The Acropolis
According to plan, the last Warsaw MBA class to receive a University of Illinois MBA degree graduated in May 1996. From the inception of the program, Illinois's task was to create an MBA program at the University of Warsaw, train faculty there, and then turn the program over completely to the University of Warsaw once it was well established. This we have done.
Although the class that graduates next year will not receive a UI degree, Illinois will continue to be affiliated with the program and award certificates to students receiving the Warsaw diploma. Illinois faculty will continue to teach in the program and Polish faculty will continue to come to Urbana to receive training. An AID grant has been received to help fund these initiatives.
The college can be justly proud of the success of this program. The current class is the largest and best qualified since the program started. One-third of the students in the program now come from international firms who pay their tuition. Three-fourths of the students who have already graduated from the program have either been promoted within their firms or have taken higher positions at new firms.
Demand for this program has been so high, that the University of Warsaw raised tuition in an attempt to make the program self-supporting. Initially the program was funded by a series of grants from the Mellon and Ford Foundations and others.
AS THE FORMAL PROGRAM with the University of Warsaw comes to an end, a joint MBA program is beginning in Greece. Three faculty, Case Sprenkle, Nicholas Yannelis, director of the program, and Joe Finnerty, have been working with the Athens Institute of Business Administration (AIBA). The program was launched in September. At the end of a year and a half, participants will receive a UI certificate. These credits may be used toward a master's degree, if a student elects to spend an additional year studying at the College of Commerce in Urbana. Illinois faculty from all four departments will teach a semester's worth of material in condensed sessions. All instruction will be in English.
AIBA is a not-for-profit, newly-founded institute supported by Commercial Bank, the second largest bank in Greece. Greek law is such that a program like this, which is much in demand, must have private funding to be successful. At present there are no western-style MBA programs in Greece, but there is a need for the skills these programs teach. Eventually, this program will be open to non-Greek students.
The program will be sumptuously housed in a new Commercial Bank building, which is located in the center of the tourist area - the Plaka - only two blocks from the main cathedral and two from the flea market. The Acropolis can be viewed through the glass walls of the building. So, if the faculty have energy left after 5 hours per day of vigorous teaching, they will be well situated to explore Athens.
The Acropolis |
The research unit of the instiute has also expressed interest in doing joint projects in Eastern Europe and exploring the possibilities offered by distance learning. The European Union is viewed as a possible source of start-up funding for these projects. There are many opportunities to be explored in the international realm.