So, Why EMMIE? A Student’s Perspective

Photo: 2 EMMIEs mentoring freshman students during the Start-Up Week at ZSEM

Introduction

I will be honest, when I decided to write this article, I initially considered going the route of telling you a very politically correct explanation as to why any aspiring student would be lucky to get into the EMMIE program. However, I wanted to give you an honest, unfiltered look at what EMMIE really is about and why the program is a great fit for aspiring future leaders and a worthy investment for potential partners and program sponsors. 

My Top 3 Reasons Why EMMIE

1. Move From Theory to Action

One of my favorite entrepreneurs Lluis Pareras in his TEDx talks emphasizes that without execution, the value of any idea remains zero. This quote which I learned and memorized years ago was one of the key reasons I was eager to join the program. As someone who often has brilliant ideas but struggles to implement them, the EMMIE program has allowed me to finally embrace the culture of experimentation and the value of trying out various approaches to problem-solving within a regulated yet untampered environment. 

This journey of moving from theory to action in a fit to make a real difference can truly be unnerving and intimidating, even for some industry experts and entrepreneurs not entirely new to the entrepreneurial journey. However, the best part of the program is that you no longer have to go through these motions of self-discovery and business development alone. Not only are you surrounded by a community of some of the smartest minds within your classrooms, but the program also carefully ensures that students, throughout each of their various mobilities are constantly exposed to lecturers and expert guest speakers who are some of the best minds in their fields. 

2. Mentorship

Photo 2: An EMMIE student coaching Freshman Students during the ZSEM Start Up week. 

The best part of this mentorship dynamic is that it also goes both ways. It is one thing to finally enjoy the guidance of a seasoned mentor with extensive expertise in your area of interest and it’s a whole other mind-blowing experience when you the student must become the teacher, pun intended. One of the greatest ways the program quickly set us up to hone our entrepreneurial skills was by challenging us to participate as mentors to the freshmen business students during the ZSEM Start-Up Week. 

During the said exercise, EMMIE students were tasked with mentoring and offering guidance to the freshmen business students who had to come up with innovative and sustainable business ideas and create products/ services and consequently, winning pitches, that would be presented before some of the school’s professors, Dean of Studies, university partners among other guests. See the details here. Yet, it was through such activities that the majority of us EMMIE students discovered just how equipped we are to become the leaders of tomorrow, once we helped others convert ideas to action. 

3. Gain Access to Global Networks of Impact Drivers

Photo 3: Class taught by the former president of Slovenia, Borut Pahor

As much as I enjoy such academic settings that allow me to learn from peers and learn by teaching, it is how the program sets us up to network with global leaders and players that gets me excited. For instance, on a casual Wednesday afternoon at ZSEM, EMMIE students among other business students from the university were invited to meet the former president of Slovenia, Borut Pahor. The former President  Borut, had visited the Campus for a guest lecture. We get to sit and listen to the iconic leader share about crucial ways entrepreneurs are shaping the future. After the lecture, we also had the privilege to talk, engage, and enjoy lengthy discussions on various aspects of education, business, and global politics with the prestigious guests among other invited guests. As usual, here is a link for you to learn more about the event.

The thing is, we may not have had the pleasure of asking the former president for his phone number (I’m funnier in person I promise), but the idea is that we are placed in rooms that allow us to foster long-term networks with highly esteemed leaders. What value can you place on that? If you remember our starting question, so why EMMIE? This is part of the answer. This is why EMMIE.

Also, if you are a potential sponsor/investor/partner who made it this far into my article, do you see how much impact just showing up could have on a bunch of young up-and-coming entrepreneurs? Reach out to our program coordinators here to discuss how you could support or invest in the vision that is EMMIE. 

Bonus Point: You Will Have Plenty of Fun Doing It

Irrefutably, EMMIE is an exciting journey. You get to study and travel across some of the best business schools in Europe. Additionally, you get to actualize your ideas and realise your dream of providing an impact-based solution to a stakeholder dear to you. Most importantly, you are granted access to other entrepreneurs going on this adventure with you. We hear a lot that entrepreneurship is a lonely journey, but the community EMMIE has built ensures that the journey is not as lonely. Although I went on and on about the tangible benefits of the program and the environment it has created to ensure the expected success of impact entrepreneurs, the true value of the program lies in the community of unstoppable individuals that it builds. 

The value of the program lies in the accountability you start receiving from strangers turned friends and possibly even business partners. It lies in the mentors who open the door wide for you to walk through and in the professors who remind you, that we are but like the hummingbird that is determined to do something when everyone else feels too helpless to do anything. Sure, some of the problems we try to solve as passionate impact entrepreneurs sound crazy, but aren’t the projects we are likely to struggle at solving the most worthwhile endeavours of all?

As someone who could think of plenty of reasons why EMMIE, it was quite the challenge to narrow this down to just 3 top reasons. So, if at the end of this post, you are curious about more reasons, kindly comment MORE and I will be sure to share more undoctored reasons why EMMIE, from a student’s perspective.

By Effie Fiona Mbuvi