bartesagni.
Rounding out their experience, the students broke out into teams to develop a final project presenting a disruption to a traditional business using the pillars discussed throughout the program.
Rosangel Quintero, program director of Executive and Professional Education at FIU Business, noted that this is the second cohort from UCU to participate in the program and plans are in development for 2024.
“These certificate programs are designed to complement the MBA curriculums of our partner universities with an international learning experience that goes beyond the classroom,” Quintero added. “UCU is very active in developing a dual-degree partnership with FIU College of Business.”
Armed with new insights on how to introduce change into their current roles, they are poised to launch to new heights.
“I found the whole topic of the internationality of business very interesting and it kind of makes me want to get into that world a little,” said Grande. “I work a lot in the local market and opening up to the world seems to me to be the biggest challenge, but the most important take away for me.”
