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Spotlight An International Mission CENTRUM Católica The Business School of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Perú Lima, Peru Launched at the beginning of the new millennium, CENTRUM Católica, the business school of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Perú (PUCP), is Peru's first business school. CENTRUM currently serves a student body of more than 400, offering MBA and doctoral programs in which courses are presented in Spanish and English. It also offers a range of specialized programs in marketing, finance, operations, human resources, and global financial management. CENTRUM's first cohorts of 27 full-time MBA students, 66 executive MBA students, and 61 part-time MBA students graduated this past spring. To offer each cohort of students a variety of international opportu- nities, CENTRUM also part- ners with the Maastricht School of Management (MSM) of The Netherlands; the A.B. Freeman Business School of Tulane University in the United States; and the Université Laval and the University of Alberta in Canada. Interaction with students and fac- ulty from around the world is a part of each of CENTRUM's programs. In addition, its part-time MBA pro- gram includes a three-week stay in The Netherlands, during which stu- dents take courses, visit global com- panies, and meet institutional leaders of the European community. Exchange students and professors 64 BizEd NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002 Above: The building and interior courtyard of CENTRUM Católica. Left: Director General Fernando D'Alessio Ipinza addresses an executive MBA class. Below: The Inca Trail to the city of Machu Picchu. visiting from other countries also have the opportunity to visit the famous city of Machu Picchu, or walk the famous Inca Trail, a 25-mile historic scenic trekking route that leads past majestic ruins. In August, CENTRUM offered its first Doctor of Business Adminis- tration program, a part of a dual program between PUCP and MSM. According to Fernando D'Alessio Ipinza, the new business school's director general, CENTRUM con- tinues a tradition began by PUCP when it was founded in 1917. The school, he says, "provides a space that encourages the fusion between academics and enterprise manage- ment." In a short time, CEN- TRUM has become one of the top business schools in Latin America, promoting the economic develop- ment of Peru and its entrance into a global economy. ■ z