#WelcomeToBocconi. Hearing from Howard Schultz
Howard Schultz, Starbucks Chairman Emeritus and previously a guest speaker in the Aula Magna during a memorable event with our students in February 2017, will welcome new Master of Science students on Tuesday 4 September during Welcome Days 2018.
His talk will focus on having an entrepreneurial mentality and how to transform an idea into a global enterprise.
Entrepreneurship is an increasingly fundamental aptitude in today's world and especially the future for leading players in the digital century and its businesses, on par with data analysis or critical thinking skills. Having an entrepreneurial spirit is no longer simply the prerogative of anyone founding a startup, but it has also become an essential skill for executives and CEOs, which those startups and global companies need to manage and nurture.
The role of modern universities therefore, on one hand, now includes reinforcing the fundamentals that allow all the management and social fashions that will inevitably come about in the near future to be faced and overcome. On the other, it is about developing and cultivating students entrepreneurial spirit by challenging them to overcome their limitations and always seek out innovative solutions.
Bocconi, which originated as a startup at the initiative of enlightened entrepreneur Ferdinando Bocconi, is a modern university that combines theory and practice. It allows students to "get their hands dirty," while helping them transform their ideas into businesses. And, starting this year, all study programs include a compulsory critical thinking seminar, in addition to last year's introduction of a mandatory coding course.
Speakers and examples such as Howard Schultz or the late Sergio Marchionne (who was a guest at Bocconi several times, including as a speaker for our alumni in 2012, during one of his most perceptive talks: video 1, video 2, video 3) are an integral part of our teaching model. They transfer expertise and motivation to our students through the experience and passion of those people who have successfully managed global institutions.