ESADE’s Class of 2018 comprises 190 students, including 32% women. Drawn from 48 nationalities, 94% of the class is non-Spanish.

While 29% of the class is from Latin America, 26% is from Europe and 25% from Asia. The average age of the students is 28.7 years. They have 5.5 years average work experience.

As far as academic background is concerned, 49% of the class is from Economics & Management followed by 32% from Engineering and 10% Humanities & Social Sciences. About 5% students have Law background while 2% each are from Medical and other streams.

In functional area, 22% of the students are from Marketing & Sales followed by 21% in General Management and 19% in Audit and 16% in Consulting.

Divided by sector, 41% of them are from Industrial sector followed by 17% each in Financial Services and Business Services.

The 12-month track is offered in some individual cases where strict requirements are met. The 15-month program is for those who have professional commitments that require them to complete the program early.

The 12-month program will have electives along with the compulsory core program but no Exchange or Internship. The 15-month program offers a choice of either exchange or internship. Students go on exchange to other business schools with which ESADE has tie ups after the summer break. The duration of the Exchange typically varies from three to four months depending on the choice of partner business school.

Students in the full 18 month program will be able to participate in both exchange and internships.

The ESADE MBA program typically starts in August with a Pre-program in which online preparatory packs are made available for an intensive basic communication course in Spanish or English. The introductory and foundation weeks would set the tone. Term 1 is dedicated to understanding the context, term 2 to decision making, Term 3 to execution and sustainability. In May, the Track decision is to be taken by the students to opt for the 12 month, 15 month or 18 month programs.

The 12-month program will be completed by September, the 15 month program by December and the 18 month by March in the second year.

Among the most important considerations would be the reputation of the business school. The EMBA program should accredited by a reputable MBA authority, such as the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and The EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS).

The reputation of the school faculty for the particular specialisation you are looking for, say, entrepreneurship or finance, is important. In a global context, top Ivy League institutions would also get you the advantages of a powerful alumni network all over the world.

Alumni associations are present across the entire spectrum of business schools. It would be worthwhile to assess their strength. Some of them may be more global, regional or local than others.

Next is the location of the campus. Though a large part of the program would be available on-line, off-campus, there would be class room modules that takes place, on average, once every six weeks at the school or designated centres. It should not be located too far away to make it difficult to access.

Conversely, if you are looking to unwind in sylvan surroundings away from the rat-race, there are enough schools that fit the bill.  However, since it is an MBA program, there may not be much scope for relaxing. Those aiming for an international profile, could consider a school located in another country.

The quality of faculty should be an important consideration.  They should be capable of mentoring the students, provide potential solutions to complex business cases, access to other business experts and global influencers.

Several of the EMBA programs do have professors possessing practical experience across various business fields who would be willing to share their knowledge.

As far as the admissions process is concerned, busy executives may not have time for long drawn out processes or tests. So you have to find out if the school is insisting on GMAT scores preparations for which may consume at least three months.

However, most schools do not insist on GMAT for EMBA admissions. The GMAC has also devised a test specifically for EMBA applicants, currently being tried out at six top business schools.

Applicants may also be required to write a statement of purpose while filling out an application along with letters of recommendation. Some EMBA programs require employer’s consent for the time away from the office to participate in the modules.

Financing aspects should also be taken care of at the earliest on whether you need to go in for a loan, scholarship or sponsorship from your employer or elsewhere.

Finally, the business school rankings that provide valuable data about career progress and program diversity. However, as is the case with any data, there is room for interpretation and creativity.

Thus, a visit to the school campus and talking to the faculty and alumni would help in arriving at a decision on taking up a particular EMBA program. (Image Courtesy : www.linkedin.com)

Non-profit bodies, staffed by enthusiastic or idealistic people usually work on challenging missions, putting in long hours, often for very low wages and often suffer burnouts.

Among the difficulties faced by them are delays caused by faulty supply chains and insufficient resources. Funders and donors demand detailed financial analysis to check whether the money has been spent properly.

According to Bethany Romano, who is editor in the communications department at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, while workers in non-profits have motivation and personal fulfilment, they lack in stability, compensation and sophistication.

Romano, who is also pursuing an MBA in non-profit management at Heller, says she joined the school after a four-year stint with a non-profit organisation.

In a Huffington Post blog, she lists five reasons why workers in the sector should go in for an MBA.

First of all, most of the people jump into the work without realising the complexities in finding solutions to homelessness, poverty or inequality. Most of them have only anecdotal evidence of the impact of their work.

A person with a management degree would be able to evaluate the project and identify problems while devising ways to save time and money or even be able to prevent the organisation from taking up ineffective or harmful programs.

Secondly, on the leadership front, an MBA background could help in  understanding of group dynamics, sharing of responsibility, team structure etc.

The third point Romano terms as a common myth is that salaries are poor at non-profits. Generally, big organisations like Oxfam, the Red Cross and Nature Conservancy have the resources to pay a fair wage. It would also be a good idea to use Glass Door, PayScale or such tools to assess expected earnings and balance it with the cost of the MBA degree.

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Fourthly, most of the non-profits need people with at least basic business skills. It boils down to implementing basic principles of accounting, finance and economics to help such entities withstand financial hardship. Here again, an MBA would be able to help out.

The fifth point is to overcome reluctance on the part of those working in the sector to join a business school fearing that they would not be able to fit into a stereotypical business school environment with an explicit focus on wealth generation or elitism.

However, several business schools are focussing on non-profit MBA programs either as an add-on to the MBA program or as a non-profit management degree within a school of social policy or public administration. So all that needs to be done is to find a program that fits your needs and enrol. (Image Courtsey : pixabay.com)

The success of the partnership between INSEAD business school and Tsinghua University School of Economics & Management (Tsinghua SEM) of China, has prompted the announcement of an extension of their partnership for another six years.

The 18-months dual degree programme, since its launch on June 8, 2007 with 45 participants from 17 countries, has graduated more than 300 participants.

The success of the partnership between INSEAD business school and Tsinghua University School of Economics & Management (Tsinghua SEM) of China, has prompted the announcement of an extension of their partnership for another six years.

The new agreement extending the partnership was signed at Tsinghua University by Professor Ilian Mihov, Dean of INSEAD and Professor Qian Yingyi, Dean of Tsinghua SEM. The ceremony was attended by faculty, staff, students and alumni from both schools.

“We are very proud of our partnership with Tsinghua SEM. We started out with the initial goal to offer participants the best of both institutions: where participants explore business in the most dynamic regions of the world across four campuses,” Professor Ilian Mihov said.

“TIEMBA’s recent strong performance on globally-recognised rankings highlights the achievements of our faculty and alumni as well as the success of our partnership. With the renewal of the agreement, we demonstrate our strong commitment to the TIEMBA programme and our dedication in offering participants an immersive and innovative learning journey,” he added.

Professor Qian Yingyi termed as “exceptional” the benefits gained from INSEAD and Tsinghua SEM’s partnership. With faculty and research staff who are world experts in modern management and entrepreneurial studies, participants are exposed to diverse insights and viewpoints, he said.

“Learning from various classrooms across the world, our programme provides an extraordinary business education experience. After graduation, the participants will be alumnus of both Tsinghua and INSEAD, which provides them instant access to a global professional network for a lifetime of learning and success,” he added.

The TIEMBA programme was ranked at number one in the latest FT Executive MBA rankings. It had made a debut in the rankings in 2012, being placed fourth with its very first cohort.

Three years later, it has achieved first place with outstanding performance across several indicators. In particular, TIEMBA alumni have the second highest salary on average (US$324,000), and were ranked second for career progression and fourth for work experience.

Close to 30% of alumni hold the job titles of President, Managing Director or CEO, three years after graduation.

Designed for leaders in or doing business with the Asia-Pacific region, the TIEMBA offers a combination of both schools’ strengths. The collaboration reflects both schools’ commitment to diversity, not only in terms of culture, but also in terms of international experience and management skills.

The Tsinghua University School of Economics & Management (Tsinghua SEM) was founded in 1984 to champion the modern management of the Chinese economy.

ALSO READ: Executive MBA: Wharton Regains Top Spot In US News Rankings 2017

As the Chinese economy has become more integrated into the world economy, Tsinghua SEM’s research and teaching has also broadened its reach to international business management.

INSEAD, with campuses in Europe (France), Asia (Singapore) and Middle East (Abu Dhabi), has 148 faculty members from 40 countries to guide more than 1,300 students in degree and PhD programmes. In addition, more than 9,500 executives participate in INSEAD’s executive education programmes each year. I

In 2016, all three of INSEAD’s MBA programes were ranked #1 by the Financial Times in their categories: MBA, Single School Executive MBA, and the Tsinghua-INSEAD Executive MBA. (Image courtesy : www.insead.edu)