Global Network Week (GNW) at Yale School of Management (Yale SoM) offered a unique opportunity to step beyond the traditional MBA classroom and engage in a truly global learning environment. Bringing together students from leading business schools around the world, the program combined academic rigor with cross-cultural exchange, practical insights, and real-world exposure. Through a week of immersive lectures, discussions, and collaboration, the experience highlighted the importance of diverse perspectives, innovative thinking, and global connectivity in shaping modern leadership.
For many MBA students, one of the most exciting aspects of the program is the opportunity to step beyond the classroom and engage with the world. At Hitotsubashi ICS, this opportunity comes to life through Global Network Week (GNW), an immersive academic experience offered through the Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM).
GNW is an intensive, week-long program hosted by one of the network’s partner schools. It brings together students from up to 30+ leading business schools across the globe, representing diverse cultures, industries, and economic contexts. Participants attend lectures, engage in discussions, visit local organizations, and collaborate with peers from around the world. The result is a uniquely global learning environment—one that challenges assumptions, broadens perspectives, and builds lasting connections.
I had the opportunity to attend GNW at Yale School of Management (Yale SoM), where the theme was the Behavioral Science of Management. It was an intense, inspiring, and highly practical week that combined academic rigor with real-world relevance.
A Week at Yale SoM: Learning Beyond the Classroom
From the moment I arrived in New Haven, it was clear that GNW was designed to maximize both learning and connection. The week was structured around a series of lectures delivered by Yale faculty, complemented by networking sessions, informal discussions, and opportunities to explore the local environment.
The academic content covered a wide range of topics, including:
What stood out immediately was the diversity of the cohort. Students came from across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. This diversity wasn’t just demographic, it extended to professional backgrounds, industries, and ways of thinking. Discussions were richer, more nuanced, and often challenged my own assumptions in ways that a more homogeneous classroom might not.
Yale SOM also created an incredibly welcoming environment. The organizers put significant effort into facilitating both formal and informal interactions, ensuring that students could connect meaningfully. Whether it was structured networking sessions or casual conversations over coffee, there was always an opportunity to engage.
Three Key Takeaways
1. Charisma and Communication in Leadership
One of the most impactful sessions of the week was “Charisma: Science and Practice.” While charisma is often perceived as an innate trait, this session reframed it as a set of learnable skills grounded in behavioral science.
We started with something deceptively simple: the handshake. As an icebreaker, we practiced what makes a “good” handshake and discussed how expectations vary across cultures. While it may seem minor, this exercise highlighted how first impressions are formed and how they can influence the trajectory of future interactions.
The session then moved into broader aspects of communication and presence. We explored how physical positioning, movement, and eye contact can be used intentionally to engage an audience. One particularly memorable demonstration involved a participant delivering a short speech in a language unfamiliar to most of the class. Despite the language barrier, the speaker was still able to connect with the audience through tone, body language, and presence. It was a powerful illustration of how communication extends far beyond words.
What made this session especially effective was that these techniques were not just taught, they were modelled. Throughout the week, professors consistently demonstrated strong presence and engagement using those same techniques in their own teaching. This reinforced the idea that these are practical, transferable skills that can be developed with awareness and practice.
For me, this was a valuable reminder that leadership communication is not just about content, but about connection. In global and cross-cultural environments, this becomes even more critical.
2. Group Decision-Making and Prediction Markets
Another highlight of the week was the session on group decision-making. While some of the foundational concepts were familiar, the integration of academic research with real-world applications made the session particularly compelling.
One concept that stood out was the use of prediction markets. These are mechanisms that aggregate individual beliefs about future outcomes into a collective forecast. The underlying principle is that dispersed knowledge, when properly aggregated, can produce highly accurate predictions.
What surprised me most was the extent of their effectiveness. In some cases, prediction markets have been shown to outperform traditional polling methods, including in forecasting outcomes such as U.S. presidential elections. This is largely because they incentivize participants to reveal their true beliefs, leverage insights that may not be captured through conventional approaches and encourage those with additional information to participate.
This immediately resonated with my professional experience. In industries like energy, decision-making often involves significant uncertainty, whether related to commodity prices, demand forecasts, or project outcomes. Traditional forecasting methods can struggle to capture the full range of available information. I began to consider how prediction markets could be applied within my organization. For example, internal markets could be used to forecast variables such as oil prices or carbon credit trends. By tapping into the collective knowledge of employees across functions, it may be possible to generate more accurate and dynamic forecasts.
This session reinforced a broader insight: better decisions often come not from having more information, but from structuring how information is gathered and aggregated.
Perhaps the most powerful aspect of GNW was the diversity of perspectives within the cohort. While ICS itself is highly international, though with a strong Asian focus, GNW takes this to another level by bringing together students from entirely different institutions and regions.
At Yale SoM, there was particularly strong representation from Latin and South America, as well as participants from Africa, Europe, and North America. This added perspectives that I had not previously encountered in my ICS cohort.
One moment that captured this perfectly occurred during a lunchtime discussion. I asked a question in English, and the response evolved through a collaborative process, translated from Spanish to Mandarin and back to English, so that everyone could contribute and find the right expression. It was a small but powerful example of how global collaboration actually works in practice: imperfect, dynamic, and ultimately enriching.
The diversity also highlighted differences in communication styles. For example, as an Australian, I noticed that Australians were often among the first to contribute in class discussions, followed closely by participants from Brazil. Others took a more reflective approach before speaking. This prompted me to reflect on how cultural norms and educational systems influence participation.
Understanding these dynamics is critical in global teams. It is not just about encouraging participation, but also about interpreting silence, confidence, and engagement in the right context. GNW provided a safe environment to observe and learn from these differences.
Practical Insights for Future GNW Participants
Application Process
Before applying, I assumed that attending GNW, particularly at a school like Yale SoM, would involve a complex and competitive process. In reality, the application through ICS was straightforward. Students are assessed based on factors such as motivation, academic performance, and student citizenship.
Once selected, the logistics were relatively simple: arranging a visa, booking flights and accommodation, and preparing for the trip.
Coursework and Workload
One of the unique aspects of GNW is the balance between academic learning and experiential engagement. The coursework during the week was intentionally light, allowing students to focus on networking, cross-cultural learning, and exploration.
This structure creates a different kind of learning environment, one that is less about deliverables and more about interaction and reflection.
Exploring Beyond the Classroom
GNW is also an opportunity to experience a new part of the world. For me, this started even before arriving in New Haven.
I flew into New York and spent a few days exploring the city. Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge was a particular highlight, offering a unique perspective of the skyline. From there, I took a train from Grand Central Terminal to New Haven, an experience that felt iconic in itself.
New Haven and the Yale SoM campus were equally impressive. The campus is rich in history and architecture, with a strong sense of academic tradition. I visited the Yale University Art Gallery, which features works by artists such as Van Gogh, Monet, and Renoir, as well as the Peabody Museum, known for its collection of dinosaurs and North American megafauna.
Food was another highlight. New Haven is famous for its distinctive style of pizza—thin, crispy, and often featuring unconventional toppings. Throughout the week, I also enjoyed a range of local favorites, from bagels and pastries to crepes.
These experiences added an important dimension to GNW. They provided context, cultural immersion, and opportunities to connect with classmates outside the classroom.
Final Reflections
Looking back, my Global Network Week experience was one of the most valuable and enjoyable parts of my MBA journey at Hitotsubashi ICS.
It offered a rare combination of academic insight, global networking, and personal exploration. The exposure to new ideas, perspectives, and environments helped me step outside my usual frame of reference and think more broadly about leadership, decision-making, and collaboration.
Perhaps most importantly, GNW provided a reminder of what makes the Hitotsubashi ICS MBA truly distinctive: its global orientation. Through programs like GNW, students are not just learning about international business—they are experiencing it firsthand.
For anyone considering the Hitotsubashi ICS MBA, I would strongly recommend taking advantage of this opportunity. It is more than just a study week, it is a chance to engage with the world, build meaningful connections, and grow both professionally and personally.
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McNamura Kate Alysse (Kate) Kate McNamara, a member of the MBA Class of 2025 and a YLP scholar, has over 10 years of experience in the oil and gas industry in Australia. She has worked as a geologist, strategic planner and manager supporting operations, exploration and developments. She sees the MBA program at ICS as an excellent opportunity to broaden horizons, learn critical financial and business skills, build strong networks and gain greater cultural understanding. |