The McGill-HEC Montreal EMBA has not escaped the disruption caused by COVID-19. Resilient, the EMBA community has been able to adapt, particularly by listening to its students and graduates. Here are three examples.

Human exchange above all

While most university programs resumed virtually a few weeks after the start of the pandemic, the McGill-HEC Montreal EMBA  chose to take a break from the official program and instead organized a series of optional webinars promoting reflection and exchange between participants and graduates of the first 11 classes of the program. In times of crisis, the sharing of ideas can be key to success.  The participation in these webinars confirms that a rich and diverse network can become a space where real solutions arise through conversation.   Appropriately, the theme of one of the webinars was, “Communication in times of crisis”.

Help plan the “post-crisis” thanks to the “The Future-Ready Organization” module

In mid-March, when everything changed, the current cohort was in the middle of their module on “The Future-Ready Organization”. Designed well before the crisis, it nevertheless proved very valuable  in the face of it. One of the objectives of the module is to equip the leaders who participate in the EMBA to  anticipate future economic, technological, societal or environmental scenarios. Our participants told us that pushing them to develop scenarios really helped them do some big picture thinking and helped jolt them out of the hyper short-term focus triggered by the pandemic.

Recruitment during the pandemic

Why would you want to undertake your EMBA during the pandemic? Why not wait for the COVID-19 storm to pass and start this wonderful project later? The forty or so inspired people who make up our incoming EMBA class insist that this crisis is the perfect time to learn and develop in order to be a part of the solution. There is no time to waste! Just a few weeks before classes begin, the enthusiasm of our new students is palpable. “This next class has a pioneering spirit, just like our very first cohort. They are enthusiastic, committed, and eager to meet in person at HEC Montreal on September 16. Their boldness is remarkable and we look forward to seeing them all together for the first time, “said Michel Filion, Director of Recruitment for the McGill-HEC Montreal EMBA since 2008.

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