Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Our full-time MBA program, ranked #1 in Europe by both Bloomberg Business Week and Forbes, develops reflective and responsible leadership skills in an innovative, entrepreneurial, and global business environment.
A momentous new year begins
The 2022 MBA year began with a new Dean, Professor of Strategy and International Management and Hilti Chair Omar Toulan, a redesigned program, and the largest class ever.
In terms of program design, we increased the prominence of sustainability in the program. This began with a review of the entire program and an assessment of what we believed to be the key skills in the area of sustainability that all managers will need to know in the future. Following engagement with internal and external experts as well as corporate hiring managers we identified 10 capabilities which we embedded in the core. This involved not only revising existing courses but also adding new elements such as the Mountain Experience and a COP27 Challenge at the UN in Geneva, as well as PRI (Principles of Responsible Investing) Certification as part of the Finance Stream.
The class joined the program in 2022 with the largest number of women at 35%. Efforts in recruiting more participants from new geographies resulted in our largest group from Africa at over 10%. At the end of the year, 104 MBAs graduated.
“I have the deepest respect and admiration for every single member of the class of 2022 because each of us dared to see a bigger vision for our lives, but we were also brave enough to allow that vision to pull us into this life-changing year at IMD.”
Craig Plaatjes, selected by his classmates to deliver the MBA graduation speech in 2022
2022 also marked the 50th anniversary of the MBA program which was celebrated on campus in October with alumni from the first class of 1972 to students from the class of 2022.
We maintained our #1 Ranking in Bloomberg among European schools, as well as increasing our position substantially in the Corporate Knights Sustainability Ranking.
A return to the full experience
The year also marked the return of all the programs’ experiential components. Despite starting the year at the peak of the Omicron wave, we were able to get the class COVID-free within two weeks and take them all up to the Alps for a new three-day workshop on sustainability as well as class bonding activities.
Other experientials included the return of the discovery trips in full force. We organized four trips to Dubai, Buenos Aires, Silicon Valley, and Singapore with each participant joining two trips. Each had a different theme covering topics from Managing Growth to Managing Volatility, as well as the Power of Technology.
We also conducted 21 International Consulting Projects (ICPs). Aside from a variety of projects in the health, industrial, technology, and consumer goods sectors for leading multinationals, other projects included assisting a leading Ukrainian retailer to expand into Eastern Europe, identifying a way of providing digital education to girls in Afghanistan and working with the UNHCR and ICRC on improving internal operations.
Supporting future leaders
Given the current environment, scholarships are becoming even more important. We dedicated an increased percentage of our operating income to this effort and also welcomed a new scholarship, the BackPack-Excellence Scholarship for Women, which covers both tuition and living expenses. Overall 62% of the class received some form of scholarship in 2022. The year also marked the launch of our first annual IMD MBA Venture Award, funded by the gracious gift of one of our MBA alumni, Thierry Maupilé.
The goal of the award is to help MBAs embrace entrepreneurship in a new way by providing financial support and mentorship to grow a business idea that will bring benefit to society. A dozen MBA participants competed over two rounds of pitches for the award of 100,000 CHF. Brandon Taft’s InStep, a digital health venture that aims to transform consumers’ movement data into personalized health analytics, was selected as the inaugural winner of the IMD Venture Award.
“From the first module, IMD has been impressive in delivering academic concepts and implementing ‘real learning’ from hands-on experiences. The learning curve has been steep; be it opening our hearts at the experiential leadership trips, helping a SaaS startup pivot their business strategy, or developing market entry strategies in 48 hours.”
Sohini Choudhuri, India
“There are 40 different nationalities, and people from non-business backgrounds including a pilot, a doctor, and a fashion designer. This breadth of experience enriches the discussions we have during group projects and integrative exercises.”
Mikel Iriondo, Spain
“It was also a chance to work for a cause that is important to all of us and has been a central topic in our MBA year: protecting biodiversity. Beyond the opportunity to work for such a fantastic organization, the strategic project and complexity of the organization make it a challenging and fascinating experience.”
David Wardle on his ICP experience