In an effort to provide “best management practices” for business professionals in the energy industry, Rensselaer’s Lally School of Management & Technology has developed an executive education program that addresses leadership skills, emerging technology, innovation, and large-scale project management. In its inaugural year, the program’s first participants include 19 engineers and managers from China Three Gorges Project Corporation (CTGPC) — a company known for the construction of the world’s largest hydropower dam located in the Xilingxia gorge, one of the three gorges along China’s Yangtze River.

Rensselaer’s Lally School of Management & Technology has developed an executive education program that addresses leadership skills, emerging technology, innovation, and large-scale project management. The program’s first participants include 19 engineers and managers from China Three Gorges Project Corporation (CTGPC). The four-month residency program developed by the Lally School consists of tailored academic coursework, corporate site visits, cultural experiences, and interaction with industry leaders. Pictured here, the participants gather in the New York State Senate Chamber following a tour of the NYS Capitol building. Photo by Rensselaer/Thomas Triscari

“Global energy security is the key challenge of our time,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. “The Lally School of Management & Technology has developed a leading-edge program — combining Rensselaer’s historic strengths in technology commercialization with an innovative, integrated MBA curriculum — to provide an environment for business leaders to explore and prepare to manage major energy initiatives. We are honored to launch this program with executives from the China Three Gorges Project Corporation, who represent the next generation of government and business leaders in China. They are working to develop the critical management skills needed to lead this technologically intensive enterprise, and the lessons learned will no doubt have global applications for generations to come.”

The four-month residency program developed by the Lally School consists of tailored academic coursework, corporate site visits, cultural experiences, and interaction with industry leaders in order to help technical professionals and others develop the critical managerial skills needed to manage large-scale, energy-related projects. The program features nine courses taught by Lally School faculty and industry experts. A highlight of the residency program is the Energy Innovation and New Product Management module that is based on experiential learning through a simulated exercise.

Concurrently with the residence program on Rensselaer’s campus, the course features a series of lectures given by energy professionals from several New York state-based companies. This component of the program provides opportunities for American cultural experiences and continued development of executive skills.

“The need for an adequate supply of affordable, accessible, sustainable energy is the overarching issue of the 21st century. In the past 35 to 40 years, worldwide energy consumption has nearly doubled, driven by population growth, rising living standards, invention of energy-dependent technologies, and consumerism,” said David Gautschi, dean of the Lally School. “It is clear that achieving a sustainable global energy framework, capable of meeting the energy needs of citizens, without causing irreparable environmental damage, will require continued technological advances, and business management practices. The China Three Gorges Project Corporation Program serves as a model that we can learn from as academic and business professionals, and the program developed by the Lally School allows for this kind of global exchange.”

In China, “guanxi” is a term, generally translated as personal “networks” or “connections,” developed between individuals in an effort to deal with social uncertainty in a complex social environment. Throughout the course of the program, Thomas Triscari, associate professor of management in the Lally School and the academic director for the program, has worked to introduce and connect the participants to life in America through various activities and projects facilitated inside and outside of the classroom. The group has eaten at various restaurants to learn about dining etiquette and American food, attended various sports events, toured the New York state capital in order to learn about the state’s government and politics, and participated in a series of business presentations with Lally School undergraduate and graduate students in order to practice their English and facilitate discussions on the American and Chinese way of conducting business negotiations and transactions.

CTGPC was founded in 1993 under the auspices of China’s State Council. The official construction of the project — that began in 1994 — has an expected completion date set for 2009. The project was several years in the making, as a number of Chinese government officials and an American expert in dam construction envisioned the benefits that such a large-scale energy project would bring to the society.  

Upon completion of the program in mid-December, participants will develop, implement, and refine an actionable set of management best practices unique to their organization.

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Published December 4, 2006