If it's Tuesday, this must be Bogota...

In January, 10 Freeman MBA students traveled to Bogota, Colombia, to spend a week studying global business with classmates from Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela.

The students are among the first participants in the Global MBA, a new curriculum for MBA students interested in broadening their international experience and taking on leadership positions in the Americas. The program, a joint-venture of Tulane and three prestigious Latin American institutions, comprises six courses in six different countries and enables students to earn a Master of Global Management degree in addition to their MBA while being part of a unique international cohort.

The Global MBA class."The world is globalizing," says Shane Price (MBA '09), one of the Freeman students enrolled in the program. "I feel like the Global MBA will make me more marketable, because more and more companies are looking internationally to grow their business."

In addition to the 10 Freeman students, the class includes 13 students from ITAM in Mexico City, 13 from IESA in Caracas, Venezuela, and nine from Universidad de los Andes in Bogota. Each student enrolled in the module is part of a multinational team with members from each of the four countries, creating a dynamic similar to what a manager might face on a multinational project.

"What makes this program unique is the international cohort," says John Trapani, director of the Goldring Institute for International Business and one of the architects of the program. "Students can gain a greater understanding of global business by studying and interacting with international classmates than they could otherwise. And once the program is completed, each student will have an international network of colleagues in three other countries to draw upon. For students interested in working in the Americas, that's a tremendous advantage."

"The international cohort is what attracted me to this program," says Christian Galvin (MBA '08). "You're truly part of an international team. You learn together, you're studying and doing case projects together. You're getting all those perspectives at once to gain a better understanding of how to approach an international project."

"It's really different to be in a classroom with people from other countries," adds Teresa Davies-Martinez (MBA '09). "Their mindsets are different and you learn a lot about the different cultures. There are even differences between the Venezuelan and Colombian students. You just learn a lot more about different places and the differences in cultures."

In addition to the two courses already completed, the program will include upcoming courses in Paris, Shanghai or Beijing, and Sao Paulo before concluding with course on global supply chains in New Orleans in January 2009.