EY announces first graduates of virtual Tech MBA program
In 2020, Big Four firm EY launched a Tech MBA with the Hult International Business School. EY has now announced the first cohort of eight graduates to have completed the course.
Throughout the coronavirus lock-down, a number of professional services entities are offering professionals remote chances to put their spare time to good use. In July, this saw professional services giant EY launch a new virtual corporate MBA, in association with Hult International Business School. The course is the institution’s first ever fully accredited digital MBA, and is be available to all 300,000 EY people in more than 150 countries, free of charge and irrespective of prior qualifications or location.
Reflecting a broader shift toward virtual learning as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the EYTech MBA is focused on helping EY people develop the mindset and skillset to navigate new ways of working, with all learning delivered entirely online. It also builds on the EY Badges program, through which EY people earn digital credentials in future-focused skills and then apply those new skills in practice.
To date, the organisation has awarded 100,000 EY Badges, a major milestone achieved in February this year, with badges covering a wide range of subject areas from AI (artificial intelligence) to robotic process automation, blockchain, diversity and inclusiveness and sustainable business practices. Now, the firm has also announced the first cohort of eight professionals to graduate its Tech MBA.
Commenting on the milestone, Trent Henry, EY Global Vice Chair – Talent, said, “There has been a huge amount of interest in the EY Tech MBA by Hult since it was launched last year and celebrating the first cohort of graduates is a fantastic milestone. It is a truly innovative program and the very first of its kind, an achievement that is all the more remarkable given that it was launched and has seen its first graduates in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Every one of these graduates has demonstrated a real hunger to build the future-focused skills they need to serve clients, thrive in today’s workplace and unlock their individual contribution to building a better working world.”
The graduates include client-serving professionals from all four EY service lines – assurance, consulting, tax, and strategy and transactions – as well as professionals from other functions who provide services and support for EY teams. Reflecting the global reach of the qualification, the eight graduates represent EY teams based in Canada, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the UK and the US and span a range of experiences and career stages.
They are UK based EY professional Victoria Thorn, Sebastian Chlebicki from Luxembourg, Frank Putman from the Netherlands, Morne du Toit from EY South Africa, Jennifer Greenhorn from Canada, and Allan Douglas, Dane Heilner and Rohit Singh of the US.
One of the graduates, Jennifer Greenhorn, a Manager with EY, Canada, stated, “With a targeted focus on inclusive leadership and the power of technology in business, the EY Tech MBA by Hult offered the real-world experiential learning I was looking for to keep pace with the emerging practices needed to help deliver long-term value to EY clients. The program’s flexibility made it possible to not just balance but continue to achieve in both my career and personal life without putting anything on pause. The global connections and friendships I made with peers from the program were just as rewarding too.”
