Essential Business MOOCs for September

Moving In 3

Welcome back!

In May, we couldnā€™t leave school fast enough. Fresh off our capstones and exams, we raced to our jobs or internships. All summer, we got schooled in a different way. The best ideas werenā€™t always financially or politically workable, we found. Like business school, we learned that we couldnā€™t do it alone. Just as important, we were reminded how hard it is to build a reputation ā€“ and how easy it is to get lost.

We explored, collaborated, laughed, led, dreamed, maneuvered, networked, stumbled and eventually understood and accepted. It was a three-month case study, filled with exposition and questions, with the ultimate lessons still to be determined. Along the way, we picked up a few advocates (and a load of Linkedin connections and Facebook friends). In the end, we deferred without being deterred, often discovering our place and purpose in the process.

SEPTEMBER OFFERINGS: A MOOC FOR JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY INTERESTED IN BUSINESS

And here we are again ā€“ school ā€“ just like we left it. And our teachers are back too, fresh off their academic R&R (as in research and writing). Like spring, the fall is a chance to start anew. Forget new yearā€™s resolutions triggered by guilt and gluttony. The first semester is all about momentum, building off those summer lessons that prepare us for our next steps.

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are one way for MBAs to refresh this learning. Considering an MBA? MOOCs allow you to test whether you have the horsepower for grad school. Currently enrolled? MOOCs can help you fill gaps ā€“ without any grade pressures. Already graduated? Consider MOOCs an extension of your commitment to life-long learning.

And this September is packed with some remarkable courses!

Ever wonder what itā€™s like to study at Wharton? Starting September 5th, you can take one of their foundational courses ā€“ Introduction to Financial Accounting ā€“ required of every Wharton student. Taught by Brian Bushee, one of Whartonā€™s most decorated instructors, youā€™ll get first-hand exposure to the lessons taught at a top three business school. For those students whoā€™ve mastered the basics, IESE Business School offers Corporate Finance Essentials. This course is led by Javier Estrada, a prolific author known for simplifying even the most complex financial concepts and instruments.

THE MONTH’S BEST COURSE? TRY SCALING UP YOUR VENTURE WITHOUT SCREWING UP

Thinking about becoming an entrepreneur? You wonā€™t find many better programs in that area than Stanford. And you certainly wonā€™t find better guides than teaching and research legends Bob Sutton and Huggy Rao. On September 8th, you can join them for Scaling Up Your Venture Without Screwing Up, which is likely to be the most popular MOOC of the month. The five-week course–based on a book co-authored by the two professors—will feature interviews with venture capitalists, company founders and executives, along with a multi-media case study that puts youĀ in the shoes of a CEO as you tackle keyĀ challenges. Sutton is best known for his best selling book, The No Asshole Rule, so you know this one is going to be entertaining.

If you want to direct your entrepreneurial energies toward the greater good, you shouldnā€™t miss Whartonā€™s Social Entrepreneurship MOOC either, a six- week course that also starts on September 8th. For students absorbed in the ā€œdisruptiveā€ concepts pioneered by Clayton Christensen, the University of Maryland will launch a re-vamped version of its Surviving Disruptive Technologies course on September 29. If youā€™re thinking about entering the supply chain field, you canā€™t miss Supply Chain and Logistics Fundamentals, an 11-week course produced by MIT, the top-ranked masterā€™s program in the field according to U.S. News and World Report.

Want to learn more about these courses? Click on the links below, where you can also enroll.

Introduction to Financial Accounting / Wharton / September 5

Scaling Up Your Venture Without Screwing Up / Stanford / September 8

The Age of Sustainable Development / Columbia University / September 2

Social Entrepreneurship / Wharton / September 8

Surviving Disruptive Technologies / University of Maryland / September 29

Unethical Decision-Making in Companies / University of Lausanne / September 22

Corporate Finance Essentials / IESE Business School / September 29

Technology Entrepreneurship: Part 2 / Stanford University / September 22

An Introduction to Operations Management / Wharton / September 29

Innovation: The Key to Business Success / University of Leeds / September 15

Supply Chain and Logistics Fundamentals / MIT / September 30

Discovering Business in Society / University of Exeter / September 8

Networked Life / University of Pennsylvania / September 1

Data Analysis and Statistical Inference / Duke University / September 1

Global Business Environment I / University of New Mexico / September 2

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