He claimed the region's natural resources and its potential to shorten shipping routes could place Iceland "at the centre of a new global highway". "These are some of the reasons why I believe it's important to keep coming to Iceland in the coming years and decades if you want to be a player in the world economy," he said.
Dr Sionade Robinson, Cass's Associate Dean, said: "It was an honour to end the School's consulting week in the company of the President. After giving an overview of the country's history, culture and economic outlook, he invited students to ask questions and share their experiences of Iceland. It's not often that you get to talk with a head of state over dinner."
MBA student, Gbonju Fanimokun, from Nigeria, sat on the President's table. "Meeting the President was a highlight of my week," she said. "He engaged us in conversations about our experience of visiting and working in Iceland and I was pleasantly surprised when he shifted the discussion to me and my home country." Sophie Treillard, an MBA student from France, added: "This was the first time I've been able to ask questions directly and in person to a country's President. This is a quite a memory."
Cass is the first international business school to stage its MBA consulting week in Iceland. Students spent an intensive week working on business projects for 19 leading companies. Among the firms was one of Iceland's largest banks, Lansbankinn, pharmaceutical giant, Alvogen, outdoor clothing brand, 66 Degrees North and biotechnology firm, Orf Genetics. Other companies included start-up whiskey distillery, Thoran, international law firm, Logos, global food company, Icelandic, and energy firm, Landsvirkjun.
"This was the first opportunity we've had to apply our MBA tools and knowledge to real business problems," said Koby Cohen, from Israel. "Not only did we have to cope with multi-dimensional business problems but also the unique Icelandic market." Gauri Gupta, from Canada, said: “It was a great experience working on a live problem in a real company, especially with UNICEF Iceland. I'm pursuing an MBA at Cass to enable me to switch careers from finance into consulting and one of the reasons I chose Cass was because of its Consultancy Week offering. “The opportunity to consult with a real company, gain the organisation's perspectives on their concerns and the direction they want to take for the future, and provide them with a solution which could possibly be implemented - is a fantastic one.”
The study tour also gave students time to experience the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa set in a volcanic lava field. Students spent an afternoon swimming in the lagoon's waters which reach temperatures of 39 degrees. Other students extended their stay to experience more of Iceland's other attractions. "It was an amazing time," added Koby. "In just a few days we had dinner with the President, climbed volcanoes and glaciers, watched whales, exploding geysers and the Northern Lights, went clubbing and enjoyed the local food, and all with a group of MBA friends from around the world."
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