While Yale College emptied for fall break, the School of Management welcomed over 80 students to campus for its sixth Global Network Week.

The biannual program, which ran from Oct. 19–23, facilitates exchanges between SOM students and those at other institutions within the Global Network for Advanced Management, an international network of 27 schools founded by SOM Dean Edward Snyder in 2012 to foster collaboration among members from both economically strong countries and those with emerging economies. The first event was held in the spring of 2013 with three participating institutions, and has since grown to include 11 Global Network member schools this semester and welcome nearly 100 students to campus. SOM faculty and administrators at Global Network schools interviewed praised the program for providing international opportunities and a networking platform.

“Two main advantages of GNWs — regarding learning and professional development for master’s students participating — is that the schools offer programs based on their comparative advantage, and the learning environments are more diverse,” Snyder said in an email to the News.

This semester’s GNW brought 85 students of 23 nationalities to the SOM. Each participating school hosted a course based on its particular area of expertise, with the SOM offering a course on the study of Behavioral Economics, Marketing and Finance. SOM marketing professor Nathan Novemsky, who was one of six course instructors for Yale’s GNW course, said the GNW exposed students to topics in behavioral science which are typically not taught at other universities and business schools. Because the University is home to many faculty across various disciplines studying behavioral science, GNW participants could especially gain from Yale’s strength in the field, Novemsky added.

SOM finance professor Nicholas Barberis, who also helped lead the course, said students were introduced to ideas from psychology, such as the biases inherent in decision-making processes, and their applications in economics and marketing. For example, students were shown how overconfidence caused acquisitions to turn out poorly for acquiring firms, Barberis said. By learning about biases in human judgment, students were taught how to identify biases in their own thinking and adjust their views and actions accordingly, he added.

Novemsky said that in addition to academic study, a highlight of the GNW is that it allows students from all over the world to meet and work together, fostering bonds between students from remote regions.

Camino de Paz, director of global initiatives at the SOM, said the main difference between the GNW and other global programs offered by the SOM and its peer institutions is that the GNW provides exposure to multiple topics — from sustainable tourism to the European financial crisis to entrepreneurship and technology in India.

Anuradha Shukla, a consultant at the Office of International Affairs at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore who oversees the school’s participation in the GNW, said the program gives her school’s students a chance to gain new perspectives and benefit from the faculty expertise of other institutions, all in just one week. Students also have the opportunity to visit local businesses and meet with industry experts in each host country, Shukla added. IIMB previously participated in the GNW in October 2014 and sent one student to the SOM this semester.

Katrina Afable, program associate at the International Student Exchange Program at the Asian Institute of Management in the Philippines, said the GNW enables the flow of ideas between students from across the world.

“AIM joined [the GNW] because of its pursuit of bringing together students from different parts of the globe through a joint program that will allow students to exchange ideas,” Afable said.

This month marked the third time AIM has participated in the GNW, and the school hosted three SOM students for its GNW and sent five to New Haven last week.

The next GNW will be held from March 14–18, 2016 and will include 19 participating member schools.

QI XU