Supply Chain Frontiers issue #10. Read all articles in this issue.
Building on the success of last year's inaugural class, the second MIT-Zaragoza Master in Logistics and Supply Chain Management (ZLOG) class has grown to 19 students with an average of more than four years industry experience. New faculty and additional curriculum enhancements continue to strengthen this new international program.
"In only its second year, the ZLOG program continues to attract quality master's students. Average GMAT scores of the new class again compare with leading business schools like INSEAD and London Business School," said Dr. Jarrod Goentzel, Executive Director, MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics Program.
Students come from various backgrounds such as logistics management, strategy, finance, systems analysis and software engineering, with companies that include ExxonMobil, Hewlett Packard, Citibank, Johnson & Johnson, BellSouth, Mondi Business Paper, C&S Wholesaler Grocers, and Blohm & Voss. The class is truly international with 10 different nationalities and four continents represented. "The students' diverse cultural and professional backgrounds stimulate classroom discussions and develop communication skills," Goentzel noted.
The curriculum has been enhanced "with additional Spanish language courses and a new module on leadership," he continued. The leadership module utilizes a month-long supply chain simulation exercise with teams of students from Zaragoza and the MLOG program at MIT. Guest speakers from industry offer practical approaches to supply chain leadership and management. Linking the students with real-world supply chains is key part of the ZLOG mission, as Goentzel explains. "Last year the program incorporated nearly 20 industry lecturers, a dozen facility tours, and training on software like SAP, i2, and ARIS. We will continue to expose the ZLOG students to a wide variety of industry experiences."
A number of new faculty members further broaden the scope of the program. Dr. Santiago Kraiselburd, a graduate of Harvard Business School, brings a strong industry background, case-based teaching experience, and research in the area of incentives and manufacturer-retailer contracts to his new position as Adjunct Faculty member. Additional visiting faculty members for the fall semester come from Instituto de Empresa in Madrid and Lund University in Sweden.
ZLOG was inaugurated in August, 2004 and is part of the MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics Program, an academia-government partnership between CTL and the Government of Aragon in Spain. The MIT-Zaragoza program is currently designing a new facility in the massive PLAZA logistics park adjacent to Zaragoza, Spain. For further information on the ZLOG program go to www.zlc.edu.es/zlog.php or contact goentzel@mit.edu.