A field trip with a purpose!

When Cranfield University EMBA Academic Director contacted Alba International Office almost a year ago, in order to organize the first Cranfield Field trip in Athens, no one expected that the learning experience of the 19 MBA and EMBA students would be so fulfilling and impactful. The aim of the Cranfield field trip experience was to offer students a true understanding about Greece, its social and business dimensions, threats and opportunities and the challenge of doing business in Greece through the lenses of sustainability.

This unique experience aimed at introducing students to the key growth challenges of a Greek NGO which promotes sustainability in the Greek society. The students had the opportunity to support an NGO in their effort to grow and expand and mostly to optimize their operations by using the design thinking methodology. Cranfield EMBA and MBA students came to Athens last week and followed a 4 days Field Experience. Teams learned about the importance of Strategic Agility in their Decision Making by the Alba Dean, discussed in class how difficult it is to keep all stakeholders happy with Pavlos Vlachos, got introduced to NGO BOROUME which coordinates saving food waste by delivering to shelters and other charities, and visited AB Vassilopoulos retail chain market for an exclusive sustainability strategy presentation.

Students had the chance to follow the food “journey” from the local farmers’ market to the charity, do their field research and data collection with the people involved in the process and then they worked in the intensive design thinking sprint with Nikos Mylonopoulos, develop their personas and brainstorm innovative solutions for the improvisation of the food “journey” or new services that BOROUME can introduce. The highlight of the week was the volunteering collection of unsold vegetables and fruits at the farmers’ markets at Kipseli, Metaxourgio and Nea Smirni.

Interacting with the farmers and collecting the food left on the benches offered by the sellers was an exciting and very rewarding procedure. Students not only tasted a multicultural experience, but they also saw the impact of their volunteering activity. More than 20 super market trolleys of fresh greens and fruits were collected that day which were offered to 3 charity organizations who cook fresh meals to families in need.

Final project presentations to Boroume CEO Alexander Theodoridis was certainly a blast! Creativity and innovation was the key element of ideas presented.

Cranfield MBA and EMBA students finally treated themselves for all their efforts and successful projects with a wine tasting session with Maria Moragiannis at Papagiannakos winery and an exclusive dinner at Vouliagmeni.