For Sanvy Yang, the purpose and practicality of Fisher’s Integration Fridays hit close to, well, home.

“My favorite Integration Friday experience was the combination of economics and finance in determining the net present values of buying or renting a home,” said Yang, who is pursuing his MBA and a Doctor of Pharmacy at Ohio State.  “This has real-life implications for MBA students to invest. By incorporating various economic factors such as rising house rates, loan rates or the opportunity cost of investing money elsewhere in a purchase, individuals can make informed, rational decisions.”

Yang’s takeaway from his Integration Friday experience underscored the goal of one of the newest features of Fisher’s redesigned Full-Time MBA (FTMBA) program. First-year students in the program utilize their core courses during the week to learn functional knowledge, and on Fridays, they gather for weekly activities — organized by faculty members representing multiple functional areas— that highlight the interactions between these core functions.

“Integration Fridays help students make connections between the material they are learning while also prompting them to think cross-functionally, something recruiters and executives say is critical to be successful in today’s business environment,” said Keely Croxton, co-director of Fisher’s FTMBA program.

The autumn semester marked the rollout of Integration Fridays, with Fisher faculty members organizing sessions that featured case discussions, simulations, guest lectures from local business leaders and a site visit to engage with representatives of the Columbus Crew about the collaboration and partnership — from numerous stakeholders — necessary to keep the soccer team in Columbus.

For FTMBA student Margo Kressin Wilfong, Integration Fridays are opportunities to step back and make connections between the different aspects of business that are explored within an MBA program.

“When you’re in an academic setting, it’s hard to see how the different pieces fit together — each class focuses on a single subject and refining our skills in just one area,” she said. “Integration Fridays help complete the picture by bringing together all of the different subject matter.”

Yang said Integration Fridays provide students with forums for “explorative critical thinking.”

“It’s an informal seminar to come up with creative ideas,” he said. “Students don’t hesitate to speak up because it’s no longer about giving the correct answer; the point is to make an argument for a solution with a logical rationale. The sessions force us to review coursework material in order to apply them, and the open discussions foster camaraderie among classmates as we help each other understand material.”