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Building a Global Community: United Planet Selects Tokyo Chapter as Community Challenge Winner

The Tokyo Chapter of the HBS Online Community wins the Community Challenge
  • 14 Sep 2021
HBS Online Author Staff
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Over the last four months, dozens of Harvard Business School Online learners have been brainstorming solutions to connect schools worldwide and build a global community. HBS Online partnered with United Planet for the third-annual Community Challenge and tasked the Community with crafting business plans to improve the reach and scale of the nonprofit’s Virtual Exchange Program.

Six HBS Online Community Chapters—Bogotá, Istanbul, Philadelphia, New Delhi, Tokyo, and the Global Chapter—submitted proposals, which were reviewed by the United Planet team.

“I was blown away by the depth of the work, the thoroughness, and the commitment of all six Chapters,” says United Planet Founder and President David Santulli. “The hard work they put in was extraordinary. The level of research they did was phenomenal, their curiosity was so impressive, and they really cared about what we’re trying to do. Their minds and their hearts were in this.”

Selecting the Tokyo Chapter as the Winner

After thorough deliberation, United Planet named the Tokyo Chapter the winner of this year’s Community Challenge. Their proposal detailed strategies for implementing United Planet’s Virtual Exchange Program in Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, and India; suggestions for innovative technology use; and a multifaceted marketing plan.

“The level of work here is just unbelievable,” Santulli says of the winning proposal. “Not only did they go in depth on Japan, but also identified a weakness that we should try to be in more countries throughout Asia, and then went in depth with various countries. They had some really strong recommendations across the board, and they definitely did their research.”

The Tokyo Chapter team consists of 14 members from eight countries: Emi Shitara, Hiroki Yamashita, Yukihiro Sato, Satomi Yoshida, Chuy Tong, Shohei Teruya, Masahiro Nakagawa, Sunny Ng, Animesh Hore, Subahagia Rendy Warman, Ma. Theriza Joy Lanche, Annabelle Aro-Gudiaga, Amber Cher, and Yin (Vivien) Wai Wai.

“The Tokyo Chapter members for the Community Challenge consist of excellent mid-career professionals and experts in their respective fields,” says Emi Shitara, Co-Organizer of the HBS Online Tokyo Chapter. “We are a diverse, talented team, with members not only from Japan, but also the Philippines, Myanmar, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Canada.”

The Chapter’s other Co-Organizer, Hiroki Yamashita, comments on the team’s commitment to communicating across cultures and using their varied perspectives to their advantage.

“Sometimes it was challenging to summarize ideas in our discussion due to the different cultural backgrounds,” he says. “We took care in the way of team communication to be respectful, encouraging, constructive, and productive with a good sense of humor to generate many diverse opinions from different professional, creative perspectives, which proved to be necessary and beneficial for our proposal.”

The United Planet team highlighted the proposal’s recommendations for breaking into Asian countries, its clear, actionable plans for expansion into each country, and the Tokyo Chapter’s local perspective.

To date, United Planet hasn’t been able to break into many Asian countries because of the time difference with the United States. Santulli hopes that with the help of the Tokyo Chapter’s proposal, they can establish workarounds for the time differences and connect students in the US with peers in Japan, India, and other nearby countries.

“We, the Tokyo Chapter, are confident in the viability of the development of United Planet’s Virtual Exchange Program in Japan, Asia, and the world,” Shitara says. “To raise funds for these impactful solutions, we’re confident in Japan’s popular crowdfunding service and abundant global networks of enthusiastic teachers, such as UNESCO, and technology development ideas to generate revenue for United Planet based on the strategy and market research in our proposal.”

Donna Lubrano, United Planet’s virtual exchange officer, emphasizes the actionability of the winning proposal.

“It’s ‘boots on the ground’ kind of stuff,” Lubrano says. “As we consider putting a program together for that whole part of the world, the proposal is cohesive and provides an understanding of how everything works and how we can put it together.”

The Tokyo Chapter’s proposal ultimately stood out for its level of research, its diversity of innovative perspectives, and its actionable steps to address a challenge faced by United Planet.

Selecting the Istanbul Chapter as the Runner-Up

With so many well-researched proposals, United Planet decided to name the Challenge’s first-ever runner-up: the Istanbul Chapter.

The Istanbul Chapter team—made up of Asiye Çerkezoğlu, Alper Ertuna, Tommaso Padula, and Eren Yağmuroğlu—also submitted an actionable, comprehensive proposal. Their submission consisted of strategies to partner with international high schools and NGOs, a detailed marketing and branding plan, and hands-on resources the United Planet team can leverage, such as lists of schools to pursue partnerships with in various countries.

Lubrano comments on the value of the resources provided by the Istanbul Chapter’s proposal.

“You can’t even imagine how many hours of labor-intensive work that is,” she says. “To have that presented to you as a gift is just amazing.”

Coming Together to Build Global Community

United Planet’s mission of creating a global community was the perfect challenge for the HBS Online Community, which comprises 34 Chapters worldwide.

As a network of professionals from across the globe, the Community Chapters came together with unique perspectives to work toward a common goal.

“This level of collaboration is what we aim for across schools and communities,” Santulli says of the Community Challenge. “This is what it takes to build a more united planet: people coming together, putting their minds and their hearts into trying to improve their local and global communities.”

Santulli feels hopeful that with the two proposals from Tokyo and Istanbul, United Planet can expand its Virtual Exchange Program and meet its future goals.

“They were very driven to do their best, and they obviously integrated many of the lessons learned from HBS Online,” he says of all six participating Chapters. “For us, it was a real privilege—we feel very grateful to have this level of support. It’s an amazing opportunity for us, and hopefully, it will help us take the organization and our programs to the next level. With this input from the HBS Online Community, I’m confident we can.”

Are you interested in meeting other business professionals and creating change in future Community Challenges? Join the HBS Online Community today.

 
All FAQs

Top FAQs

How are HBS Online courses delivered?

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We offer self-paced programs (with weekly deadlines) on the HBS Online course platform.

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.

Are HBS Online programs available in languages other than English?

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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.

Do I need to come to campus to participate in HBS Online programs?

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

How do I enroll in a course?

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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.

After submitting your application, you should receive an email confirmation from HBS Online. If you do not receive this email, please check your junk email folders and double-check your account to make sure the application was successfully submitted.

Updates to your application and enrollment status will be shown on your Dashboard. We confirm enrollment eligibility within one week of your application.

Does Harvard Business School Online offer an online MBA?

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No, Harvard Business School Online offers business certificate programs.

What are my payment options?

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We accept payments via credit card, wire transfer, Western Union, and (when available) bank loan. Some candidates may qualify for scholarships or financial aid, which will be credited against the Program Fee once eligibility is determined. Please refer to the Payment & Financial Aid page for further information.

We also allow you to split your payment across 2 separate credit card transactions or send a payment link email to another person on your behalf. If splitting your payment into 2 transactions, a minimum payment of $350 is required for the first transaction.

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

What are the policies for refunds and deferrals?

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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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