We continue to explore the various MBA clubs on offer this year and hear from club leaders about their hopes and goals as the year progresses. From helping their peers to embrace technology to discussing global politics and art investment, these clubs all offer chances to enhance knowledge, build networks, and create career opportunities.
Tech and AI Club
Club leaders: Thiago Nascimento and Abhinav Muddappa
Tech has always been in our lives. It’s been a constant force for positive change in the last 20-30 years for me, Abhinav, and our whole generation. Our inspiration for founding the club comes from the opportunity to help recognize and close the gap for practical, hands-on tech exposure for our cohort. This was further confirmed by a survey we did in March that showed 70% of our club members didn’t have previous experience in tech.
Our goals for the year focus on the following key aspects:
- Enhance the tech proficiency of our club members, preparing them to understand and compete in the tech job market.
- Help our managers to understand and apply tech solutions in their day-to-day activities, even when not working of a primarily tech function or company.
- Facilitate networking opportunities with tech leaders and startups to provide insights and potential career pathways in technology.
Political Science Club
Club leaders: Ruth Shalom and Abel Moya
I am delighted to introduce the IMD MBA Political Science Club based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Our mission is to elevate members’ knowledge and proficiency in managing the interplay between global affairs, business needs, and political risk. We are therefore looking for speakers to help us understand the current political situation around the globe. Our main target organizations include the World Bank, the UN and the WEF.
Additionally, we are looking for CIO/strategy departments of diverse organizations to help us understand how multinationals speak and deal with risk.
Our goals for the year include:
- Boost employability, build reliable and strategic networks, and gain supplemental skillsets and knowledge to strengthen leadership.
- Drive career growth by organizing masterclasses, panels, workshops and simulations.
- Host club debates and discussions.
- Expand knowledge and the network database.
Art Club
Club lead: Ruth Shalom and Abel Moya
With the art market projected to exceed $2.8tn by 2026, the Art Club aims to provide invaluable insights that transcend traditional boundaries of the art world to embrace intersections with wealth management, finance, AI, and cutting-edge technologies like blockchain and cryptoart.
Recognizing Switzerland’s pivotal role in global art and wealth management (notably, UBS’s 30-year partnership with Art Basel and the prominence of Cryptovalley in Zug), the club serves as a nexus for personal and professional aspirations. The club attracts members who are already engaged in art investment, including NFTs, while also providing a platform to explore career paths and post-MBA employment prospects.
By engaging galleries, auction houses, and curators, the club offers a vibrant forum for discussion on established and emerging artists, awareness of initiatives like art investment funds, dedicated art trading exchanges, and tradable art products to guide members through the evolving art landscape and offer a platform for collaboration in collective art investments.
