A learning initiative, jointly designed by Sabic and Penn State University’s Smeal College of Business for the benefit of Sabic employees, has been recognised by Chief Learning Officer magazine with the 2015 Gold (highest-level) award in the category of “Excellence in Academic Partnerships”.

The Gold Award for Excellence in Academic Partnerships recognises academic institutions that have partnered with an organisation to tackle a key business issue. Recognising the importance of its supply chain (SC) discipline to continued global growth, Sabic first engaged Penn State Executive Education Programs in 2009 to develop supply chain professionals at all levels within the organization.  Sabic and Penn State University formalized their cooperation by signing a Learning Services Agreement in October of 2013.

George Brennan, chief learning officer, Sabic, commented: “Our collaboration with Penn State University has not only produced exceptional financial benefits for Sabic, but also given us a repeatable process we can use to even greater benefit across the company. The Gold Award is further recognition of both the value of the Applied Learning programme and the strength of the Sabic-Penn State collaboration.”

The Global Supply Chain Center of Excellence (GSC COE), accountable for the SC Development Programme in Sabic, designed an overall learning architecture with Sabic Academy and Penn State Executive Education Programmes. The Applied Learning program combines face-to-face learning, applied learning projects, and coaching. Selected high-performers are eligible to enrol in the online Master of Professional Studies in Supply Chain Management Programme offered by the Smeal College of Business and Penn State’s World Campus.

Sabic introduced its Applied Learning program to support the continuous improvement and optimisation of SC operations, important pillars of Sabic’s global SC strategy. Where opportunities existed, cross-functional teams were formed to analyse current SC operations.