Lead Across Borders. Learn Across Contexts.
Your future in global business hinges on more than mastery of the balance sheet—it demands cultural agility. Prepare to confront challenges that require you to expertly traverse unfamiliar international contexts, penetrate novel markets, and lead multicultural teams whose varied insights will reshape your entire professional framework.
The GBSN Business Leadership Lab gives you that experience now—seven days of intensive, immersive learning combined with a structured venture pitching contest. You’ll work alongside graduate students from the GBSN member community of 150+ leading business schools worldwide in one of three 2026 destinations: Boston, Bogotá, or Dubai.
With 32 structured hours, the program qualifies as elective coursework at many institutions (1.0-1.5 credits equivalent). Receive a program certificate and badge documenting your participation in graduate-level international business education.
Applications now accepted. See program details below.
Most International Programs Show You the World.
This One Prepares You to Lead It.
You need more than just site visits and networking. You need those opportunities integrated into a comprehensive experience where company visits inform the venture solution you’re developing, networking connects you with alumni facilitators and expert judges, and week-long collaboration with international teammates builds the cross-cultural agility that distinguishes you in interviews.
What Most Programs Offer:
- ✕ Generic “global immersion” experiences in one economic context
- ✕ Passive observation of businesses and industries
- ✕ Cohorts primarily from your own institution
- ✕ No meaningful deliverable or proof of what you learned
- ✕ Lectures about frameworks you could read online
What Business Leadership Lab Offers:
- ✓ One of three distinct programs across emerging and established markets with specialized curricula
- ✓ Collaborate in cross-cultural teams through a coached venture competition with expert judges
- ✓ Build relationships with 40–50 peers from business schools across continents
- ✓ Present a venture pitch evaluated on VC criteria to industry experts
- ✓ Apply frameworks immediately to market-specific challenges that local leaders care about
The difference?
When you interview for that international role, you won’t just say “I studied abroad.” You’ll say: “I engaged with a team of 8 students from 6 countries to develop and pitch a healthcare innovation solution to a panel of Boston VCs” or “I created an AI governance framework for cross-border implementation that was evaluated by technology leaders in Dubai.”
🌍 Three Destinations • Seven Life-Changing Days • One Global Network
Upcoming Business Leadership Lab Sessions
Three Destinations. Three Challenges. One Choice That Aligns With Your Goals.
Bogotá, Colombia: Social Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets
May 31 – June 7, 2026
Where constraints drive the most creative solutions
Most business students learn frameworks designed for resource-rich markets. But the future belongs to leaders who can create impact with limited capital, navigate complex stakeholder environments, and build sustainable models where traditional approaches fail.
You’ll master:
- → Country politics and economics in emerging market contexts
- → Policy stability and how business environments shape strategy
- → Global positioning and stakeholder management in non-market environments
Your challenge:
Develop an entrepreneurship solution that works where resources are limited—then pitch it to leaders who’ve built successful social enterprises in Latin America.
Cultural component: Cartagena, the Coffee Regions, or the Amazon (cultural and sustainability site visits, group dinner)
Boston, United States: Healthcare &
Innovation
June 21 – June 28, 2026
Where breakthrough ideas become billion-dollar solutions
Healthcare is being reinvented by AI, digital health, and new care delivery models. But understanding the ecosystem that turns lab breakthroughs into scaled solutions requires being inside it—meeting the leaders who fund it, the hospitals that adopt it, and the entrepreneurs who build it.
You’ll master:
- → How the US medical system and healthcare landscape create unique opportunities and obstacles
- → What makes Boston’s innovation ecosystem produce breakthrough healthcare solutions
- → How digital health and AI applications address global health challenges
Your challenge:
Develop a healthcare innovation that could scale globally—then pitch it to the judges who evaluate real healthcare ventures.
Cultural component: New York City (cultural and immersive experience, group dinner)
Dubai, UAE: Artificial Intelligence & Global Leadership Experience
October 11 – October 18, 2026
Where East meets West in shaping AI’s future
AI adoption isn’t just a technical challenge—it’s a governance, ethics, and cross-cultural challenge. Dubai offers a unique lens: a market implementing AI at national scale while bridging Western and Eastern approaches to technology regulation and digital transformation.
You’ll master:
- → UAE’s AI strategy and how governments drive digital transformation
- → AI applications in smart cities and how implementation differs across contexts
- → AI ethics and governance frameworks, plus FinTech and digital banking innovation
Your challenge:
Create an AI implementation framework that works across different markets and regulatory systems—then present it to technology leaders navigating these challenges.
Cultural component: Abu Dhabi (cultural visit, group dinner, trek)
Learning Outcomes
- Cross-Cultural Business Leadership: Develop authentic skills in navigating complex, multi-cultural business environments while building lasting professional relationships across different economic contexts.
- Innovation in Diverse Markets: Master approaches to innovation that work across emerging and established markets, understanding how local context shapes global solutions.
- Sustainable Business Impact: Learn to create business models that generate profit while addressing societal challenges, with real examples from different economic development stages.
- Global Network Building: Join GBSN’s powerful alumni network spanning 150+ institutions, creating career opportunities and collaborations that transcend borders.
Why GBSN Business Leadership Lab?
Unmatched Global Diversity
Our network includes institutions from countries at every economic development stage, providing perspectives impossible to find in traditional business programs.
Purpose-Driven Focus
Every program addresses real societal challenges while strengthening management education’s contribution to community development needs.
Authentic Local Engagement
Rather than observing from the outside, you’ll work directly with local entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders in each market.
Lifelong Professional Network
Build relationships with peers who become your global advisors, collaborators, and co-innovators throughout your career.
Academic Recognition
GBSN will recognize your participation in this transformative global learning experience with an official badge.
More information coming soon! Contact us with questions about this program and how students can participate.