INSPER NEWS

Learn more about the initiative that brought together students from Insper and The Lisbon MBA for a study on low carbon fuels in the Brazilian market

Last August, Carlo Martini Caruso, Paulo Eduardo Dertonio Donato, and Livia Archeti Pagliaro, Insper’s Executive MBA students, completed their participation in the International Consulting Lab project. The initiative was held with students from the international program The Lisbon MBA Católica | Nova, a joint-venture between CATÓLICA-LISBON and Nova SBE in partnership with the MIT Sloan School of Management. It challenged participants to develop a consultancy project, in the scope of low-carbon fuels in the Brazilian market, for a large Portuguese company in the energy sector.

This year, six students were selected. The group was composed of three participants from The Lisbon MBA and three from Insper’s Executive MBA, advised by a professor from each institution. On August 27, they presented the work’s conclusion to the company’s executive board.

From the company’s perspective, it is interesting to engage with a laboratory and access prestigious business schools’ global talents to develop a project of its choice. Professors from Insper and The Lisbon MBA coordinate the proposals.

Insper Professor José Geraldo Setter Filho was responsible for advising MBA students at the International Consulting Lab. “It was an excellent opportunity for students to have practical and hands-on experience, dealing with an actual problem of the business world,” the professor comments. “When interacting with a multinational team, they have the challenge of achieving synergies and looking for alternatives to a non-trivial situation in the context of the corporate environment.”

The quest for a corporate-culture exchange

Insper student Livia Archeti Pagliaro was one of our school’s representatives at the laboratory. She says that she sought to share knowledge and better understand the different work contexts applied in other countries. “The main motivation I had to take part in the project was to experience knowledge-sharing with students from other cultures and who had other professional backgrounds. It was vital, in my conception, to see the way The Lisbon MBA students work.”

For Carlo Martini Caruso, also an Insper student, besides sharing cultural experiences, another reason to participate in the International Consulting Lab was to dive into a current project focused on renewable energy. “The challenge of delivering work with relevant results for a large company, on a current and critical issue such as an advanced low-carbon fuel, brought up the will to learn more about a topic that was not part of my routine.”

Paulo Eduardo Dertonio Donato, who also took part in the program and completes the team of Insper representatives, had already had experiences with consulting and currently works in the industrial sector. “My idea, when signing up for the project, which at that time was focused on the energy industry, was to have a new professional vision, to get out of the day-to-day, and discover a new market. My intention was to expand my knowledge and learn more about that field”.

Challenges for the present moment

Besides the challenge of setting up an international consulting project, the experience also had a new factor. It was carried out entirely online due to the pandemic. “The project was a challenge from start to finish. The idea of, amid a pandemic, stepping out of your comfort zone and learning about a new topic that until then you had no knowledge of, seemed an almost impossible challenge to undertake”, Carlo comments.

For Paulo Eduardo, the course went beyond expectations precisely because it was able to overcome online the barrier of distancing. “That aspect was one more challenge, but it was very worth it, and I was able to learn a lot.”

“Above all, we managed to create a friendship bond, even at a distance,” Livia adds.

The partnership with The Lisbon MBA has been going on for some years. This year, a selection process was carried out so that all students interested could effectively register and compete for the opportunity.

“Initially, the project included meetings between groups in Brazil and Lisbon, in Portugal. With the onset of the pandemic, we imagined that we would find it difficult to attract students, given the moment of everyone’s readaptation. Surprisingly, the three selected candidates shared with us that precisely because of this work-from-home time, their participation would be more viable”, says Ana Carolina Souza, Insper International’s specialist.

“The team formed was quite diverse, and members had knowledge that complemented each other. For us, it was a pleasant surprise having these students/professionals in this partnership with The Lisbon MBA, as well as the support and attention from Professor José Geraldo Setter Filho”, adds Ana Paula Fraga, Coordinator of the International Relations area.

Experience recommended by participants

“I recommend the experience to other students. We had the great opportunity to immerse ourselves in a subject that none of us had mastered in a short time. However, we were able to learn new work methodologies and ways of thinking,” reports participant Livia.

“The experience as a whole contributes to preparing students to fly higher in their professional careers, without forgetting the network built along this path,” comments Professor José Geraldo.

International opportunities

“Our students’ excellent performance, as well as the dedication and active participation of all, reinforces that even during the pandemic and, without necessarily having mobility itself, it is possible to guarantee experiences of connection and international relationship,” explains Andreia Ribeiro, Insper International’s analyst.

All of our MBA students have a number of international opportunities available throughout their trajectory at Insper. They must stay connected and contact our International Relations area to learn more. (international@insper.edu.br).

The Lisbon MBA

The Lisbon MBA is an intensive 12-month program for high-potential professionals who want to improve their careers, focusing exclusively on a transformational experience. It carries out its International Consulting Lab since 2011, in partnership with renowned MBA programs from different countries. In Brazil, Insper is the only institution participating in the initiative, which has also had partnerships such as Fudan University, China, and EGADE Business School in Mexico.

MBA at Insper

Insper’s Executive MBA, International Executive MBA, Masters in Public Administration, and Executive MBA in Finance are accredited by the Brazilian Association of MBAs (Anamba) and the Association of MBAs (AMBA) for following the most rigorous international quality criteria. They train professionals who already have management experience and seek to develop leadership skills, besides improving decision-making skills at organizations. Find out more.