Students arrive in the South Pole to consider survival tactics for the new economic dystopia
By Ania Zymelka
Mon Feb 2 2009
Why did a bunch of smart and successful people striving for a career in global business head for a continent that has only one permanent human inhabitant? A few days before New Year's Eve, 45 participants in Wharton Business School's Antarctica Leadership Venture arrived on King George Island near the South Pole. Obviously, they went to admire the world's coldest, windiest and driest eco system and to learn to cook crab cake in freezing temperatures. But that wasn't all there was to the trip. Spending seven days and nights in the not-so-cosy conditions of the Antarctica Peninsula over the Christmas break also brought to light that leadership, organisation skills and teamwork will be of great relevance in a post-civilisation world. Read more about Antarctica's fragile environment, stunned penguins, and a near-death experience.
Students from Harvard Business School spent ten days using their business knowledge to make a difference to the devastated landscape of New Orleans. The project is part of the school's Immersion Experience Program, which was established to offer relief to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit the area in 2006. Since then dozens of projects have emerged from the student initiative, ranging from improving the water supply in Jordan to learning about life and business in Mexico. Structuring business plans, assessing of the struggling housing market and drawing out new marketing strategies kept the 50 participants busy most of the time, their trip also allowed them to have a critical look at the ethnic inequalities that the area continues to struggle with. Read more on the project and find out about other Immersion Experiences.
