PHILADELPHIA, June 9, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Wharton School have partnered for the second year with America-Mideast Educational and Training Services, Inc. (AMIDEAST) to host the Legal and Business Fellowship Program. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of State Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI).
This year, the executive education program invited 28 young women leaders -- executives and lawyers -- from 15 countries of the Middle East and North Africa, ranging in age from 22 to 33, to Penn's campus for a month. The women came from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, the West Bank, and Yemen.
The women leaders were selected for the executive education program in an intensely competitive process based upon their leadership potential, commitment to professional growth in the business and legal sectors of their local economies, and knowledge of English.
"The participants in this program got a sense of the leading practices in business and law," says Peter Cappelli, academic co-director of the program and Wharton professor of management. "But more important than the practices per se is the attitude of empowerment that they absorbed from each other and the presenters. When the women leaders left Wharton, they told me they had gained a great deal more confidence about what they could accomplish in their careers."
Having completed the four-week executive education program at either the Wharton School or Penn Law, the women dispersed across the U.S. for a five-month internship at a Fortune 500 company or at a top-tier law firm.
Academic co-director Michael Knoll, Wharton professor and co-director of the Center for Tax Law and Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, notes that interdisciplinary programs are Penn's specialty because of the close working relationship between the Law School and Wharton. "My colleagues greatly enjoyed teaching the women, whom they found to be smart and enthusiastic," Knoll says. He points out that the women were very quick to embrace the interactive style of teaching, new to many of them, that is used in U.S. law schools and the MEPI program.
Wharton Executive Education Senior Director Sandhya Karpe feels the program has been an enriching experience for the entire Penn community. "The MEPI program gave us an insight into the interesting mosaic of cultures that comprises the Middle East and North African region. The women leaders impressed us with their confidence, openness, and ability to engage -- and above all, their desire to lead change within their communities on returning home."
Executive Education at the Wharton School
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania -- founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school -- is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. The most comprehensive source of business knowledge in the world, Wharton bridges research and practice through its broad engagement with the global business community. The School has more than 4,600 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 10,000 annual participants in executive education programs; and an alumni network of more than 82,000 graduates.
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Informed by in-depth, groundbreaking academic research and extensive industry experience, Wharton Executive Education programs can span anywhere from a few days to six weeks or longer. Each executive education program offers a supportive and challenging context where participants gain the skills necessary for their next level of executive development. Participants who come to Wharton from a diverse range of industries engage with faculty who are the most cited, most published faculty of all top-tier business schools. With a profound influence upon global business, Wharton faculty are the sought-after, trusted advisors of corporations and governments worldwide.
About the University of Pennsylvania Law School
Penn Law's distinguished history began with our nation. In 1790 James Wilson, signer of the Declaration of Independence and framer of the Constitution, presented his first lecture in law to President George Washington and Vice President John Adams. Today, Penn Law leads with our emphasis on cross-disciplinary study within the framework of a legal education. More than 70 percent of the Penn Law faculty hold advanced degrees in complementary fields and more than a third hold secondary appointments within the University. Students can enroll in certificate and joint degree programs and can take up to four classes within the University as part of their J.D. degree.
Penn Law offers the J.D., LL.M., LL.C.M., and S.J.D. degrees. The small size of each entering class (approximately 245 J.D.s and 80 LL.M.s) contributes to the collegial atmosphere for which the school is renowned.