MADISON, Wis. — MasterCard is partnering with CUES to underwrite the organization's new Strategic Innovation Institute.
Last week CO-OP Financial Services, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., also announced it is underwriting the new school.
In October CUES introduced the Strategic Innovation Institute, a two-year program designed to drive greater strategic thinking and innovation within the credit union community.
The two-year executive education program will be held at MIT's Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Mass., and Stanford's Graduate School of Management in Palo Alto, Calif. The first class begins next year at MIT in mid-September and runs for one year before shifting to Stanford for the final 12 months.
"I'm pleased MasterCard understands the importance of supporting educational opportunities like CUES' Strategic Innovative Institute," said Chuck Fagan, CUES president/CEO.
With its support comes the payments network's new MasterCard Retail Payments Innovation Award, which was handed out for the first time yesterday to Jane Watkins, CEO of Virginia CU in Richmond, Va., during CUES' Directors Conference in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii.
To be considered for the award, credit unions must be leaders in the industry, make a significant market impact and improve their members' lives through innovative payment products. Watkins will receive a registration, airfare and hotel accommodations to attend Strategic Innovation Institute I and a trip to tour the MasterCard lab in Dublin, Ireland.
Strategic Innovation Institute I, hosted at MIT, will be held Sept. 15-19, 2014, offering an integrated curriculum of strategy, innovation, technology and leadership. Strategic Innovation Institute II begins in the fall of 2015 at Stanford, exploring how to scale innovation, providing attendees with the opportunity to explore ideation and design solutions to solve common consumer challenges.
