“IMD successfully replicates the corporate world. I’m 
confident that I will be ready to face the challenges that lie ahead once I complete the program,” said Shashank Upadhyay, IMD’s Stewart Hamilton scholarship holder for 2016 and member of the current MBA class.
Shashank was selected to receive the scholarship out of numerous candidates due to his exceptional grasp of corporate governance and responsibility.
Before IMD, Shashank lived and worked in Germany and has a background in engineering and has long had his sights on getting an MBA to move up the ladder to a more cross-functional leadership role.
Being in a very international program was a priority for him. “I was looking for an international program and since one out of two students are from a different nationality, IMD was no-brainer,” he says.
“IMD was my first choice. I didn’t apply anywhere else. I appreciated the small class, the focus on leadership and the use of real cases to provide real learning.”
IMD’s unique focus on executive education was among the many draws for Shashank.
“For me, if the school is so well appreciated by top executives, then they must be doing something right,” he said.
So far, Shashank thinks living in Lausanne is wonderful and he appreciates the service that he receives from the MBA team.
“If I have to use one word to describe my experience at IMD, it would be professional.”
Before coming to IMD, Shashank consulted with a number of alumni, who he described as very honest, helpful, and humble, given their level of success.
One of the other strengths of the IMD MBA according to Shashank is that its participants don’t lose touch with the real world during their year on campus.
“We’re not learning in a vacuum. You reapply everything you learn through projects, so the learning seems natural and you don’t have to struggle to acquire the knowledge.”
So far Shashank has appreciated IMD’s unique offerings such as a session with a professional actor on how to present himself and a project advising and consulting with real startups. He says the program is a good balance of learning and execution.
Another aspect of the MBA that Shashank said quickly becomes evident is that the composition of the class is very well thought out.
“You can see that IMD doesn’t look for the 90 best people to fill the class but rather strives to have the best group of 90. I think that is an excellent approach and I think it will prepare me well for what I’ll face in the corporate environment.”
“The Stewart Hamilton scholarship was a huge financial help and helped me bring my wife along to Lausanne,” he said.
Speaking of life after IMD, Shashank wants to be a top marketing executive in five or ten years at a fast moving consumer goods company.
But for now he says he is just enjoying the experience.
“I’m getting a lot out of the program. It’s very enlightening to study finance, leadership, marketing or other subjects individually, but in IMD’s MBA we often study them together and that’s where the real magic happens.“
Every year, IMD’s MBA program enrols 90 mature individuals, with an average work experience of 7 years, broad international exposure and recognized leadership potential. They invest 11 months of rigorous work to acquire a solid and actionable education that is research-based but practice-focused. They work with coaches and analysts to develop themselves and each other. We offer a state-of-the-art career counselling process and access to IMD’s community of business executives and corporate sponsors. At the end, we aim to provide the skills to know, the confidence to act and the humility to lead.
