A Novel Approach to Electives Brings 8 Universities to UCLA for 1 Week

Each summer, UCLA Anderson’s Center for Global Management facilitates one-week international exchange programs designed to accommodate the schedules of working professionals. It’s an exclusive elective opportunity for executive and fully employed MBA students, both at Anderson and at schools of management around the world, to broaden their global perspectives.

In 2025, Anderson welcomed to campus 37 graduate students from eight leading business schools in Australia, Brazil, Italy, Japan, China, Peru, Spain and the U.K. They joined Anderson’s elective block, which also included students in the UCLA-NUS EMBA program, creating additional opportunities for international networking and collaboration. More than 60 Anderson FEMBA and EMBA students are participating in the exchanges, in their turn attending classes at the eight partner universities.

Visiting international students and Anderson EMBAs and FEMBAs attend on-campus classes taught by Anderson faculty

Uncommon bonds form quickly in the short but intensive week of in-country course work. Reem Bushnag, a student at London Business School, called the experience “a valuable opportunity to immerse myself in the entrepreneurial mindset that defines California.” Anderson’s Erin Hiley (’26), who joined the on-campus summer block, was energized by the breadth of international representation in each class. “I’m reminded how much the diversity of perspectives here shapes the experience,” Hiley wrote on LinkedIn. “Every conversation stretches my thinking and makes the journey richer.”

EMBA Council co-president Marisa Lue (’26) participated in both the elective block at UCLA and the in-country exchange at Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa (Insper) in São Paulo, Brazil. Lue, whose background is in biochemistry, is an R&D program manager in product development at Illumina, a biotech company in the genomics industry. She leads a cross-functional team that includes representatives from marketing, commercial and R&D functions through product concept and launch.

Melbourne Business School student Jordan Hooper (center) traveled to UCLA to join the intensive summer business exchange with Anderson Class of 2026 EMBA students like Victor Hill and Alexa Tralla

Lue enrolled at Anderson with the main goal of obtaining the business acumen to help her lead her teams effectively. She jumped at the chance to participate in Anderson’s international exchange program. “Working at a global company means that I frequently interact with colleagues in Latin America, Asia and Europe,” she says. “At Anderson, I learned how to analyze customers, companies and competitors. My Brazil experience supplemented that knowledge with strategic insights into consumer behavior in Latin America. For example, in certain communities, people put trust in the brand recommendations from their friends and family rather than large marketing campaigns.”

One of Lue’s courses at Insper covered AI and the Amazon, in which she learned how firms are contributing to climate change. “My final assignment was to create a business opportunity that utilizes AI for sustainability impact in the Amazonian region. Being able to experience and understand how business and social responsibility combine in other countries will enable me to make better informed decisions throughout my career.” Lue, who has studied social entrepreneurship in Adjunct Assistant Professor Gayle Northrop’s classes at Anderson, will travel next to South Africa for Northrop’s global immersion course. “Her insight into social enterprises has reshaped the way I look at corporate giving, sustainability and social responsibility,” Lue says of Northrop.

She adds, “This is why I chose Anderson: It has well-rounded programs in many specialties that allow us to explore areas of interest.”

Cristina Popescu traveled to Australia on exchange at Melbourne Business School
Q&A WITH CRISTINA

Anderson EMBA student Cristina Popescu (’26), who started her life, education and career in Bucharest, Romania, is a human resources business partner at Santa Ana, California-based KPC Health. Like Lue, she joined both the UCLA component of the international business exchange and the overseas study. “I chose the elective at Melbourne Business School specifically for Professor Vivek Chaudhri’s Leading in Transformational Times course because it promised more than technical skills,” says Popescu. “It offered a strategic, philosophical and deeply human approach to leadership in an age of volatility. We explored concepts like leading under uncertainty and risk, ambidextrous and nimble leadership, strategy as a portfolio of bets, and the role of values in decision-making. But what truly elevated the experience was the way the professor held space for challenge, perspective and growth. He didn’t just teach frameworks; he helped us see ourselves as leaders of change. And the class rose to his challenge and engaged in interesting and fiery debates.”

But, she says, “This exchange was more than a course, it was a transformational experience that reshaped how I think about impact, equity and strategy.”

Back in Los Angeles, Popescu reunited with peers in her Melbourne cohort, and bonded with other students from Spain, Peru, Brazil, London, Dubai and China. “The intensive August block felt like an academic bootcamp with a global flavor,” she says. “We studied, debated, laughed and ate meals together, experiencing the kind of immersion that turns classmates into trusted colleagues.”

Popescu took a group of Spanish students on a coastal tour from Santa Monica to Laguna Beach. “That day, we didn’t just share meals and stories, we exchanged perspectives on work, culture and leadership. These relationships are more than friendships; they are a living network of global professionals who inspire me to think differently and challenge me to lead with empathy, inclusivity and vision.”

Classmate Becky Wai (’26), chief strategy officer at telehealth company VSee, agrees that, despite a daily commitment that might run from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., “When you’re surrounded by amazing people like this, you still find the energy to stay up late — curious, engaged and eager to learn more about each other long after the day’s lessons end!”

Anderson EMBA Becky Wai (front row, second from right) valued the time she spent getting to know her visiting classmates on campus as well as beyond

At UCLA, international business electives are taught by Anderson faculty across the school’s areas of study. Their expertise encompasses the sectors many working MBA students find most relevant, such as technology, healthcare, industrial organization and real estate. Students in the program are nominated by their home institutions and must meet certain requirements, such as being in good academic standing and possessing a minimum of five years of work experience.

As companies raise expectations of their executives’ familiarity with global markets and customs, Anderson upholds a high standard to educate students who want to develop an informed world view and understand how global issues influence business and society.

As Bushnag wrote on LinkedIn, the international business exchange is “a powerful reminder that leaders create possibilities for themselves, for others and for the future.”