According to an article in the New York Times, Grenoble Graduate School of Business in France is expanding its M.B.A. offerings to include a traveling degree program.  According to the article, students will attend week long seminars in 8 international cities over the course of the degree-seeking.  Students will be required to do case studies on each city and focus on the various topics that are specific to that area.  The cities to be included are Grenoble, Geneva, Moscow, London, New York, Singapore, New Delhi, and Beijing.

While a program like this is sure to give its students a wide variety of experiences, I wonder about the overall effectiveness in preparing its students for their specific future.  How can a one week seminar and some case study work really prepare you for the reality of the business world?  There is something to be said for the programs diversity and wide range of experiences, but do they come at too high of a cost?  The travel is a perk, or is it?

Looking at the list of host cities, one wonders how the students will actually grasp the depths of business dealings within each society and government, not to mention the language barriers that will be present.  Will they actually understand how the language, culture, government, and society interact enough to take away the essential business fundamentals they are there to learn?  I appreciate diverse programs and the myriad experiences they bring their students, but is this one so diverse that it will actually do more harm than good?