Year in Review

MIT Sloan's Global Reach

MIT Sloan Global Programs (GP) works to connect MIT faculty, students, and alumni with organizations and communities across the globe. In addition to operating offices and programs in different regions, GP also invites students and faculty from academic institutions around the world to visit the MIT campus. This past year, GP continued its global partnerships while celebrating the 10-year anniversaries of two of its signature programs.

MSLAO 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
MIT Sloan maintains a strong presence in Latin America through the MIT Sloan Latin America Office (MSLAO). Established in 2013 and located in Santiago, Chile, the MSLAO is MIT Sloan’s first physical headquarters in Latin America. Led by Faculty Director Roberto Rigobon, PhD ’97 (Society of Sloan Fellows Professor of Management; Professor of Applied Economics), the MSLAO fosters knowledge exchange between MIT Sloan faculty and other academic institutions, creates more awareness about MIT Sloan, recruits prospective students, provides experiential learning opportunities for current MIT Sloan students, and engages area alumni with the school’s work.

In late March 2023, the MSLAO celebrated its 10-year anniversary at an event attended by former MIT President L. Rafael Reif and MSLAO and GP students, staff, and alumni. The event recognized the MSLAO’s steadfast support of MIT Sloan community members and the Latin American business community.

The MSLAO has engaged many notable Sloanies in their work, including Mauricio Ríos Martínez, SF ’12, head of strategic deals and partner ecosystem at NTT Data Americas, and MSLAO advisory council member Adriana Noreña, MOT ’00, vice president for Google Spanish Speaking Latin America. Andrés Bisonó León, MBA ’23, used MSLAO’s resources to help him develop the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering spinout SOS Carbon, which uses sargassum sequestering technology in deep oceans for carbon offsetting.

The MSLAO’s dedication to serving the Latin American business community while enriching student education exemplifies the school’s commitment to global business leadership. To advance these entrepreneurial and educational efforts further, the MIT Sloan community is working to grow the MSLAO endowment.

“The MSLAO is a leading example of the school’s mission to develop principled, innovative leaders who will improve the world,” said David Schmittlein (Former Dean, MIT Sloan School of Management).

MIT REAP IMPACT SUMMIT AND ITS 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
The MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (MIT REAP) offers communities across the globe the opportunity to collaborate with MIT to enhance their regional innovation-driven entrepreneurial ecosystems. MIT REAP’s global program is a two-year learning engagement for cohorts of innovation-driven entrepreneurial stakeholder teams from different partner regions that participate in hands-on learning experiences.

MIT REAP celebrated its 10-year anniversary at the three-day Impact Summit last August. MIT REAP alumni and MIT Sloan community members gathered to network with one another and see presentations by faculty and alumni from various MIT REAP cohorts.

In his keynote speech, Tim Rowe, MBA ’95, spoke of his successful experience working with Cohort 6’s Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (Tec de Monterrey), a university in Mexico. Rowe is the founder and CEO of Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), which provides physical space and networking opportunities for innovation-driven entrepreneurial ecosystems. Tec de Monterrey used CIC’s global Venture Café model for entrepreneurial networking to develop its own networking space on its campus, where 200 to 300 entrepreneurs meet weekly to discuss different industry topics.

MIT REAP alumni praised the unique support that the program has provided them. In the “Alumni: Lessons Learned” panel, Logan Aluminum Chief Innovation & Technology Leader Vijay Kamineni spoke of his experiences on MIT REAP Team Kentucky, also in Cohort 6.

“MIT REAP is a family,” Kamineni said. “We [REAP participants] don’t have to start alone. The people, the regions that went through before, they are your starting point. They have been for us.”

Recently, MIT REAP graduated MIT REAP Focus Mexico, Cohort 8, and Cohort 9, representing locations such as Caldas, Colombia; Eastern Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Egypt; Northern Ireland; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Wallonia, Belgium; Des Moines, Iowa, USA; Dominican Republic; Hungary; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Omaha, Nebraska, USA; Piauí, Brazil; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; and Western Australia. With early applications due on March 29 and regular decision applications closing on June 28, MIT REAP looks forward to assembling another dynamic group of innovators in Cohort 11.

ASIA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND OTHER PARTNERSHIPS
MIT Sloan developed the Asia School of Business (ASB) in partnership with Bank Negara Malaysia to train aspiring business leaders to succeed in Asia and across the globe. While ASB is not an MIT program, its students take classes on the MIT Sloan campus.

ASB and MIT Sloan are also connected through ASB leadership. This past year, Sanjay Sarma (Fred Fort Flowers (1941) and Daniel Fort Flowers (1941) Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Former Vice President of MIT Open Learning) became the Dean of ASB. He succeeded Charles Fine (MIT Chrysler Leaders for Global Operations Professor of Management), who served as the school’s founding president, CEO, and Dean.

MIT Sloan partners with other universities on unique business education programs. Students in these programs can take courses taught by visiting MIT faculty at their host universities and then, depending on their specific program, spend two to six weeks taking courses on the MIT Sloan campus.

Examples include the Data Analytics Certificate program at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago, Chile; the Lisbon MBA International program in partnership with Portugal’s Católica-Lisbon School of Business and Economics and Nova School of Business and Economics; the IDEAS Asia Pacific program; and the Parthenope University of Naples Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management program.