27 Feb, 2026
Did you know that MSBA students have the option to travel on a one-week global immersive experience led by Darden and McIntire faculty? This elective course gives students the opportunity to explore business analytics in a global context, such as learning about the integration of business analytics into local business and economic sectors. Student visits organizations to hear directly from leadership teams about how they are using data to tackle their business challenges. It’s also a chance to explore the local culture and deepen relationships with classmates while learning together.
Micah Dalton (MSBA ‘25) shared his reflections on the Class of 2025 global elective to Finland and Estonia.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the Global Immersion experience with my MSBA class. A priority for me in taking on the challenge of the MSBA was to develop new, professional relationships with talented young people in data & analytics careers. For me, the immersion experience was a great opportunity to amplify my experience with the amazing cohort I was so fortunate enough to share this time with.
“The experiences that stood out to me the most were the opportunities to hear [from representatives of] e-Estonia and the Chamber of Commerce in Helsinki discuss the geopolitical environment for business in their countries, and the firsthand influences in their economies. On a personal note, the off-the-beaten-path cultural experiences we shared with our classmates allowed us to deepen the relationships that were formed in the classroom and through our team activities. We found an Armenian restaurant and visited a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Helsinki, and in Tallinn, we visited a Depeche Mode bar and the Olympic yachting venue for the 1980 Olympics that was later used as a filming location for Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ … not to mention all the karaoke!
“I believe these experiences allowed for a depth of relationship building that was otherwise impossible during the day-to-day grind of the program. While the class time, residencies, and teamwork have afforded the opportunity to work with some of our cohort, the uninterrupted time in a setting where we were all experiencing new things created an entirely new depth of relationship. I was able to engage with classmates in an entirely different way than we could in other settings, and I feel like the experience brought together a new and rich cultural aspect of the program that was truly a capstone moment.”