An honorable distinction was given to a UCLA director for his
work with the Global Access Program from the Finnish government,
where UCLA business students can apply their skills in foreign
countries.
A prestigious Finnish award was given to a UCLA vice chancellor
emeritus. Dr. Elwin Svenson, executive director of International
Programs for the UCLA Anderson School of Management’s Fully
Employed MBA program received the Knight, First Class, of the Order
of the White Rose of Finland on Dec. 11.
The decoration was issued by a board, headed by the Finnish
president, to foreign and Finnish citizens in recognition of
services to Finland. It was presented to Svenson by the Finnish
Ambassador to the United States for assisting the expansion of
Finnish start-up companies through the UCLA Anderson’s Global
Access Program.
Bonny Kim, manager of the Global Access Program said,
“Finland is a country that invests about 3 percent of their
gross domestic product into technology and research development,
but very little into management education.”
After noticing this seven years ago, Dr. Svenson began working
with Finland. He spoke to policy makers and was able to assemble a
group of MBA students to learn the technology and apply it toward
Finland and management education.
“The Global Access Program is a key element of FEMBA, and
Dr. Svenson’s efforts in building institutional relations
with so many organizations abroad has truly been beneficial in
giving our FEMBA students a unique opportunity in gaining
international field study experience,” said Dr. Victor
Tabbush, associate dean and director of the program, in an Anderson
School press release.
The Global Access Program was created in 1998 after a faculty
member of the Anderson School was asked by an entrepreneur to help
start up a “high tech” company while on vacation in
Australia. He assembled a small group of Anderson students to
assist with the development. The program then began with eight
voluntary Australian companies.
According to the Global Access Program Web site, both the
company and students benefited from the collaboration that resulted
in greater student interest to work with other companies.
This program gives students the opportunity to spend five days
in the country where the company is located. It also gives them a
chance to interact with entrepreneurs that are building a
business.
“They develop a dreamlike quality strategic business plan
and no matter where they work they can always take with them this
experience they’ve got,” said UCLA Anderson Professor
Robert Frost.
The program currently places students in the MBA program with
over 135 international technology companies. These students hold a
full-time job while working toward their degree through night and
weekend classes.
It is a requirement that all MBA students go through the Global
Access Program before receiving their degree.
According to the program’s Web site, the international
voluntary companies are specially selected; one decisive factor
includes a focus on high technology because of the higher planning
risk, possibility of greater sales and profit in a shorter period
of time, and important student contributions to smaller firms.
The only disadvantage is that in “the final presentation
six months after the program starts the students may have to
present bad information to the customer or to the client and
sometimes that is a little uncomfortable but it’s really for
their long-term benefit,” Frost said.
The course lasts six months, from June 15 to Dec. 11, with about
30-35 teams acting as consultants to a foreign company. Currently
the program has partnered with eight countries including Australia,
Finland, Chile, France, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand and Ireland.
“This year we had 33 companies from six different
countries, we’ve reviewed probably about 100 companies in
order to make a cut of 33,” Frost said.
The program is currently planning on extending partnership with
China, India and Spain. According to Bonny Kim, student interest is
leaning toward those areas.