#AIGAC2020. The two-day AIGAC virtual conference 2020 (May 18 and 19) was a huge success. This is the first time I attended a virtual conference, and the learning experience was as rewarding as the in-person conferences I had attended in the past. It was an incredible show put together by our conference team and other AIGAC members.
Over the last two days, 50 admissions officers from the top European and US Business schools and 66 AIGAC members attended the conference. The wide variety of interactive sessions, Breakout Rooms, and panel discussions on crucial topics such as the impact of the COVID-19 on admissions, leveraging technology by business schools in program delivery, and admission and program trends in recent times offered us valuable insights from key stakeholders in the business school ecosystem. We had two highly insightful panel discussions on the changing global circumstances amid COVID-19- one with US B-schools representatives, and the other with European B-schools that addressed many concerns we had about admissions in these unprecedented times.
There were three first time initiatives in this conference. First, three deans of leading business schools (IESE, Ross, and Fuqua) were brought together in Dean's Panel to discuss their vision for the future and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the business education now and in the coming years. Second, there was a panel discussion on the innovative measures schools are adopting to deliver classroom education as well as other events (Assessment Day, Welcome Weekend, School Tours, etc.) online. Third, for the first time, AIGAC brought together applicants, consultants, and admissions representatives on one platform in the Applicant Fair. Over 700 applicants participated in this one-hour fair. In the two breakout sessions, admissions representatives from the top business schools (Tuck, Kellogg, Duke, Georgetown, Columbia, and UCLA) answered questions from applicants that provided applicants and consultants insights on relevant issues and crucial topics amid COVID-19 crisis. The president of AIGAC, Nupur Gupta, was the moderator who asked questions on behalf of applicants.
Overall, the conference was an astounding success and a great learning experience for us as consultants in these challenging times.
Stay tuned to more details on the key takeaways from the conference.
This post first appeared in myEssayReview blog.
