What is the Symposium and what is the theme for this year? What do you hope to achieve?
This is the first annual Crossroads Symposium with a theme of the interplay between business, government, and the global economy. The GW School of Business has such a unique position both in its proximity to organizations like the World Bank, IMF, and the US Government as well as its curricular emphasis on developing leaders that are comfortable operating in the space between the public and private sectors. This curricular emphasis has been driven, in large part, by our new Dean, Dr. Doug Guthrie.
We hope that the symposium will become an annual event for our school that provides attendees with an interesting and thought-provoking series of panels, highlights the value of student initiative at the GW School of Business, and builds relationships between our school and the broader DC community.
Which speakers are you especially excited about and why?
We're very excited about all of our panelists. But I would definitely say that we organizers are very excited about our keynote speaker, Justin Yifu Lin. He's the Chief Economist at the World Bank and the first Chinese citizen to be appointed to that role. He's a brilliant mind and offers a perspective on the government's role in developing nations that can be applied to countries outside of China.
We also have Shannon Maynard coming to speak on a panel entitled: "Empowering Women As Good Business". Shannon is the Director of Banking Without Borders, an initiative run through the Grameen Foundation. She has a very interesting perspective on financing women-run businesses and the effect that has on communities in developing countries.
What's in it for MBA students? Is it simply a networking event for them, or is there more to it?
We don't necessarily see this as a networking event, but more of a chance to learn about both topics that we've covered in depth in class and some that we haven't covered at all - but are applicable to a business school education - from a series of speakers that are actively engaged in these issues. It's also a chance to highlight a student-led initiative and lay the groundwork for an annual event that we think positions the school well in its effort to discuss the most relevant global business issues of the day.
What other events has your class hosted this year?
There is a specific commitment from Dean Guthrie through the entire administrative staff – the program office, alumni office, and career center - to actively support student initiatives at the GW School of Business. One of the best parts of getting an MBA here is that if you have a good idea and are willing to put the work in, then you’re supported wholeheartedly by faculty, staff, and the Dean.
We’ve done this a number of times this year, not only with our Crossroads symposium, but also with The Business Response To Climate Change as well as a more recent fund-raising event, Business Gives Back, where GWSB students played live music at the House of Sweden to raise money for a non-profit organization founded by a fellow student that helps inner city high school students develop non-profit ideas. The school encourages and cultivates dynamic student engagement.
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