Fall 2009 - H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems ...
Fall 2009 - H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems ...
Fall 2009 - H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems ...
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EMIL-SCS:<br />
Highlights From My<br />
International Learning<br />
Experience<br />
By Theresa Foran, MS IL 2008<br />
When I enrolled in Georgia Tech’s Executive Masters in<br />
International Logistics & Supply Chain Strategy (EMIL-SCS)<br />
program, I had been working for DB Schenker’s Corporate<br />
Logistics group for four years. Barry McNeil, Schenker’s vice<br />
president <strong>of</strong> operations who had already graduated from the<br />
program, assured me that I was in for a unique experience.<br />
And he was right.<br />
Through EMIL-SCS, I have learned about global supply<br />
chain issues firsthand. I saw trucks lined up at border<br />
crossings from Eastern Europe heading into Western Europe<br />
and from Mexico into the United States. I experienced traffic<br />
in São Paulo, Brazil. I wound my way through the airport<br />
in Guangzhou, China, and watched huge ships navigate the<br />
narrow passage through the Panama Canal’s locks. In Hong<br />
Kong, I stood on the bridge <strong>of</strong> the world’s biggest container<br />
vessel as containers were simultaneously loaded and<br />
unloaded. I have talked to local business people about their<br />
specific supply chain challenges in China, Malaysia, France,<br />
Germany, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, and beyond. Going through<br />
EMIL-SCS has been an amazing and informative experience.<br />
What is the EMIL-SCS program like? The residence<br />
structure is designed for students who work full time.<br />
The program is built around five two-week residences in<br />
which participants are fully immersed in classes, away from<br />
workplace distractions and <strong>of</strong>ten in overseas locations. The<br />
residences are supported by coursework and assignments,<br />
completed by students back at home between sessions. This<br />
requires application and commitment from the students,<br />
but the program is designed for incorporation around<br />
normal work activities. In fact, many <strong>of</strong> the assignments<br />
require students to apply the theory taught in class to the<br />
practicalities <strong>of</strong> their own company and work environments.<br />
Photos, clockwise from bottom left: (1) Touring the Port <strong>of</strong> Le Havre in Normandy, France. (2) Theresa Foran walking along the Great Wall <strong>of</strong> China.<br />
(3) The class boarded the largest container vessel in the world, The Elly Maersk, which was berthed in Hong Kong. It’s a very long way up. (4) Classmate<br />
Mike Sullivan experiences life on the United States-Mexico border with Border Patrol, Laredo, Texas. (5) The class takes a break from touring SODIMAC<br />
(the local Home Depot equivalent) in Santiago, Chile, for a photo op. (6) The class enjoyed a ride from Panama City to Colon on the Panama Canal<br />
Railway train.<br />
22 • <strong>Industrial</strong> and <strong>Systems</strong> Engineering