Following the success of last year’s pilot ceremony in Second Life we have just held the first full scale virtual award ceremony for over 30 of BP’s senior executives who have completed The University of Manchester’s Managing Projects programme.

The ceremony took place in the Whitworth Room of Manchester Business School’s Second Life Island on Thursday 4th March and is the culmination of the year-long Managing Projects programme, delivered by experts from across The University of Manchester. The programme enables BP executives from the UK, USA, Canada, Angola, Indonesia, Alaska and Russia to apply the latest business thinking to practical challenges they are facing in their business life.

Last year’s virtual ceremony proved the real value of using virtual world’s to bring geographically dispersed people together. BP experienced the benefits for themselves, rewarding senior executives for their achievements without the enormous costs and environmental impact of delivering a real life ceremony. It simply made the impossible possible.

There are lots of prototypes in virtual worlds and companies who dip their toe in the water, but this event with BP demonstrates how Second Life is very much alive and well in the corporate world. We’re really looking forward to this year’s ceremony which is on a much larger scale than last year’s.

Alan Johnston Director of Manchester Programmes at BP said: “The innovative use of Second Life by MBS delivers recognition of our worldwide delegates’ achievement in completing the Managing Projects programme while enhancing our community of practice.”

Professor Michael Luger, Director of Manchester Business School said: “MBS is committed to working closely with clients, such as BP, to deliver original executive education programmes that combine real time teaching with the latest e-learning technology. We’re delighted that we can bring the BP cohort together again to celebrate their achievements in this way.”