16 Buffalo Business Spring 2019
On a Tuesday evening in October,
Chinmay Das leaves his office at Excellus
BlueCross BlueShield and heads to the
School of Management for one of his
Professional MBA (PMBA) classes.
Though he's nine weeks into his first
semester, this is just the third time he's
been to campus for his stats class with
Professor Dianna Cichocki. That's because
Das is in the first cohort of the recently re-
vised PMBA program, which offers a blend
of in-person and web-based learning in
a format that improves the quality of the
program and enhances the MBA learning
experience, while meeting the changing de-
mands of today's working professionals.
"The hybrid program provides the
right balance around my personal life and
academic schedule," he says. "But I still get
plenty of face time with my professors—I
get the best of both worlds."
Students in the revised program can
choose from courses that meet on week-
nights or Saturdays, with one-third of
instruction taking place in the classroom
and two-thirds technology assisted.
In the classroom, Das learns the dy-
namics of business through case studies
and discussions of real-world corporate
examples. During the weeks between, he
collaborates with peers using tools such
as Zoom and Webex for video conferenc-
ing, online meetings and screen sharing,
and Flipgrid for collaborative learning and
discussion.
"I don't see any gap when it comes
to in-classroom or outside-the-classroom
learning—both are fully effective," he says.
During the day in his role as enter-
prise architect in emerging technology,
BY K E V I N M A N N E
The best
of both
worlds
Hybrid PMBA program offers
flexibility and balance for a
world-class business education
16 Buffalo Business Spring 2019
Dianna Cichocki, clinical assistant
professor of management science
and systems, in the studio where she
records videos for students in the
hybrid Professional MBA program.
Photos: Nancy J. Parisi
" The hybrid program
provides the right
balance around my
personal life and
academic schedule.
But I still get plenty
of face time with my
professors—I get the best
of both worlds."
Chinmay Das
Enterprise Architect
Excellus BlueCross
BlueShield
