Residence I of the EMIL-SCS program has a reputation of being compared to a military boot camp for academics. This new class of 2012 had a similar experience. Residence I is hosted on the Georgia Tech campus, with lectures taught by several members of Georgia Tech’s faculty, and accompanied by faculty with expertise in specific logistics and supply chain strategy areas pertinent to the industries the student body represents.
During week one, the class received instruction from Dr. Stephen Timme, president of FinListics Solutions and CFOEd and adjunct professor at Georgia Tech, who taught Supply Chain Finance. The class then worked with Dr. Ed Frazelle, founding director of the Supply Chain & Logistics Institute (SCL) at Georgia Tech and president and CEO of Logistics Resources International. He guided the class through an intense and interactive Supply Chain Strategy workshop. In conclusion of their first week, the class received an introduction to analytics from Georgia Tech Professors Dr. Jim Dai and Dr. John Vande Vate.
There was a brief reprieve from all of the intense study with an excursion to a weekend Braves game. The outing provided an opportunity for the class to really get to know each other.
Week two began with Dr. Anton Kleywegt’s intense session of Revenue Management and Inventory Management taught by Dr. Mark Ferguson’s, both Georgia Tech associate professors. The final lecture focused on outsourcing and third party logistics, specifically looking into best and worst practices and industry benchmarks. This lecture was presented by Dr. Chris Norek, senior partner of Chain Connectors Inc., Greg Skrovan of Intel, and Bill Taylor of Ryder Logistics.
With the lectures completed, the class participated in a discussion centered around identifying specific personal talents, and helping individuals discover how to build upon their talents to develop strengths within their roles at work. At the beginning of the residence, the class was asked to complete the #1 Wall Street Journal and #1 BusinessWeek bestseller StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment. This best selling book accompanied with an individualized personal assessment provides an in-depth look at a person’s strengths, and how to best utilize those strengths within the workplace. Upon completion of the assessment, the class was joined by Karla Brandau from Improving Human Capital, LLC, for a fun and thought provoking session on how to understand and focus on individual strengths.
The final chapter of the residence was to form the Global Supply Chain Project teams. With the guidance of EMIL-SCS Executive Director Dr. John Vande Vate and Managing Director Greg Andrews, the class formed six teams that range in industries from retail to healthcare. When the class meets again for Residence II, the Global Project Teams will provide a project update, and will continue to present their updates at each residence thereafter. In June, this class will participate in their 2nd residence, this time meeting in Europe.
For more about the EMIL-SCS program, visit their website at http://www.emil.gatech.edu/
]]>