Please find as follows a short interview with Peyton Bowman (USA). Peyton will finish this December his International MBA at IE and started already in September his Master in Engineering in Logistics & Supply Chain Management in Zaragoza as part of the Dual Degree agreement with MIT.
Peyton holds a BA degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Arkansas. After working in Europe and New Zealand and traveled in Latin America and South East Asia, Peyton started his International MBA at IE. His thesis at MIT-Zaragoza is to develop ‘Energy Efficient Logistics Parks’ for the purpose of cutting CO2 emissions by using renewable energy, special warehouse design and materials and others, all in part of foresight of carbon trading and carbon taxation, a very important topic nowadays, indeed.
Peyton, why did you decide to do the Dual Degree with MIT?
After gaining a BS in Civil Engineering and a MBA at IE, I wanted to specialize in a field that would utilize knowledge I had gained from both fields. This MIT program was a perfect fit in combining both quantitative and qualitative skills from arguably the worldâ??s best engineering program.
2. How was/is your day-by-day at the program â?? similar to what you experienced at IE?
Day-by-day life here at ZLOG in Zaragoza is quite different from IE life in Madrid. Instead of ~6 hours in class per day, we have typically 3 hours of class and the rest of the day for assignments, reading and at times (very little) enjoying what the Spanish culture has to offer. With 25 students compared to 240, there is one-on-one interaction with faculty in and out of the ZLC centre. The atmosphere is similar to a large family.
3. How did you financed the additional year at MIT?
Not my favourite subject, however I have taken private student loans from the US. ZLOG has loan schemes with several Spanish banks with reasonable payback period and interest, with a logical deferral period. I believe almost anyone is eligible for these loans if admitted to the ZLOG program.
4. What has been the main motivation to choose your MIT campus (Cambridge or Zaragoza)?
Being from the US, I wanted to continue my experience in Spain after the IE program. The Spanish language is highly important in the US when I return one day… Continuing in Zaragoza is in essence killing two birds with one stone. Zaragoza is a nice town of 800,000 inhabitants and a calm place to study with sufficient activities for entertainment. Being from the US I feel the door is always open to return. The degree in Zaragoza still gives me flexibility to stay in Europe much easier if I decide to in the future. Furthermore, the cost of the program in Zaragoza is significantly less (however with the current state of the US dollar, prices may not be much of a deterrant).
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