The Global Field Experience (GFE) is a core course required for all MBA students, providing a high-impact consulting opportunity and equipping you with skills to excel as a global business leader.
In this course, you will be assigned to a team of four of your peers to work with a client in an emerging market to help address a business challenge or opportunity they are facing. This semester-long course culminates in a one-week immersion where you travel to present your final analysis and recommendations to the client in person. The GFE cultivates a global mindset, empowering you to navigate business complexities — in any culture — with confidence.
This course, led by our MBA faculty, will help you:
Apply your MBA skills to solve a real client challenge.
Gain an understanding of unique business challenges faced in emerging markets.
Navigate cross-cultural communication and collaboration.
For the academic year of 2024-2025, Rice Business completed projects in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Lima, Panama City, Medellin, and Bogotá.
Argentina
Brazil
Colombia
Chile
Panama
Peru
Industries
As part of the Global Field Experience, teams of MBA students are paired with clients in an emerging market to address a strategic problem facing their company. Global Field Experience clients reflect a wide range of industries and challenges for students. The following are client industry distributions for consulting projects completed in the 2023-2024 academic year.
A Sample of Past International Clients
Emergente Energia Sostenible
Emergente Energía Sostenibles SAS is a company devoted to the promotion and development of renewable energy projects and innovative business models, contributing to a more sustainable future. They specialize in designing and installing solar and hydraulic energy systems, providing consulting services, and conducting feasibility and environmental studies for energy projects.
Effluz
Effluz offers products for premature babies, twins, and full-term infants, inspired by the founders' experience as parents of premature twins. Initially a physical store, Effluz transitioned to an online platform in 2018 to balance family life and business. Following the Global Field Experience, the company invited Rice MBA students to join their advisory board.
Hanna Hops Brewery
Hanna Hops Brewery is a craft beer company that prides itself on being a welcoming space for creativity, collaboration, and authenticity. Despite the pandemic delaying their plans to open a bar, the founders adapted by selling mixed packs online and hosting virtual tastings, eventually opening their first location in November 2020.
ATACAMA
Atacama is a leading outdoor advertising company in Buenos Aires, specializing in LED screens and complex advertising architecture. Known for innovation, it was the first in Argentina to offer programmatic screen advertising and launched the LATAM OOH Platform for easy campaign planning across Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil.
At Rice Business, our goal isn't merely to expand our global footprint; rather, it's to cultivate a profound and purposeful global impact in thoughtfully chosen markets. The Global Field Experience empowers our students to generate value within these markets, enhancing both their personal and professional journeys.
