There was a time when Heraldo Sales-Cavalcante, the director of strategic analysis and head of learning at Ericsson, was sceptical that a pure online course would provide as rich a learning experience as the classroom.
“There is magic when you meet face-to-face,” he says. “You form great networks.”
However, Mr Sales-Cavalcante was eager to experiment. Online classes are “a fraction of the cost” of campus executive education courses, and mean less time away from families and jobs. Since January 2014, 120 employees have taken an open-enrolment online class from Columbia Business School. He rates the course highly and more staff will follow.