Gaining Global Perspectives at EMBA Global Network Week
Global Network Week sends Yale SOM students on weeklong immersions at international business schools. Below, EMBA students describe how trips to Brazil and China broadened their understanding of business, teamwork, and social impact.
Sara Ahmed ’26
Fudan University School of Management
Transformational, eye-opening, refreshing—those are words I’d use to describe my first-ever trip to Shanghai, China. Through GNW, I experienced a version of China that was even more dynamic and nuanced than I expected, revealing a side of the country that doesn’t always make the news. Even more memorable were the friendships I built with executive MBA peers from 24 different top business schools around the world. In our course—Dynamic China: Innovating in a Global Economy—I learned how China is reducing its reliance on the world, while the world grows more dependent on it, and why many Western firms still struggle to thrive in such a uniquely complex market. I gained academic insights and a shift in mindset about global economies. Throughout the week, we also explored how collectivism, family values, and holistic thinking shape daily life, leadership, and consumption patterns in China. A key takeaway from this trip was a reminder that global interdependence is more complicated than it seems. GNW culminated with me presenting on one of China's most successful apps, TikTok, analyzing its AI strategy and digging into what makes its algorithm so powerful. This one-week immersive program gave me fresh perspectives, global friendships, and a deeper appreciation for China’s energy, ambition, and complexity. I'm already planning my next trip back!
Bradley Escorcio ’26
FGV Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo
With such an extensive history of geopolitical conflict, and an ever-growing list of environmental threats, you might expect communities in the Amazon to be disenfranchised—but they were some of the happiest and most empowered people I’ve ever met. The mantra of the Projecto Saúde e Alegria (Health and Happiness Project), a local community development organization, shone through each and every interaction we had. Despite the unpredictable environment around them, these principles remained their primary focus, helping them navigate each day with gratitude. As I return to campus, I’m reflecting on how we, as business leaders, can identify core values that could help guide our teams through times of turbulence.
Oliviah Walker ’26
FGV Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo
The opportunity to travel to the state of Pará, Brazil, to learn directly from community leaders about sustainable leadership is a gift I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Indigenous leaders and traditional rivering communities on the Tapajós and Arapiuns rivers in the Amazon rainforest welcomed us to share their experiences and their actions to ensure cultural sovereignty and continuity in stewardship of the land. They also emphasized the critical role the Amazon plays in protecting the earth’s environment. I came back with a renewed sense of conviction about continuing to address the climate crisis at local and global levels, and gratitude for the efforts of indigenous people across the globe to lead a just transition towards regenerative economies.
