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Connext 2019 Recap: Exploring “Business with a Purpose"

Bharat Anand and participants at Connext 2019
  • 30 Apr 2019
HBS Online Author Staff
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Connext 2019 is in the books! On Saturday, April 27, we welcomed nearly 500 learners to Harvard Business School for a full day of programming surrounding the theme, “Business with a Purpose.”

Whether you attended in person or tuned in remotely, relive the experience with a look back at this year’s event.

HBS Online Connext 2019
Image via Evgenia Eliseva

CONNEXT 2019 RECAP

The conference kicked off in the new Klarman Hall auditorium with opening remarks by HBS Professor Bharat Anand, Senior Associate Dean of HBS Online and Vice Provost for Advances in Learning at Harvard University. In his speech, Anand highlighted the tremendous growth of our global community since our launch nearly five years ago—a point underscored by the diverse audience in attendance. Participants from 48 countries spread across six continents made the journey to Boston for the event, including three who traveled all the way from Australia!

“It’s truly remarkable, the effort that’s gone into creating something that now brings you all here today,” Anand said. “It’s been a challenging experience at times for us. A thrilling experience. An inspiring experience. Never a boring experience—I can tell you that.”

Klarman Hall Audience
Image via Evgenia Eliseeva

HBS Professors Nancy Koehn and Joe Fuller then took to the stage for an engaging keynote discussion about the relationship between management and leadership, moderated by HBS Online Executive Director Patrick Mullane. The conversation set the tone for the remainder of the day, offering audience members with valuable insights that could be applied to their own lives and careers.

“Finding a purpose that’s authentic, worthy, and incites your passion, and motivates you to find your strongest self because you really believe this is the North Star for you, is everything,” Koehn said. “It is the gas. It is the resilience. It is the discipline to hone your gifts and use your experience to squeeze the very marrow out of this turbulent, extraordinarily promising—and equally perilous—world that we live in.”

Watch the opening remarks and keynote below:

View Video

Following the opening presentations, participants made their way to Aldrich Hall to take part in faculty-led case discussions in the signature HBS style. This year’s event included sessions with Ethan Bernstein, Mihir Desai, Jan Hammond, Jeffrey Rayport, V.G. Narayanan, Forest Reinhardt, and Mike Wheeler. Many attendees were beyond excited to meet their HBS Online professor in person, and said the classroom experience was one of their favorite parts of the day.

After lunch, attendees headed to Batten Hall, where they had a range of activities to choose from, including:

  • Panel discussions about launching a purpose-driven business, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, ethical leadership, and the MBA experience
  • Guided tours of the HBS campus
  • The opportunity to get a new professional headshot
  • A series of activations in a custom-designed Community space. Participants were invited to mark their home country on a world map, share their thoughts on what Community means to them, and take our #HowDoYouConnext? quiz to discover their conference personality.

Connext 2019 Diversity Panel
Image via Evgenia Eliseeva

The day culminated in Klarman Hall with a keynote by Catherine D’Amato, President and CEO of the Greater Boston Food Bank, who spoke about her organization’s work to make Massachusetts hunger-free by 2028. She shared intimate details about her personal background and how it’s informed her career. As she told her story, she encouraged audience members to think about what they can do to take action and better their communities.

“We need to give people access to high-quality, nutritious food,” D’Amato said. “This doesn’t require groundbreaking innovation. There’s no complicated science or chemistry, and there’s no deep research needed. There’s a solution—it’s called food.”

Watch the closing keynote below:

View Video

D’Amato closed her address by proposing a special challenge to the HBS Online Community:

Develop an innovative, cost-effective, scalable way for pantries to deliver food to clients. Strategize how GBFB could increase access to nutritious food by meeting those in need where they are, and outline how this solution might help end hunger in your own community.

HBS Online Community Chapter Organizers will be gathering their members to develop and create a presentation outlining their solution, and select Chapters will have the opportunity to speak directly to executives from GBFB about their ideas in our real-time, interactive online classroom.

Connext 2019 Closing Keynote
Image via Evgenia Eliseeva

The announcement of this challenge not only spoke to the theme of “Business with a Purpose,” but provided attendees with an actionable way to put lessons learned from both their coursework and the event into practice to solve real-world issues.

To close out Connext 2019, participants gathered for a reception in the Spangler Center to reflect on the day and network, capping off a fun-filled, inspiring event.

Get our latest business insights delivered to your inbox! Subscribe now.

Are you interested in more Connext content? Subscribe to our blog to stay-up-to-date on the latest news, and check out our social channels to see what other participants are saying about the conference.

 
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Our platform features short, highly produced videos of HBS faculty and guest business experts, interactive graphs and exercises, cold calls to keep you engaged, and opportunities to contribute to a vibrant online community.

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We expect to offer our courses in additional languages in the future but, at this time, HBS Online can only be provided in English.

All course content is delivered in written English. Closed captioning in English is available for all videos. There are no live interactions during the course that requires the learner to speak English. Written English proficiency should suffice.

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No, all of our programs are 100 percent online, and available to participants regardless of their location.

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All programs require the completion of a brief application. The applications vary slightly from program to program, but all ask for some personal background information. You can apply for and enroll in programs here. If you are new to HBS Online, you will be required to set up an account before starting an application for the program of your choice.

Our easy online application is free, and no special documentation is required. All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the program.

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In all cases, net Program Fees must be paid in full (in US Dollars) to complete registration.

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After enrolling in a program, you may request a withdrawal with refund (minus a $100 nonrefundable enrollment fee) up until 24 hours after the start of your program. Please review the Program Policies page for more details on refunds and deferrals. If your employer has contracted with HBS Online for participation in a program, or if you elect to enroll in the undergraduate credit option of the Credential of Readiness (CORe) program, note that policies for these options may differ.

 

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