The 44^th edition of the program has started with 108 students on the rolls.

Francesco Daveri, Director of the Full-Time MBA at Bocconi, says the program aimed at providing the students with the knowledge and expertise to tackle today’s global challenges.

In an interview to BusinessBecause, Francesco says the ideal candidate should have a social conscience, ambition to excel in his/her chosen industry and an aspiration to bring about changes.

He says among the factors that make the MBA at SDA Bocconi unique is that apart from the excellent teaching resources and professors, the small class size is advantageous.

Regarding advice for MBA aspirants, Francesco says, while around 70% of the students are from a financial, economic or engineering background, it does not mean that there is no room for anyone. Candidates with ambition, prepared to collaborate and integrate are welcome, he says.

The total intake of around 100 students is split into two classrooms of 50, creating a “cosy but competitive” environment.

In effect, it means that the students get more individual attention. It is really important that every candidate has their own identity and that their needs are individually catered for, he says.

Bocconi also believes in providing a diverse range of opportunities for specialists in their own fields and not just in finance and economics. Thus, the students come from a wide range of professional background and sectors ranging from fashion to food.

Asked about the changes that come into effect from the latest batch, he says while keeping the basic elements of the traditional full-time program, at least two aspects have been modified to improve the quality and result of the MBA.

The in-class preparatory courses, non-compulsory programs which were previously in place as foundation schemes to support the MBA, have been discontinued.

“We hope this will ensure that everyone is on an even playing field this year, reducing the level of discrepancy in ability and knowledge among candidates.

The pre-course curriculum is now embedded in the full-time MBA, providing an overview for all students rather than just a proportion,” he says.

Secondly, the program has been made more compact through moving the elective part of the course—which normally takes place in October—to May.

This change would allow the students to go for summer internships without any worries since they have completed the main body of the theoretical side of the MBA before the summer.

This leaves only the practical element of the program left to complete in October, focusing on soft skills.

About new initiatives, Francesco says Bocconi would continue with the ‘Lunch and Learn’ this year, after receiving good feedback from students.

This initiative enables students to meet leading figures from a range of sectors to discuss experiences and advice over lunchtime seminars.

Francesco says this time Riccardo Illy of Illy coffee is to deliver a lunch talk. The school was trying to get the big names from big brands to interact with the students, providing inspiration and information on how to be successful.

He says he has also specified that 50% of the speakers should be women. The latest batch has 42% female representation. They also represent several countries across the globe.

Regarding advice for MBA aspirants, Francesco says, while around 70% of the students are from a financial, economic or engineering background, it does not mean that there is no room for anyone. Candidates with ambition, prepared to collaborate and integrate are welcome, he says.

The last day for submission of applications is April 10, 2018, for the program starting on September 3.

The partial waiver is also available for degree holders in Humanities, Law or Sciences and women candidates.

The 1-year program with English as the medium of instruction has students with an average age of 29 and average work experience of 5.5 years. The class size is 100 in two sections.

Each year, multiple scholarships and tuition waivers are available for outstanding candidates, with the support of companies, other organizations, the alumni and current students.

“Student and alumni support is the foundation on which SDA Bocconi sets the basis to provide scholarships for future promising young leaders who will, in turn, serve as models and contribute to lead global changes starting in the classroom and ending with a new professional path.

“Therefore, scholarship recipients may consider giving back to help the School conceive, design and implement new initiatives and a better program, as well as create a stronger sense of community. Even a small gift has an impact and may change lives,” the school says.

The tuition waivers/scholarships are usually awarded before the Program begins. The number and assignment criteria of total or partial tuition waivers are defined and acknowledged by a special Commission whose decision is final. The beneficiaries will be notified according to the dates indicated in each Notice of Competition and no later by the beginning of the Program.

The applications for tuition waivers will be evaluated on the basis of an analysis of academic and professional record; analysis of the requirements indicated in the specific notice of competition and results of the MBA selection process.

To be eligible for the scholarships/tuition waivers applicants must have sent the application to the 2018-19 MBA Program, fulfilled the pre-requisites for each scholarship/tuition waiver and sent in the Scholarship or Tuition waiver application form by the deadlines indicated.

The school says candidates can apply to the scholarship/tuition waivers even during the course of the selection process.

Scholarships/Fee waivers

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has announced one scholarship in memory of Paolo Buzzonetti, BCG Alumnus worth 52,000 Euro. The applicants should possess a degree with top grades, at least 3 years work experience, fluency in English and in one of the following languages: Italian, Greek, Turkish. International experience is a plus. The scholarship application form is to reach the Admissions Office of SDA Bocconi, Masters Division (admissions@sdabocconi.it), by May 15, 2018.

To be eligible for the scholarship candidates must have obtained admission to the MBA 2018/2019 Program. The judging panel will be made up of members appointed by The Boston Consulting Group and members appointed by SDA Bocconi.

The selection will be based on an analysis of academic and professional record; results of MBA course selection tests and results of any interviews held by BCG.

Bocconi is offering total tuition waivers in memory of Prof. Claudio Dematté. In Europe (Italy excluded), one student will be eligible for total tuition waiver (up to 100%). Similarly, outside Europe and in Italy one student each will be able to avail of the offer.

Partial tuition waivers are available up to 70% and 50%, for 2 students each, from Africa and Mediterranean Area; China and the Far East; India and South Asia; East Europe and Central Asia; Western Europe (Italy excluded);        North America; Central and South America; Mexico and Italy.

The partial waiver is also available for degree holders in Humanities, Law or Sciences and women candidates.

Besides, the 30% Club, SDA Bocconi Sailing Club, Ski Club and MBA Reunion are offering partial tuition waiver. The Digital Sector is the latest to offer a partial fee waiver to one deserving candidate.

The Milan, Italy based school follows a rolling admission process. For the academic session that begins in September 2018, the application review begins in September 2017 and closes in July 2018. As soon as an application is received, a pre-selection process begins based on the documents submitted.

The application review will end in July 2018. Selected candidates could take the optional online Pre-Courses in July-August 2018. The program starts in September 2018 and concludes in November 2019.

Once the pre-selection is complete, the applicant is informed if his/her application is suitable to proceed with the selection process. The final selection result is communicated to the candidate within 12 weeks of receiving a complete application, which implies all tests are completed and documents received.

The application review will end in July 2018. Selected candidates could take the optional online Pre-Courses in July-August 2018. The program starts in September 2018 and concludes in November 2019.

Given the large volume of applications, those received well in advance of the final deadline have a greater chance of being admitted. Therefore, it is in the interest of all candidates to submit their application as early as possible, the school says.

As soon as the selection process is completed, candidates will receive a formal letter from the Admissions Service informing them of the admission decision. Results are never communicated via telephone.

If accepted, the candidate receives an official letter of admission and a contract for participation. If all available places have been filled, the School may decide to place the candidate on a waiting list or offer admission for the following year.

Admission to the Program is valid for the year the application is submitted. Deferment can be requested for the following year, but approval of deferment is a case-by-case decision of the Admissions Committee.

Eligibility Criteria

You must possess an undergraduate degree in any discipline along with professional experience. The average work experience of the current cohort is 5 years and an average age of 30 years. The class comprises 100 students in two sections.

Since the medium of instruction is English, you should have in-depth knowledge of English. Bocconi accepts TOEFL / IELTS / PTE / CPE scores.

Program Details

After the opening week, the core courses in three thematic areas: Planning and Innovating, Controlling and Investing; Leading People and Processes; Path to Entrepreneurship. October to May will cover Opportunity Identification and Idea Conceptualization; Venture Team Building; Idea Validation & Experimentation; Business Planning; Partner / Investor Presentation.

The Concentrations option (March–May) allows students to choose in gain in depth knowledge of Finance and Financial Institutions; Customer Marketing and Social Media; Innovation Management and New Product Development; Private Equity and Entrepreneurship.

During the same period, they could also go in for Concentration in Luxury Business Management, in partnership with GUCCI, LVMH and Valentino. The International Exchange Program, another option, involves a period of study abroad at one of the prestigious international partners SDA Bocconi.

June-August will be devoted to Individual Projects. Students will have 2 options on-the-field practice in the classroom: Individual Internship or Entrepreneurial Project. Skills Trial will take place (September – November) with Telecom Case, Simulation on the Growth and Civic Management Project

The ideal company they prefer to work is for Google, LVMH or McKinsey, the survey conducted among 370 MBA students and alumni from 45 countries, with an average age of 30. They will take part in the 2016 Rolex MBA Regatta from September 29 in Italy, organized by SDA Bocconi.

Despite the buzz about start-ups and entrepreneurship, 69% of the respondents indicated a preference to grow in an established company rather than launch their own business (31%). However, they wanted to develop their career in a flexible manner that includes grasping different job opportunities at different times (72 %). Only 28% preferred to stay and grow vertically in the same company. A majority of 60% career path that would preferably take them abroad. The remaining 40% emerged as stay at home country types.

Consulting and professional services sector remains the most attractive career choice. Next comes the financial and insurance sector followed by the fashion, design & luxury sector, energy and utilities and last of all, the Information and Communication (ICT) sector.

Apart from Google, LVMH and McKinsey as the top three preferred firms for a career, the students stated their preference for BCG, Tesla, Bain, General Electric, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

They also held as important, characteristics and values of a company are also important in career choices and respondents indicated ‘being innovative’ as the most important. Next in line were preferences for a company that values employee training and continuous learning, which is results-oriented, that emphasizes quality and that it is international.

“The results of the survey are interesting because they show that MBA candidates attach importance to the quality of the companies in which they would like to work but also to the flexibility of their career path and a work experience with an international breadth. It should also be noted that a not small percentage, about one third of respondents, increasingly sees the launch of a business venture as a challenge to grasp even in a particularly uncertain economic context like the present,” says Stefano Gatti, Director of the full-time MBA at SDA Bocconi.

The 370 participants in the survey are from 19 business schools from around the world who will compete in Santa Margherita Ligure from September 29 to October 2 for the 2016 Rolex MBA Regatta trophy organized by the SDA Bocconi Sailing Club, in collaboration with the Yacht Club Italiano and in partnership with Rolex.

Participants will be engaged in three intense days divided between challenges in the sea, discussion and networking and come from schools including, apart from host SDA Bocconi, London Business School, Harvard, MIT, Columbia, Wharton, IE, Manchester Business School, HEC, IESE and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. (Image Courtesy : www.telegraph.co.uk)