Metropolitan EMBA Brochure 2020/21 Metro-EMBA-Brochure-2019-20-Joomag | Page 71

Professor Joanne Lawrence’s Social Innovation class encourages students to partner with global organizations like the United Nations Development Program, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF to tackle some of the world’s seemingly unsolvable problems. Countries Hult students and the UNDP have jointly focused on over the last two years are: Barbados, Colombia, Haiti, Egypt, Jordan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen. How do you bring your own experience into the classroom? In my corporate role I was constantly facing ethical dilemmas: apartheid in South Africa, prices and access to medicines, too much sugar in drinks, etc. Those experiences helped to shape the teacher I’ve become. I use such examples to inform my lectures: there is nothing quite like learning from stories drawn from real situations. What makes Hult different? Its truly global outlook and entrepreneurial attitude. While Hult respects the past, it’s not tied to it. It is very much about the future. What is the role of business in society? Today’s world is very much interconnected and a global, ethical mindset is critical. Business can only thrive in societies that are stable and inclusive. Companies have a critical role to play in helping to create those societies by integrating social and environmental principles into what they do and how they do it. I truly believe that Hult students will lead that effort as they apply what they learn and will thrive as they help to move the world forward.  Follow Joanne on LinkedIn or go to hult.edu/blog and search “Joanne Lawrence” Joanne has 35+ years of corporate and consulting experience with global organizations including BP, IBM, SmithKline Beecham, the World Bank, and the UN Global Compact. She was named one of Britain’s Top 20 Corporate Women by the Sunday Times and won the Case Centre’s 2018 Best Case Study Award in the Ethics and Sustainability category for “Sustainability as Opportunity: Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan.” To truly understand society you first need to immerse yourself within it. Social Innovation elective Joanne Lawrence American Practice, Business & Global Society Professor FACULTY INSIGHT