March 4, 2025 • 37 mins
In recent years, online education has come to the forefront as an alternative to traditional education programs. Its increasing prominence reflects its adaptability, flexibility, affordability, and far-reaching scale. As the global workforce stands to undergo significant changes in the next 5-10 years due to digitalization, advancements in AI, and automation, employers are increasingly valuing skills over degrees. For workers, this requires a practice of continuous learning.
In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Eva Ponce, Director of Online Education at the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, and Dr. Inma Borrella, Academic Lead for the MITx MicroMasters Program in Supply Chain Management. Eva and Inma discuss the role of online education in upskilling the workforce and the impact of the MITx MicroMasters Program, the first of its kind.
Host & Executive Producer: Benjy Kantor Marketing Writer & Producer: Mackenzie Berry Sound Editor: David Benjamin Sound Audio Engineer: Kurt Schneider
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
- Welcome to another episodeof Supply Chain Frontiers,
the MITCTL podcast
where we explore the trends, technologies,
and innovations shaping
the future of supply chain management.
I'm your host, Benjy Kantor,
and today we're diving intoa topic that's become central
to the evolution of ourfield, the future of work,
and the role of onlineeducation in up-skilling
and re-skilling thesupply chain workforce.
(00:21):
Joining me today are two
of MITCL's leading expertsin online education.
Dr. Eva Ponce, directorof online education,
and the MITX MicroMasters program
in supply chain managementand Dr. Inma Borrella
academic lead of that same program,
the MITX MicroMasters programin Supply Chain Management.
Eva and Inma have been instrumental
in shaping online learningofferings at MITCTL,
(00:42):
which have reached over amillion registrants globally.
And today we'll explore how their work
and online education in generalis empowering individuals
and organizations to meet the demands
of an evolving workforce.
With that, I'm reallyexcited for the opportunity
to learn more
about the opportunitiesonline learning creates
for up-skilling and re-skilling,
we'll be talking about that today along
with the challenges organizations face
in adopting these toolsand what the future holds
(01:04):
for workforce education andsupply chain management.
Let's get started withour guests, Eva Ponce
and Inma Borrella, just to set the stage.
Thank you so much for being here.
Eva, can you walk us throughthe various online offerings
that are currently beingoffered through MITCTL?
- Yes, so we started in 2014offering the first massive open
online course in supplychain fundamentals.
(01:26):
Then in 2016 we offered
the MicroMasters programsupply chain math.
The MicroMaster includes fivemassive open online courses
that goes from supply chain analytics
to supply chain fundamental,supply chain design,
supply chain dynamics
and supply chain technologies and systems.
(01:46):
After completing the fivemassive open online courses,
learners need to take a comprehensive
and final exam just to earnthe MicroMaster credential.
So we started with that in2016, having almost 10 years
of MicroMaster credential in the world.
We are also offering
(02:07):
a specialized massive open online courses.
We have courses in sustainability,
humanitarian logistic more recently
in advanced network design.
And we see these specializedMOOCs as electives,
as those kind of coursesthat after completing
the MicroMaster program learners can take
(02:29):
or as a courses thatanyone from anywhere want
to learn about sustainability
and just pick that MOOC inorder to learn about that topic.
So this is one of the thingswe are offering currently,
we have been offeringonline customized courses
for companies and we aregrowing in this area.
We have companies like Walmart, like BMS,
(02:52):
CH Robinson, companiesfrom different industries,
different sectors that areusing custom online courses
to upskill and re-skill theirworkforce of the future.
Just as a testimony of the impact
that we've had around theworld, you mentioned Benjy,
that MicroMasters program got more
than 1.2 million enrollments,
(03:14):
but we pursue more than70,000 certificates.
There is individual core certificates.
We have about 5,500credential holders that people
that completed the wholejourney and got our credential
and we run more than 100 courses.
So it's been really like a very intense,
that's it, just a hundred.
(03:35):
But it's amazing.
So it's really fulfillingto see the impact
that this program has hadin in during this year.
So yeah, fantastic.
We're very energized to keep going.
- Eva, perhaps you can start just sort
of describing the landscapeof online education
and supply chain management
and what kind of trends you'veseen emerge in recent years.
- The landscape of online education
(03:55):
in supply chain management
has transformed significantlyin recent years.
It's no longer just anoption for learning,
but has also become acritical enabler for companies
and organizations to re-skill
and up upscale the workforce
of the future in supply chain management.
(04:17):
If we want to look alittle bit to the history
and over the past decade,
online education has grown exponentially.
The emergence of digitalplatforms like edX
and Coursera in 2012definitely brings opportunity
to well-known universitieslike MIT and Harvard
(04:38):
and many others to just create courses
to be specifically deliveredthrough this online mean.
And this platform has helped definitely us
in the education landscapeto democratize knowledge,
has helped to provide these online courses
(05:01):
and open this educationto anyone from anywhere.
The online education is reallyflexible, it's affordable,
it's convenient, allowed toprovide grad level education.
So I think these digitalplatforms brought a key milestone
in online education.
What we have observed recently,
(05:23):
I would say specificallymore after the pandemic,
is how companies are alsoidentifying this online education
and this platform as a way
to upscale the workforce of the future.
And I want to highlight thepandemic for two reasons
because supply chain management
as a field has also changed a lot.
(05:44):
The introduction of newtechnologies, the introduction
of AI tools are definitelybringing the need
of upscale the workforce
of supply chain management professionals.
So this need that the pandemic highlighted
because brought the importanceof supply chain management
and supply chain management,mainly what we are doing
(06:04):
is trying to connect the origin
with and bring theproducts to the customer.
During the pandemic we were able
to observe many issuesrelated to that endeavor.
We are observing more andmore companies coming to us
just to use onlineeducation for that endeavor.
- Well, and no one wouldever say thank goodness
for the pandemic, right?
But I agree with you.
(06:25):
It highlighted the opportunity
to what you just said,democratize education.
And I think that thekey that you mentioned,
I wanted to ask about this interms of challenges of growing
that program in that community
is as things are moreaccessible to more people
and supply chain is top of mind for people
like our director of thecenter, Yossi Shef, he said,
(06:46):
"Oh my wife finally understandswhat I do for a living
after 50 years, right?"
Like, 'cause it's in the zeitgeist now.
But the quality of the programI think is the key piece
because there was probablyconcerns about when this program
was lifting off that it wouldhave that sort of same quality
that you're getting from an education
from higher universitiesand higher ed in general
and like did you see that?
Was there a pushback?
(07:07):
Is there still pushbackabout the difference of level
of quality between online and in person?
- I think in terms ofthe quality of content,
there is no different.
I think the important thinghere is the type of content.
What we have learned through the years
is that there is certain contentsthat are definitely better
(07:28):
to be taught online
and there are still other,for example, soft skills.
Soft skills likenegotiation, communication,
I believe that is betterto teach in person.
However, there are otherskills we can connect
with some of the skills
that are really requirednow like analytical skills,
(07:48):
supply chain analytics,these type of skills
or inventory management models,
demand forecasting techniques.
These are topics content
that definitely we candeliver in a very effective
and efficient way throughthe online platforms.
These online platforms allow learners
(08:08):
to learn at their self pace
whenever they have the time to do that
and are very effective fromthe learning perspective
because also provide immediate feedback.
And this allow what wecall reinforcing learning.
And this reinforcing learning
is really critical and effective.
So when you are learningthrough a short video,
(08:31):
let's say that concept,you have the opportunity
to immediately apply toa real world problem.
This is really effective.
And one of the key things
of problems like MicroMaster for example,
is this combination ofhigh quality content,
graduate level content.
And what we are teaching
through these courses istruly exactly the same.
(08:53):
What we are teachinghere on campus at MIT,
the combination of these short videos
with these specific problems, exercises
that represent real problems
and the opportunity to receivethis immediate feedback
I think is really effective and powerful
in this online means.
So I think the discussion ismore what are these content
(09:17):
that should be delivered online
or is more effective to deliver online
and what are these contentor what aspects do we want
to build on this online knowledge
and then have further discussion,
deep discussions on campus.
And this is something we havebeen learning over the years
(09:37):
and now I think we havea better understanding
about these contents thatwork better in one format
versus the other format.
And I personally trulybelieve that the combination
of both formats is whatreally brings the best
of both worlds.
- For learners who are around the globe
and who are in the workforce,
they're working and they might not be able
(10:00):
to have this period oftime where they're applying
for a program and attending aprogram and going in person.
And like what you're saying,that immediate sort of access
I could imagine make a hugedifference for someone like,
I'm gonna go home tonight at five, 6:00 PM
and I can access that contentthen instead of having
to be at a place and missingout on my job forever long.
And actually that sortof brings me to a point
(10:21):
where I wanted to bringin Inma and your thoughts
about how the workforce insupply chain has changed over
the last 5, 10, 20 years
and what role you seeonline education for that.
We touched a little bit on that
but I think if you havesome additional stuff
to add on that.
- Sure, yeah, thank youfor the question Benjy.
So I think there are many new trends
(10:42):
in the supply chainmanagement field that require
for people to really upskill themselves.
But taking a step back,we also need to understand
that many people workingin supply chain management
didn't have a formaleducation in this field.
We have people coming fromengineering, from economics,
but also from biology, from literature.
It's a field that attractsmany different profiles
(11:02):
and many people falling it
by chance at some point in their career.
- Everybody's sort ofaccidentally in supply chain.
- Exactly and then you know,
it really sparks passion in people
and people really like love it
because it's a combination of analytics
or the more like hard skillsor math kind of profiles
with also these businesscommunications, negotiations,
(11:23):
stakeholder management kind of skills.
So people really, really like
and feel comfortable in this field
because it's challenging in many ways,
it's personal but it'salso technical, right?
So it's about relationships
but also about knowingwell your math skills.
So I think this lack offormal background sometimes
also like can hinderprogression in this field.
(11:45):
So many people after beingin it for a few years
or starting on it, they realize they need
to have a better skillset,more tools in order
to address the problems thatthey face in the daily jobs.
And that's what we'veheard from many learners
in the MicroMasters programthat they actually like wanted
to upskill themselves.
They were looking forsomething that could help them
(12:05):
with their daily job,
maybe to solve an inventorymanagement problem
or to develop a better strategyfor a global supply chain.
And they found our courses online
and our courses are very learn and apply.
That's our approach.
Mens et Manus like the MIT motto.
And we find that thesecourses, online courses, ours
and others are filling this gap
(12:25):
of people without a formalbackground that want
to learn these basic models
that can help them solve supplychain management problems.
So that's on one hand the more more basic
like filling this gap ofknowledge that many people new
to the field they thenever like formally learn.
And then there's the new trends,
whatever was mentioningabout new technologies AI
like what everybody'stalking about right now.
(12:47):
And of course, that's aconcern for professionals
and also for companies whowant to upskill their workforce
and make sure they're up to date.
So actually,
there's many like researchbeing done out there.
So the World Economic Forum
for example is alwayspublishing this research
about the work of the future
and they identify that two
of the three top skillsare analytical thinking
(13:08):
and technological literacy.
So these are like the top skills
being sought after by companies.
They want that in their workforce.
And I think these are two skills
that are really a very goodfit for online education
as Eva was mentioning earlier,
because they change very rapidly.
So online educationusually is more dynamic,
it's continuously updated.
(13:29):
We want to stay on top of new trends
and the cost of updating online education
is relatively lower, right?
You don't need to like changea whole program in person,
on campus or stuff like that.
You can really likeintroduce small changes,
updates continuously to be on top of it.
And also because these arehard, straightforward topics,
(13:49):
it's not negotiation
or communication skills thatare harder to teach online.
So they really are a really good fit
for this online environment.
- And with a finite amount of time
or content that can beput into the courses.
And this would be applicableto in-person courses too,
but how do you decide what to add
or what to drop when things change?
Either one of you, yeah,
(14:10):
we had Eva and Inma look at each other
and say which one of us should take this.
- To film the videos take a lot of effort.
So I like to see that dynamicpart that you are bringing.
But definitely to updatepractice problems or exercises
or life event is much easier.
There is a lot of effort toprovide high quality videos.
(14:30):
The content is really important to review.
What we are doing is, for example,
there are certaincontents like EOQ models,
inventory models,
this topic does not changefrom one year to another.
So these type of videos,once you have the quality
that you need and you providethat, can be there for years.
(14:52):
We have other courses that are more close
to new technologies andnew trends that we know
that after two years atleast we need to review
and we need to update.
What we are trying to do now is the effort
of separate more kindof the fundamental part
of each technique of each technology
(15:13):
and trying to bring thefoundations on one side
and separate for exampleapplications of these technologies.
And sometimes the fundamental part
does not change so quickly.
However, the applicationsare continuously evolving.
So we are trying just
to update the application partversus the fundamental part.
So we are trying to, buttruly it's a challenge.
(15:37):
We are revisiting content every year,
the entire team revisit the content,
we identify those topicsthat we need to change
and we need to updateand there are new topics
that we need to incorporate.
And one of our courses iscalled technology and systems
and that's the one that isalways more of a headache,
let's say for us
because we need to constantly think about
how are we updating this?
(15:58):
This is getting a little bit old now
and of course now peopleare asking about AI.
- Well yeah, I was gonnabring that same thing up.
I mean we don't have torehash AI conversations
that I've got to imagine
that's part of all your conversations
that fit into anything, whetherit's composing something,
a project to warehousing
and transportation and things like that.
- Yeah, no, now AItouches on on everything
and many people reallywant us to start teaching
(16:21):
like how to use AI in order
to like improve supplychain management practices.
I think that's adouble-edged short as well
because we believe it'svery important for people
to understand the fundamentalsof supply chain management.
If you don't have the basics,
if you don't have thefoundations, you won't be able
to critically assess if the outcome
of GNAI tool is actuallygonna be like good or bad.
(16:44):
So for us it's very importantto start with foundations
and then keep progressing from there.
And that's how we developthe program actually.
And we designed it, it goesfrom analytics fundamentals
to then like broadening theview to supply chain design
and then strategy anddynamics, more complexity.
And then we end up with the technology
(17:05):
and systems that we were mentioning.
- Well as you're now in your10th year now of the program,
I know it was the first programin supply chain management
was the first MicroMasters at MIT.
Just like the supply chainmasters program was the first
supply chain masters program in the world
almost 30 years ago.
And that there's been nowover a million enrollments
and I know Eva, you'll be thefirst to tell me 1.2 million.
(17:25):
Yeah.- Yes, exactly.
- So yeah, close to 1.2 million,
what is it that's continuingto keep this unique?
And when we talked aboutupdating the content,
but why do you thinkit's been so successful
and what will keep it thatway for you in the future?
- Yeah, different aspect, butlet's try to take a step back
because truly the MicroMastersupply chain management
was the very first of its kind.
(17:48):
When the MicroMaster started,
nobody knew what it was, right?
So it really was the the first office kind
and this make the program very innovative
since the very beginning,we were pioneering that.
Regarding the keys of success,I would say the quality
and relevance of the contentis one of the key of success.
(18:08):
So through this programwe are delivering content
that is equivalent to the content
that we are teaching here on campus.
The program was designedsince the very beginning
to be delivered through the online format.
So one hour of lecture,
I said that the contentis the same content
as we are teaching at MIT.
(18:29):
However, the way we are deliveringis completely different.
One hour of lecture at MIT,we divided in short chunks
of videos of seven minutes
and we spread these videoswith quick questions
and practice problems.
So we trying to get the bestof these online platforms
to provide learners with some concept,
(18:52):
then we design thecourses with the principle
of learn and apply.
So you learn a concept, you apply
through a real world problem.
Another key of the programis these real world problems.
All of the problems areinspired in real world scenarios
and this is also part of the,
(19:13):
Inma mentioned before DNA ofMIT, this hands-on approach.
One of the feedback that ourlearners are bringing to us
is that they can apply immediately
what they learn in their day-to-day role.
And I think all of thesethings are contributing
to our learners.
(19:33):
80% of them are supply chainmanagement professionals
or professionals from otherfields that, as you mentioned
before, Benjy, they areworking, they are tired
and at the end of the daythey are watching the videos
and you cannot imaginethe great determination
and the enthusiast thatthese learners show to us
and they are engaged through the content
(19:54):
and the digital platformsI think help through
that engagement combiningdifferent formats,
different short piecesjust to keep them engaged.
- As someone myself who hasthis extremely busy schedule
and then goes home and has twokids they have to put to bed
and they go to bed andafterwards maybe I'll get
to eat dinner with my wife.
It's amazing to me thatthere's this many people
who are so dedicated to like,
(20:14):
oh, I know that I want to start
to learn this or totake the next step there
to at 9, 10, 11PM reallystart taking these courses
and then get up thenext day and go to work.
We've talked a little bitabout some of the stories
that each of these learners have.
Do you have a favorite onefrom one of the learners?
- I have many, many stories.
I can be here for hours.- One of 1.2 million.
(20:36):
- I want to share one of our learners,
he was taking the comprehensive
and final exam at the end of the program
and after completing that,
he submitted his exam and two hours
or three hours after that,he shared with us the picture
of his triplets.
He was in the hospitalcompleting the final exam
and some hours after that,
(20:57):
the triplets born he was sharing with us.
And this means a lot to us.
This truly brought to usthe grit, the determination,
the commitment
that the learners areputting in this program.
More generally, trulywhat really inspire me
is when our learnerscome to me and they say,
(21:18):
"Hey Eva, thanks to thisprogram my life change,
this has been truly a life changer."
Some of them becausethey move from one field
to supply chain management field
and they land in this amazingfield that they love it.
Some of them because thanks
to this program theyare getting a promotion
(21:38):
or they are advancing theirprofessional career in many ways
or they are advancing theiracademic career coming to MIT
or to any other pathway university.
So this is truly whatinspired us to continue
with this program and it'sreally, really amazing
to see the students comingto you sharing these stories
about how this changed their lives.
(22:00):
- I don't wanna let that storygo by without also saying
there's also this dedicationand support from the family.
I mean this gentleman's partner
who is having the tripletshad a lot of patience with him
as well too so that hecould finish the program
while she's in labor ostensibly.
So do you have a favoritestory from one of learners?
- Yes, so many stories always,
so inspiring too, whenwe meet our learners.
(22:20):
But one story that standsout is from one lady
who started the MicroMasterssupply chain analytics,
which is a very mathematical course.
We teach probability, hypothesis testing,
optimization models.
So she came from a literature background
so she hasn't seen anymath since high school.
And so, she landed in thecourse and she was freaking out.
(22:43):
She didn't think she could do it
but she was taking like one less
after another dedicating somehours to the practice programs
and finally she got a passing grade.
So she was so excited that she decided
to become a community teaching assistant
and she started collaborating with us
because she just wanted to give back
and help others who have beenstruggling as much as she did.
(23:03):
Then she completed the wholecredential, she applied
to the blended program and shecompleted the master degree
with us and she's still acommunity teaching assistant
for us in supply chain analytics.
So this is just to show howempowered people can feel
after getting something theynever thought they could
and even like coming to MIT andcompleting a master's degree
(23:24):
and she's still givingback to the community.
So I think that's very inspiring.
- You're listening to MITCTLSupply Chain Frontiers.
This episode is brought to you
by the MITSCM advancingwomen through education
or AWE fellowship.
Since 2018, awesome, in theMIT Center for Transportation
and Logistics have partneredto provide tuition assistance
for women entering
(23:45):
the MIT supply chainmanagement master's program.
This fellowship aims to helpwomen advance their careers
through education and professional growth.
Awesome leaders are encouraged
to recommend women in their organization
or networks to apply.
All applicants to the MITSCM program
are automatically consideredfor this fellowship.
To read more about thefellowships and other funding
and scholarship opportunities,
visit ctl.mit.edu/awesome.
(24:10):
And back to the episode.
- So the litany program is actually
what makes our MicroMasters so unique.
That's why it was so special.
That's why it's so pioneering
because it was the first of its kind
and MicroMasters mean that it's a pathway
for credit at universities
and in this specific caseat MIT, it's also accepted
as a pathway for credit
(24:31):
as many other universitiesaround the world.
But this brings a lot of value.
Of course, it was a requirement for us
to like have this reallyhigh quality content
in the program.
But for MIT to be recognizingthis as equivalent
as six months of in-personcoursework at MIT is huge.
So it's giving a sign out to the world
that this program is really good.
(24:51):
And this relates to whatyou were saying earlier,
this misconception that onlineis not as good as in person.
I think that still exists out there
and programs like ourskind of debunk this idea
or at least we try to andMIT is giving us this.
Guarantee or saying like,this is as good as being here.
So that's first and itis an accelerated pathway
(25:13):
to a master's degree at MIT,
which has huge implicationsfor many people.
Usually if you want a master'sfrom MIT, you need to be here
for around one year
and pay quite a significantamount of money.
So this is a pathway inwhich you can complete
after having the credentialing,
the micro master's credentialof course, you can apply
to get a master's degreein just five months
(25:33):
and at a fraction of the price
of the traditional master's degree.
This is amazing
because it opens the doorto unconventional learners,
people who may never considercoming to MIT for a full year
because of the cost or because of the time
because we were discussing manypeople taking online courses
are very busy.
They have a job, they are in another part
(25:55):
of the world very far awayfrom the US in many occasions.
They have a family, maybe little kids,
so many responsibilities
that prevent them fromtaking a full year off.
- Well I can imagine that some companies
also would be more welcoming to this idea
of letting their employeesgo take five months
or supporting them in thatas opposed to a full year
because then the additionalbenefits they come back
(26:16):
with the experience, right?
100% bring back into the company, yeah?
- 100% and we've seen thatwith some of our partners,
so actually do you wantto talk about that Eva?
- Sure, definitely.
- Yeah, what other the reasons
do companies care about the program?
- Yeah, no, but we have exactly companies
that are doing that.
They are sending their employees first
(26:36):
to the MicroMaster program
to the five massive open online courses,
then the final exam.
And after completing that,
they are selecting the top performers
and these top performershave the opportunity to apply
for the blended program andcomplete five months on campus.
This is definitely helpingcompanies to attract talent,
(26:58):
is helping companies with retention.
To the professionals whoare going through that path,
definitely they are,
after completing theentire journey with us,
typically they are gettinga promotion as part
of their journey and career development.
So one of the huge benefitis not only the knowledge
that they associates are gaining through
(27:19):
that education is also
how this is reverting in thecompany in terms of retention.
How these learners arealso employees are applying
what they learn theirday-to-day jobs in order
to improve some part of the processes
or some part of the supply chain.
So companies are reporting huge benefits
of investing in their talent in that way.
(27:41):
- Well and if you're an HRmanager for say a freight company
or a online retailer
or anything in thislogistics supply chain space
and someone comes to you witha certificate from Micro,
do you care, like what kindof additional value does that?
Are people paying attention to that kind
of thing when they'rebringing new employees on?
- I would say that online certificates
is a way of demonstratingskill acquisition.
(28:04):
Companies are increasingly looking
for skills rather than justlooking at the degrees.
So that's a trend thatwe have been observing.
I think online learnersalso bring something else
to the table and it's thatif they were able to manage
to take an online course while working,
managing their home, theirfamily, their friendships,
(28:25):
their lives, and they were able
to wake up at Fabian in themorning to review lessons,
dedicate Sundays to practice problems
and they took this actionproactively to upskill themselves.
They're demonstratingsomething, they have something
that not everybody has
and it's like this grit,this determination,
this ability to take action
(28:46):
to identify they have somegaps in their knowledge
and take action to fill that gap.
Companies are increasingly considering
that when hiring new people.
We were talking earlier aboutthe dynamic environment,
how the job market's changing so quickly,
how job positions are being transformed
and we may not know what isemerging in five years from now.
(29:08):
So I think having people inyour workforce that is able
to upscale themselves andis willing to keep learning
and adjust and evolve is veryimportant nowadays as well.
- So Eva, 10 years into this program,
are you still seeing hesitationson behalf of companies
or hiring folks or CEOs
or what other kinds of barriers you see
(29:29):
to people getting here for this program?
- I'm seeing the opposite trend.
- Yeah.
- Benjy, I'm observinghow 10 years ago when CEOs
and executives came to us just to ask
for up-skilling their workforce, truly
what they had in mindwas the traditional way
(29:50):
of executive education in person formats.
And still this is veryeffective to be honest,
but I'm serving now more
and more companies trulyobserving the benefits
of online education toupskill the workforce
and especially whenthey have global teams.
Because to offer this education
(30:12):
to global teams in manydifferent geographic locations
is very effective and very efficient.
And also we need to add the component
of doing this at a scale
and online bring that what we have learned
is just to combine different formats
and what we are doing iscombining asynchronous
(30:33):
with synchronous touch pointswith the professionals,
with the employees, with the students,
just to keep them engagedwith the material.
But more than that isjust to make them feel
that they are part of a cohort,they are part of a group
of individuals that are goingthrough the same process
(30:56):
and they are not alone.
And we found that this isreally, really important.
We are also trying toprovide testimonials,
examples of previous professionals
that went through thatjourney and they succeed
but they show all of thestones in that journey,
(31:18):
and all of the barriers
and things that they need toovercome in order to succeed.
And these examples are
I think are very, very helpful to
when you are through this lonely journey,
especially when we aretalking about a 100% online
and asynchronous programs.
(31:40):
- Before we kinda wrapthings up a little bit,
I wanted to ask about thissort of trending concept,
this idea of the future of work.
If you're on campus here at MITC, 50%
of the events are called blankblank and the future of work.
How do you see this programcontributing to that
and the direction that thefuture of work is taking?
Sort of a bigger broader question.
(32:00):
- I think the future landscapein supply chain management
will require continuous upscale
and re-skill of the workforce.
And I think this lifelonglearning is an imperative.
I think that now more than ever, we need
to also provide to theprofessionals a good understanding
(32:21):
of the fundamental core concepts
that are behind the techniquesand that are behind the tools
because AI tools are very powerful
and can bring a lot of support
to any role in supply chain management.
But we also need
to understand when the GENAI tool is providing us
(32:42):
the right answer or the right proposal
versus some proposal that is out of place.
So an online education I think
to provide this core understanding
in supply chain managementabout inventory models,
demand forecasting, analytics tools
can play a crucial rolecovering the skill gaps
(33:04):
that we have identified
that are required in this new landscape.
- Yeah, I also think anotherelement is modularity.
I think modularity is gonna be key.
As we mentioned earlier,
I think the new jobs are beingcreated, we don't even know
what the job descriptions are gonna be
or what we're gonna need in five
to 10 years in the supplychain management field.
(33:24):
So enabling these modularlearning, it's very important.
I think online is an easier way
rather than like formaldegrees at universities,
more traditional ones.
So enabling people tocreate their own pathways
for learning, choosing based on the skills
they want to develop.
Actually that's the way we areworking with companies now.
Like we have this modular offering
(33:45):
so they can actually like pick
and choose from ourdifferent contents in order
to create the choose yourown adventure kind of-
- Yeah, your journey.- Kind of course, right?
And so we are doing thatwith organizations now,
but I think the future would be
to maybe create somethinglike that also for individuals
that can be very powerful.
- And I want to build on that
because I fully agree on that point Inma.
(34:08):
I want to, in the example of Walmart.
Walmart is a company, abig retailer as you know.
They are truly investinga lot in up-skilling
and re-skilling their workforce.
They are offering
and they has been offeringwith us a core course
just to update and upskill their workforce
focused on core fundamentalconcepts, inventory management,
demand forecasting andtransportation management.
(34:30):
Recently, they came to us
and they say, hey, we want
to provide now a customonline course more focused
on new trends, more focusedon supply chain automation.
We want to include supplychain into invisibility,
sustainability, thanks to the design
of our massive openscourses, specialized courses,
(34:50):
and the way we are deliveringthis online content.
The different modules allowus to pick this right content
that you just mentioned
and prepare an online customcourse just for the associates
that cover these new trends
and this sustainability aspect
that they want to bring to them.
So I fully agree about this modularity
(35:11):
and how this provide flexibility
and at the same time
how this online education canadapt in a more agile way.
I would say to these dynamic changes.
- What should I have askedabout the online education
programs that I haven't yet?
What would you ask each other,that you haven't already?
I know you speak to each other every day.
- Maybe something wehaven't covered maybe enough
(35:31):
is how in the past 10 years
since we launched our firstmassive open online course,
how our work has evolvedas years passed by,
we've been approachedmore and more by companies
and organizations that are struggling
with up-skilling their workforce.
And what we are bringing
to them is not just thecontent itself and the skills,
but same level of opportunities
(35:53):
for people anywhere in the world, right?
Before they had to rely maybejust on a local university
to upskill someone in Spainversus someone in Salvador
or someone in Boston.
But now they can offer our content
to all of them at the same time.
They can take it together,have this cohort feeling
that increase networkingcreates a common language
(36:15):
for all of them to actuallydo better their job.
Because in many occasions,supply chains are managed
by global teams and not just local teams.
So I think this is very powerful
how these online learningexperience and journey,
it's creating these strongerteams across the globe.
And this is something thatcompanies are bringing to us
(36:38):
as something that sometimesthey didn't expect to happen.
And it's a a great benefit
of having this up-skillingprogram that they can offer
to all of them at the same time.
- Thank you for joiningus on this episode,
Supply Chain Frontiers,
and a special thanks ofcourse to guests today,
Dr. Eva Ponce and Dr. Inma Borrella
for sharing your experiences,very much appreciated.
(37:00):
We have been discussing the critical role
of online education in preparing
the supply chain workforce for the future.
As we've heard today, programslike the MITX MicroMasters
and the CTL specializedMOOCs are equipping learners
and organizations worldwidewith skills they need
to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry.
To explore these programs and more,
visit ctl.mi.edu/online-learning.
(37:22):
Supply Chain Frontiers isrecorded on the MIT campus
in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Our sound editor is DavidLashinsky of David Benjamin Sound
and our audio engineertoday is Kurt Schneider
of MIT Audio Visual Services.
Our marketing writer is Mackenzie Berry.
Be sure to check out previous episodes
of Supply Chain Frontiersat ctl.mit.edu/podcasts
or search for us on yourpreferred podcast platform.
(37:45):
On behalf of the researchers, instructors,
and staff at the MIT Centerfor Transformational Logistics,
I'm Benjy Kantor, thank you for listening.
(upbeat music)
- Welcome to another episodeof Supply Chain Frontiers,
the MITCTL podcast
where we explore the trends, technologies,
and innovations shaping
the future of supply chain management.
I'm your host, Benjy Kantor,
and today we're diving intoa topic that's become central
to the evolution of ourfield, the future of work,
and the role of onlineeducation in up-skilling
and re-skilling thesupply chain workforce.
(00:21):
Joining me today are two
of MITCL's leading expertsin online education.
Dr. Eva Ponce, directorof online education,
and the MITX MicroMasters program
in supply chain managementand Dr. Inma Borrella
academic lead of that same program,
the MITX MicroMasters programin Supply Chain Management.
Eva and Inma have been instrumental
in shaping online learningofferings at MITCTL,
(00:42):
which have reached over amillion registrants globally.
And today we'll explore how their work
and online education in generalis empowering individuals
and organizations to meet the demands
of an evolving workforce.
With that, I'm reallyexcited for the opportunity
to learn more
about the opportunitiesonline learning creates
for up-skilling and re-skilling,
we'll be talking about that today along
with the challenges organizations face
in adopting these toolsand what the future holds
(01:04):
for workforce education andsupply chain management.
Let's get started withour guests, Eva Ponce
and Inma Borrella, just to set the stage.
Thank you so much for being here.
Eva, can you walk us throughthe various online offerings
that are currently beingoffered through MITCTL?
- Yes, so we started in 2014offering the first massive open
online course in supplychain fundamentals.
(01:26):
Then in 2016 we offered
the MicroMasters programsupply chain math.
The MicroMaster includes fivemassive open online courses
that goes from supply chain analytics
to supply chain fundamental,supply chain design,
supply chain dynamics
and supply chain technologies and systems.
(01:46):
After completing the fivemassive open online courses,
learners need to take a comprehensive
and final exam just to earnthe MicroMaster credential.
So we started with that in2016, having almost 10 years
of MicroMaster credential in the world.
We are also offering
(02:07):
a specialized massive open online courses.
We have courses in sustainability,
humanitarian logistic more recently
in advanced network design.
And we see these specializedMOOCs as electives,
as those kind of coursesthat after completing
the MicroMaster program learners can take
(02:29):
or as a courses thatanyone from anywhere want
to learn about sustainability
and just pick that MOOC inorder to learn about that topic.
So this is one of the thingswe are offering currently,
we have been offeringonline customized courses
for companies and we aregrowing in this area.
We have companies like Walmart, like BMS,
(02:52):
CH Robinson, companiesfrom different industries,
different sectors that areusing custom online courses
to upskill and re-skill theirworkforce of the future.
Just as a testimony of the impact
that we've had around theworld, you mentioned Benjy,
that MicroMasters program got more
than 1.2 million enrollments,
(03:14):
but we pursue more than70,000 certificates.
There is individual core certificates.
We have about 5,500credential holders that people
that completed the wholejourney and got our credential
and we run more than 100 courses.
So it's been really like a very intense,
that's it, just a hundred.
(03:35):
But it's amazing.
So it's really fulfillingto see the impact
that this program has hadin in during this year.
So yeah, fantastic.
We're very energized to keep going.
- Eva, perhaps you can start just sort
of describing the landscapeof online education
and supply chain management
and what kind of trends you'veseen emerge in recent years.
- The landscape of online education
(03:55):
in supply chain management
has transformed significantlyin recent years.
It's no longer just anoption for learning,
but has also become acritical enabler for companies
and organizations to re-skill
and up upscale the workforce
of the future in supply chain management.
(04:17):
If we want to look alittle bit to the history
and over the past decade,
online education has grown exponentially.
The emergence of digitalplatforms like edX
and Coursera in 2012definitely brings opportunity
to well-known universitieslike MIT and Harvard
(04:38):
and many others to just create courses
to be specifically deliveredthrough this online mean.
And this platform has helped definitely us
in the education landscapeto democratize knowledge,
has helped to provide these online courses
(05:01):
and open this educationto anyone from anywhere.
The online education is reallyflexible, it's affordable,
it's convenient, allowed toprovide grad level education.
So I think these digitalplatforms brought a key milestone
in online education.
What we have observed recently,
(05:23):
I would say specificallymore after the pandemic,
is how companies are alsoidentifying this online education
and this platform as a way
to upscale the workforce of the future.
And I want to highlight thepandemic for two reasons
because supply chain management
as a field has also changed a lot.
(05:44):
The introduction of newtechnologies, the introduction
of AI tools are definitelybringing the need
of upscale the workforce
of supply chain management professionals.
So this need that the pandemic highlighted
because brought the importanceof supply chain management
and supply chain management,mainly what we are doing
(06:04):
is trying to connect the origin
with and bring theproducts to the customer.
During the pandemic we were able
to observe many issuesrelated to that endeavor.
We are observing more andmore companies coming to us
just to use onlineeducation for that endeavor.
- Well, and no one wouldever say thank goodness
for the pandemic, right?
But I agree with you.
(06:25):
It highlighted the opportunity
to what you just said,democratize education.
And I think that thekey that you mentioned,
I wanted to ask about this interms of challenges of growing
that program in that community
is as things are moreaccessible to more people
and supply chain is top of mind for people
like our director of thecenter, Yossi Shef, he said,
(06:46):
"Oh my wife finally understandswhat I do for a living
after 50 years, right?"
Like, 'cause it's in the zeitgeist now.
But the quality of the programI think is the key piece
because there was probablyconcerns about when this program
was lifting off that it wouldhave that sort of same quality
that you're getting from an education
from higher universitiesand higher ed in general
and like did you see that?
Was there a pushback?
(07:07):
Is there still pushbackabout the difference of level
of quality between online and in person?
- I think in terms ofthe quality of content,
there is no different.
I think the important thinghere is the type of content.
What we have learned through the years
is that there is certain contentsthat are definitely better
(07:28):
to be taught online
and there are still other,for example, soft skills.
Soft skills likenegotiation, communication,
I believe that is betterto teach in person.
However, there are otherskills we can connect
with some of the skills
that are really requirednow like analytical skills,
(07:48):
supply chain analytics,these type of skills
or inventory management models,
demand forecasting techniques.
These are topics content
that definitely we candeliver in a very effective
and efficient way throughthe online platforms.
These online platforms allow learners
(08:08):
to learn at their self pace
whenever they have the time to do that
and are very effective fromthe learning perspective
because also provide immediate feedback.
And this allow what wecall reinforcing learning.
And this reinforcing learning
is really critical and effective.
So when you are learningthrough a short video,
(08:31):
let's say that concept,you have the opportunity
to immediately apply toa real world problem.
This is really effective.
And one of the key things
of problems like MicroMaster for example,
is this combination ofhigh quality content,
graduate level content.
And what we are teaching
through these courses istruly exactly the same.
(08:53):
What we are teachinghere on campus at MIT,
the combination of these short videos
with these specific problems, exercises
that represent real problems
and the opportunity to receivethis immediate feedback
I think is really effective and powerful
in this online means.
So I think the discussion ismore what are these content
(09:17):
that should be delivered online
or is more effective to deliver online
and what are these contentor what aspects do we want
to build on this online knowledge
and then have further discussion,
deep discussions on campus.
And this is something we havebeen learning over the years
(09:37):
and now I think we havea better understanding
about these contents thatwork better in one format
versus the other format.
And I personally trulybelieve that the combination
of both formats is whatreally brings the best
of both worlds.
- For learners who are around the globe
and who are in the workforce,
they're working and they might not be able
(10:00):
to have this period oftime where they're applying
for a program and attending aprogram and going in person.
And like what you're saying,that immediate sort of access
I could imagine make a hugedifference for someone like,
I'm gonna go home tonight at five, 6:00 PM
and I can access that contentthen instead of having
to be at a place and missingout on my job forever long.
And actually that sortof brings me to a point
(10:21):
where I wanted to bringin Inma and your thoughts
about how the workforce insupply chain has changed over
the last 5, 10, 20 years
and what role you seeonline education for that.
We touched a little bit on that
but I think if you havesome additional stuff
to add on that.
- Sure, yeah, thank youfor the question Benjy.
So I think there are many new trends
(10:42):
in the supply chainmanagement field that require
for people to really upskill themselves.
But taking a step back,we also need to understand
that many people workingin supply chain management
didn't have a formaleducation in this field.
We have people coming fromengineering, from economics,
but also from biology, from literature.
It's a field that attractsmany different profiles
(11:02):
and many people falling it
by chance at some point in their career.
- Everybody's sort ofaccidentally in supply chain.
- Exactly and then you know,
it really sparks passion in people
and people really like love it
because it's a combination of analytics
or the more like hard skillsor math kind of profiles
with also these businesscommunications, negotiations,
(11:23):
stakeholder management kind of skills.
So people really, really like
and feel comfortable in this field
because it's challenging in many ways,
it's personal but it'salso technical, right?
So it's about relationships
but also about knowingwell your math skills.
So I think this lack offormal background sometimes
also like can hinderprogression in this field.
(11:45):
So many people after beingin it for a few years
or starting on it, they realize they need
to have a better skillset,more tools in order
to address the problems thatthey face in the daily jobs.
And that's what we'veheard from many learners
in the MicroMasters programthat they actually like wanted
to upskill themselves.
They were looking forsomething that could help them
(12:05):
with their daily job,
maybe to solve an inventorymanagement problem
or to develop a better strategyfor a global supply chain.
And they found our courses online
and our courses are very learn and apply.
That's our approach.
Mens et Manus like the MIT motto.
And we find that thesecourses, online courses, ours
and others are filling this gap
(12:25):
of people without a formalbackground that want
to learn these basic models
that can help them solve supplychain management problems.
So that's on one hand the more more basic
like filling this gap ofknowledge that many people new
to the field they thenever like formally learn.
And then there's the new trends,
whatever was mentioningabout new technologies AI
like what everybody'stalking about right now.
(12:47):
And of course, that's aconcern for professionals
and also for companies whowant to upskill their workforce
and make sure they're up to date.
So actually,
there's many like researchbeing done out there.
So the World Economic Forum
for example is alwayspublishing this research
about the work of the future
and they identify that two
of the three top skillsare analytical thinking
(13:08):
and technological literacy.
So these are like the top skills
being sought after by companies.
They want that in their workforce.
And I think these are two skills
that are really a very goodfit for online education
as Eva was mentioning earlier,
because they change very rapidly.
So online educationusually is more dynamic,
it's continuously updated.
(13:29):
We want to stay on top of new trends
and the cost of updating online education
is relatively lower, right?
You don't need to like changea whole program in person,
on campus or stuff like that.
You can really likeintroduce small changes,
updates continuously to be on top of it.
And also because these arehard, straightforward topics,
(13:49):
it's not negotiation
or communication skills thatare harder to teach online.
So they really are a really good fit
for this online environment.
- And with a finite amount of time
or content that can beput into the courses.
And this would be applicableto in-person courses too,
but how do you decide what to add
or what to drop when things change?
Either one of you, yeah,
(14:10):
we had Eva and Inma look at each other
and say which one of us should take this.
- To film the videos take a lot of effort.
So I like to see that dynamicpart that you are bringing.
But definitely to updatepractice problems or exercises
or life event is much easier.
There is a lot of effort toprovide high quality videos.
(14:30):
The content is really important to review.
What we are doing is, for example,
there are certaincontents like EOQ models,
inventory models,
this topic does not changefrom one year to another.
So these type of videos,once you have the quality
that you need and you providethat, can be there for years.
(14:52):
We have other courses that are more close
to new technologies andnew trends that we know
that after two years atleast we need to review
and we need to update.
What we are trying to do now is the effort
of separate more kindof the fundamental part
of each technique of each technology
(15:13):
and trying to bring thefoundations on one side
and separate for exampleapplications of these technologies.
And sometimes the fundamental part
does not change so quickly.
However, the applicationsare continuously evolving.
So we are trying just
to update the application partversus the fundamental part.
So we are trying to, buttruly it's a challenge.
(15:37):
We are revisiting content every year,
the entire team revisit the content,
we identify those topicsthat we need to change
and we need to updateand there are new topics
that we need to incorporate.
And one of our courses iscalled technology and systems
and that's the one that isalways more of a headache,
let's say for us
because we need to constantly think about
how are we updating this?
(15:58):
This is getting a little bit old now
and of course now peopleare asking about AI.
- Well yeah, I was gonnabring that same thing up.
I mean we don't have torehash AI conversations
that I've got to imagine
that's part of all your conversations
that fit into anything, whetherit's composing something,
a project to warehousing
and transportation and things like that.
- Yeah, no, now AItouches on on everything
and many people reallywant us to start teaching
(16:21):
like how to use AI in order
to like improve supplychain management practices.
I think that's adouble-edged short as well
because we believe it'svery important for people
to understand the fundamentalsof supply chain management.
If you don't have the basics,
if you don't have thefoundations, you won't be able
to critically assess if the outcome
of GNAI tool is actuallygonna be like good or bad.
(16:44):
So for us it's very importantto start with foundations
and then keep progressing from there.
And that's how we developthe program actually.
And we designed it, it goesfrom analytics fundamentals
to then like broadening theview to supply chain design
and then strategy anddynamics, more complexity.
And then we end up with the technology
(17:05):
and systems that we were mentioning.
- Well as you're now in your10th year now of the program,
I know it was the first programin supply chain management
was the first MicroMasters at MIT.
Just like the supply chainmasters program was the first
supply chain masters program in the world
almost 30 years ago.
And that there's been nowover a million enrollments
and I know Eva, you'll be thefirst to tell me 1.2 million.
(17:25):
Yeah.- Yes, exactly.
- So yeah, close to 1.2 million,
what is it that's continuingto keep this unique?
And when we talked aboutupdating the content,
but why do you thinkit's been so successful
and what will keep it thatway for you in the future?
- Yeah, different aspect, butlet's try to take a step back
because truly the MicroMastersupply chain management
was the very first of its kind.
(17:48):
When the MicroMaster started,
nobody knew what it was, right?
So it really was the the first office kind
and this make the program very innovative
since the very beginning,we were pioneering that.
Regarding the keys of success,I would say the quality
and relevance of the contentis one of the key of success.
(18:08):
So through this programwe are delivering content
that is equivalent to the content
that we are teaching here on campus.
The program was designedsince the very beginning
to be delivered through the online format.
So one hour of lecture,
I said that the contentis the same content
as we are teaching at MIT.
(18:29):
However, the way we are deliveringis completely different.
One hour of lecture at MIT,we divided in short chunks
of videos of seven minutes
and we spread these videoswith quick questions
and practice problems.
So we trying to get the bestof these online platforms
to provide learners with some concept,
(18:52):
then we design thecourses with the principle
of learn and apply.
So you learn a concept, you apply
through a real world problem.
Another key of the programis these real world problems.
All of the problems areinspired in real world scenarios
and this is also part of the,
(19:13):
Inma mentioned before DNA ofMIT, this hands-on approach.
One of the feedback that ourlearners are bringing to us
is that they can apply immediately
what they learn in their day-to-day role.
And I think all of thesethings are contributing
to our learners.
(19:33):
80% of them are supply chainmanagement professionals
or professionals from otherfields that, as you mentioned
before, Benjy, they areworking, they are tired
and at the end of the daythey are watching the videos
and you cannot imaginethe great determination
and the enthusiast thatthese learners show to us
and they are engaged through the content
(19:54):
and the digital platformsI think help through
that engagement combiningdifferent formats,
different short piecesjust to keep them engaged.
- As someone myself who hasthis extremely busy schedule
and then goes home and has twokids they have to put to bed
and they go to bed andafterwards maybe I'll get
to eat dinner with my wife.
It's amazing to me thatthere's this many people
who are so dedicated to like,
(20:14):
oh, I know that I want to start
to learn this or totake the next step there
to at 9, 10, 11PM reallystart taking these courses
and then get up thenext day and go to work.
We've talked a little bitabout some of the stories
that each of these learners have.
Do you have a favorite onefrom one of the learners?
- I have many, many stories.
I can be here for hours.- One of 1.2 million.
(20:36):
- I want to share one of our learners,
he was taking the comprehensive
and final exam at the end of the program
and after completing that,
he submitted his exam and two hours
or three hours after that,he shared with us the picture
of his triplets.
He was in the hospitalcompleting the final exam
and some hours after that,
(20:57):
the triplets born he was sharing with us.
And this means a lot to us.
This truly brought to usthe grit, the determination,
the commitment
that the learners areputting in this program.
More generally, trulywhat really inspire me
is when our learnerscome to me and they say,
(21:18):
"Hey Eva, thanks to thisprogram my life change,
this has been truly a life changer."
Some of them becausethey move from one field
to supply chain management field
and they land in this amazingfield that they love it.
Some of them because thanks
to this program theyare getting a promotion
(21:38):
or they are advancing theirprofessional career in many ways
or they are advancing theiracademic career coming to MIT
or to any other pathway university.
So this is truly whatinspired us to continue
with this program and it'sreally, really amazing
to see the students comingto you sharing these stories
about how this changed their lives.
(22:00):
- I don't wanna let that storygo by without also saying
there's also this dedicationand support from the family.
I mean this gentleman's partner
who is having the tripletshad a lot of patience with him
as well too so that hecould finish the program
while she's in labor ostensibly.
So do you have a favoritestory from one of learners?
- Yes, so many stories always,
so inspiring too, whenwe meet our learners.
(22:20):
But one story that standsout is from one lady
who started the MicroMasterssupply chain analytics,
which is a very mathematical course.
We teach probability, hypothesis testing,
optimization models.
So she came from a literature background
so she hasn't seen anymath since high school.
And so, she landed in thecourse and she was freaking out.
(22:43):
She didn't think she could do it
but she was taking like one less
after another dedicating somehours to the practice programs
and finally she got a passing grade.
So she was so excited that she decided
to become a community teaching assistant
and she started collaborating with us
because she just wanted to give back
and help others who have beenstruggling as much as she did.
(23:03):
Then she completed the wholecredential, she applied
to the blended program and shecompleted the master degree
with us and she's still acommunity teaching assistant
for us in supply chain analytics.
So this is just to show howempowered people can feel
after getting something theynever thought they could
and even like coming to MIT andcompleting a master's degree
(23:24):
and she's still givingback to the community.
So I think that's very inspiring.
- You're listening to MITCTLSupply Chain Frontiers.
This episode is brought to you
by the MITSCM advancingwomen through education
or AWE fellowship.
Since 2018, awesome, in theMIT Center for Transportation
and Logistics have partneredto provide tuition assistance
for women entering
(23:45):
the MIT supply chainmanagement master's program.
This fellowship aims to helpwomen advance their careers
through education and professional growth.
Awesome leaders are encouraged
to recommend women in their organization
or networks to apply.
All applicants to the MITSCM program
are automatically consideredfor this fellowship.
To read more about thefellowships and other funding
and scholarship opportunities,
visit ctl.mit.edu/awesome.
(24:10):
And back to the episode.
- So the litany program is actually
what makes our MicroMasters so unique.
That's why it was so special.
That's why it's so pioneering
because it was the first of its kind
and MicroMasters mean that it's a pathway
for credit at universities
and in this specific caseat MIT, it's also accepted
as a pathway for credit
(24:31):
as many other universitiesaround the world.
But this brings a lot of value.
Of course, it was a requirement for us
to like have this reallyhigh quality content
in the program.
But for MIT to be recognizingthis as equivalent
as six months of in-personcoursework at MIT is huge.
So it's giving a sign out to the world
that this program is really good.
(24:51):
And this relates to whatyou were saying earlier,
this misconception that onlineis not as good as in person.
I think that still exists out there
and programs like ourskind of debunk this idea
or at least we try to andMIT is giving us this.
Guarantee or saying like,this is as good as being here.
So that's first and itis an accelerated pathway
(25:13):
to a master's degree at MIT,
which has huge implicationsfor many people.
Usually if you want a master'sfrom MIT, you need to be here
for around one year
and pay quite a significantamount of money.
So this is a pathway inwhich you can complete
after having the credentialing,
the micro master's credentialof course, you can apply
to get a master's degreein just five months
(25:33):
and at a fraction of the price
of the traditional master's degree.
This is amazing
because it opens the doorto unconventional learners,
people who may never considercoming to MIT for a full year
because of the cost or because of the time
because we were discussing manypeople taking online courses
are very busy.
They have a job, they are in another part
(25:55):
of the world very far awayfrom the US in many occasions.
They have a family, maybe little kids,
so many responsibilities
that prevent them fromtaking a full year off.
- Well I can imagine that some companies
also would be more welcoming to this idea
of letting their employeesgo take five months
or supporting them in thatas opposed to a full year
because then the additionalbenefits they come back
(26:16):
with the experience, right?
100% bring back into the company, yeah?
- 100% and we've seen thatwith some of our partners,
so actually do you wantto talk about that Eva?
- Sure, definitely.
- Yeah, what other the reasons
do companies care about the program?
- Yeah, no, but we have exactly companies
that are doing that.
They are sending their employees first
(26:36):
to the MicroMaster program
to the five massive open online courses,
then the final exam.
And after completing that,
they are selecting the top performers
and these top performershave the opportunity to apply
for the blended program andcomplete five months on campus.
This is definitely helpingcompanies to attract talent,
(26:58):
is helping companies with retention.
To the professionals whoare going through that path,
definitely they are,
after completing theentire journey with us,
typically they are gettinga promotion as part
of their journey and career development.
So one of the huge benefitis not only the knowledge
that they associates are gaining through
(27:19):
that education is also
how this is reverting in thecompany in terms of retention.
How these learners arealso employees are applying
what they learn theirday-to-day jobs in order
to improve some part of the processes
or some part of the supply chain.
So companies are reporting huge benefits
of investing in their talent in that way.
(27:41):
- Well and if you're an HRmanager for say a freight company
or a online retailer
or anything in thislogistics supply chain space
and someone comes to you witha certificate from Micro,
do you care, like what kindof additional value does that?
Are people paying attention to that kind
of thing when they'rebringing new employees on?
- I would say that online certificates
is a way of demonstratingskill acquisition.
(28:04):
Companies are increasingly looking
for skills rather than justlooking at the degrees.
So that's a trend thatwe have been observing.
I think online learnersalso bring something else
to the table and it's thatif they were able to manage
to take an online course while working,
managing their home, theirfamily, their friendships,
(28:25):
their lives, and they were able
to wake up at Fabian in themorning to review lessons,
dedicate Sundays to practice problems
and they took this actionproactively to upskill themselves.
They're demonstratingsomething, they have something
that not everybody has
and it's like this grit,this determination,
this ability to take action
(28:46):
to identify they have somegaps in their knowledge
and take action to fill that gap.
Companies are increasingly considering
that when hiring new people.
We were talking earlier aboutthe dynamic environment,
how the job market's changing so quickly,
how job positions are being transformed
and we may not know what isemerging in five years from now.
(29:08):
So I think having people inyour workforce that is able
to upscale themselves andis willing to keep learning
and adjust and evolve is veryimportant nowadays as well.
- So Eva, 10 years into this program,
are you still seeing hesitationson behalf of companies
or hiring folks or CEOs
or what other kinds of barriers you see
(29:29):
to people getting here for this program?
- I'm seeing the opposite trend.
- Yeah.
- Benjy, I'm observinghow 10 years ago when CEOs
and executives came to us just to ask
for up-skilling their workforce, truly
what they had in mindwas the traditional way
(29:50):
of executive education in person formats.
And still this is veryeffective to be honest,
but I'm serving now more
and more companies trulyobserving the benefits
of online education toupskill the workforce
and especially whenthey have global teams.
Because to offer this education
(30:12):
to global teams in manydifferent geographic locations
is very effective and very efficient.
And also we need to add the component
of doing this at a scale
and online bring that what we have learned
is just to combine different formats
and what we are doing iscombining asynchronous
(30:33):
with synchronous touch pointswith the professionals,
with the employees, with the students,
just to keep them engagedwith the material.
But more than that isjust to make them feel
that they are part of a cohort,they are part of a group
of individuals that are goingthrough the same process
(30:56):
and they are not alone.
And we found that this isreally, really important.
We are also trying toprovide testimonials,
examples of previous professionals
that went through thatjourney and they succeed
but they show all of thestones in that journey,
(31:18):
and all of the barriers
and things that they need toovercome in order to succeed.
And these examples are
I think are very, very helpful to
when you are through this lonely journey,
especially when we aretalking about a 100% online
and asynchronous programs.
(31:40):
- Before we kinda wrapthings up a little bit,
I wanted to ask about thissort of trending concept,
this idea of the future of work.
If you're on campus here at MITC, 50%
of the events are called blankblank and the future of work.
How do you see this programcontributing to that
and the direction that thefuture of work is taking?
Sort of a bigger broader question.
(32:00):
- I think the future landscapein supply chain management
will require continuous upscale
and re-skill of the workforce.
And I think this lifelonglearning is an imperative.
I think that now more than ever, we need
to also provide to theprofessionals a good understanding
(32:21):
of the fundamental core concepts
that are behind the techniquesand that are behind the tools
because AI tools are very powerful
and can bring a lot of support
to any role in supply chain management.
But we also need
to understand when the GENAI tool is providing us
(32:42):
the right answer or the right proposal
versus some proposal that is out of place.
So an online education I think
to provide this core understanding
in supply chain managementabout inventory models,
demand forecasting, analytics tools
can play a crucial rolecovering the skill gaps
(33:04):
that we have identified
that are required in this new landscape.
- Yeah, I also think anotherelement is modularity.
I think modularity is gonna be key.
As we mentioned earlier,
I think the new jobs are beingcreated, we don't even know
what the job descriptions are gonna be
or what we're gonna need in five
to 10 years in the supplychain management field.
(33:24):
So enabling these modularlearning, it's very important.
I think online is an easier way
rather than like formaldegrees at universities,
more traditional ones.
So enabling people tocreate their own pathways
for learning, choosing based on the skills
they want to develop.
Actually that's the way we areworking with companies now.
Like we have this modular offering
(33:45):
so they can actually like pick
and choose from ourdifferent contents in order
to create the choose yourown adventure kind of-
- Yeah, your journey.- Kind of course, right?
And so we are doing thatwith organizations now,
but I think the future would be
to maybe create somethinglike that also for individuals
that can be very powerful.
- And I want to build on that
because I fully agree on that point Inma.
(34:08):
I want to, in the example of Walmart.
Walmart is a company, abig retailer as you know.
They are truly investinga lot in up-skilling
and re-skilling their workforce.
They are offering
and they has been offeringwith us a core course
just to update and upskill their workforce
focused on core fundamentalconcepts, inventory management,
demand forecasting andtransportation management.
(34:30):
Recently, they came to us
and they say, hey, we want
to provide now a customonline course more focused
on new trends, more focusedon supply chain automation.
We want to include supplychain into invisibility,
sustainability, thanks to the design
of our massive openscourses, specialized courses,
(34:50):
and the way we are deliveringthis online content.
The different modules allowus to pick this right content
that you just mentioned
and prepare an online customcourse just for the associates
that cover these new trends
and this sustainability aspect
that they want to bring to them.
So I fully agree about this modularity
(35:11):
and how this provide flexibility
and at the same time
how this online education canadapt in a more agile way.
I would say to these dynamic changes.
- What should I have askedabout the online education
programs that I haven't yet?
What would you ask each other,that you haven't already?
I know you speak to each other every day.
- Maybe something wehaven't covered maybe enough
(35:31):
is how in the past 10 years
since we launched our firstmassive open online course,
how our work has evolvedas years passed by,
we've been approachedmore and more by companies
and organizations that are struggling
with up-skilling their workforce.
And what we are bringing
to them is not just thecontent itself and the skills,
but same level of opportunities
(35:53):
for people anywhere in the world, right?
Before they had to rely maybejust on a local university
to upskill someone in Spainversus someone in Salvador
or someone in Boston.
But now they can offer our content
to all of them at the same time.
They can take it together,have this cohort feeling
that increase networkingcreates a common language
(36:15):
for all of them to actuallydo better their job.
Because in many occasions,supply chains are managed
by global teams and not just local teams.
So I think this is very powerful
how these online learningexperience and journey,
it's creating these strongerteams across the globe.
And this is something thatcompanies are bringing to us
(36:38):
as something that sometimesthey didn't expect to happen.
And it's a a great benefit
of having this up-skillingprogram that they can offer
to all of them at the same time.
- Thank you for joiningus on this episode,
Supply Chain Frontiers,
and a special thanks ofcourse to guests today,
Dr. Eva Ponce and Dr. Inma Borrella
for sharing your experiences,very much appreciated.
(37:00):
We have been discussing the critical role
of online education in preparing
the supply chain workforce for the future.
As we've heard today, programslike the MITX MicroMasters
and the CTL specializedMOOCs are equipping learners
and organizations worldwidewith skills they need
to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry.
To explore these programs and more,
visit ctl.mi.edu/online-learning.
(37:22):
Supply Chain Frontiers isrecorded on the MIT campus
in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Our sound editor is DavidLashinsky of David Benjamin Sound
and our audio engineertoday is Kurt Schneider
of MIT Audio Visual Services.
Our marketing writer is Mackenzie Berry.
Be sure to check out previous episodes
of Supply Chain Frontiersat ctl.mit.edu/podcasts
or search for us on yourpreferred podcast platform.
(37:45):
On behalf of the researchers, instructors,
and staff at the MIT Centerfor Transformational Logistics,
I'm Benjy Kantor, thank you for listening.
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