How do you expect the joint degree experience to benefit you on both a professional and a personal level? (400 words)
How do you expect the joint degree experience to benefit you on both a professional and a personal level?
I will benefit from the theoretical framework I will acquire at HKS by studying the impact of environmental policies on investment decisions alongside finance and strategy coursework at HBS. In complementary courses such as Political Economy of Oil and Mining Resources in Developing Countries at HKS and Innovation in Business, Energy, and Environment at HBS, I will learn how energy development can combine optimal capital deployment with a sound understanding of international economics and policy.
I am particularly interested in the work of Professor Rebecca Henderson, who, as the Co-Director of the Business and Environment Initiative, is a thought leader on sustainable business practices. Her recent work on managing large-scale technological shifts in energy provides a blueprint for achieving the transition to renewable sources of power generation that I am passionate about.
The joint HBS-HKS experience will strengthen my ability to spearhead positive social change. For example, through case studies in courses such as Management, Finance, and Regulation of Public Infrastructure in Developing Countries, I will learn how to work with countries whose market structures only permit energy-sector investments through Public/Private Partnerships. Challenges that face energy management in emerging markets, such as lack of transparency and long-term policy risks, can only be addressed through a solid, multidisciplinary understanding of business decision-making combined with public and government policy. Personally, I hope to benefit by exploring my passion for South American culture, economy, and politics, which was ignited by my undergraduate study trip to Brazil. At HBS, I will pursue a FIELD experience with a Global Partner in Latin America. At the same time, I will supplement my cultural understanding through courses on Latin American policymaking by professors such as Filipe Campante, attending lectures at the IOP Forum, and through initiatives such as the Latin American Conference.
As a joint degree candidate, I will benefit from interacting with peers from different fields and regions. Each country faces its own social, economic, and political challenges, and students from HBS and HKS may have substantially different areas of focus. I will benefit from the richness of these discussions, learning different perspectives and orientations through the Kennedy School’s public policy lens and the business and management lens of Harvard Business School.