“As incoming program Dean, I look forward to welcoming the class of 2018, arguably the most diverse MBA class in the world, and beginning what we hope will be a transformative experience placing them at the centre of a shared learning environment – comprising 9000 senior executives. Our whole community is dedicated to equipping them to face tomorrow’s challenges, ready and able to make a positive impact,” Sean Meehan says.

IMD says its MBA Program is a transformational leadership program, with a mission of developing leaders who have a desire to have a positive impact in the world.

The IMD MBA Career Services team, with input from IMD Alumni and external expertise, will lead the Career Management module which will enable participants to prepare for a highly competitive job with a long career goal in mind – incorporating envisioning, planning and building a personal board of directors.

The latest batch comprises 90 students who had undergone a rigorous admissions process, to begin their one-year journey under the leadership of Meehan and Knut Haanaes, MBA Deputy Dean. With 34 IMD Scholarships awarded, the school will support 38% of the 2018 class.

IMD says the school puts a strong emphasis on the development of individuals in a group setting and on creating an environment where individuals and teams can focus on their learning experience.

The Program is aimed at providing an intimate, personalized leadership development experience while emphasizing on entrepreneurship, global and digital, besides equipping participants with the classic MBA toolkit. It has a 1:2 Faculty MBA ratio which enables professors to get to know each class member’s profile and aspirations.

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It includes the personal development elective, individual career plan, development feedback and reflection. The location of the campus in Lausanne. Switzerland is conducive to the promotion of entrepreneurship with its vibrant start-up, innovation and research environment.

Start-up projects form the core part of the program. The class composition is global in nature. Round-the-world discovery expeditions expose the participants to global innovation hubs such as Bangalore, Silicon Valley and Singapore. The Digital Lab and Innovation Lab will accelerate the students’ digital technology expertise and help them to gain experience in design thinking – in collaboration with partner institutions such as EPFL and ECAL.

With business playing an increasingly important role in society, it is essential for business leaders to know how to find ways of collaborating with other stakeholders. They also need to learn to live with increased transparency. The ‘Business and Society’ module of the program, will enable participants to explore cases and meet central actors who can discuss these topics and provide best practices, the school says.

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The IMD MBA Career Services team, with input from IMD Alumni and external expertise, will lead the Career Management module which will enable participants to prepare for a highly competitive job with a long career goal in mind – incorporating envisioning, planning and building a personal board of directors.

Meehan is the Martin Hilti Professor of Marketing and Change Management at IMD. He joined IMD in 1997 and since then he has designed and delivered management development programs for several companies that include Agricultural Bank of China, Air France-KLM, Caterpillar, MasterCard International, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, PWC, Toyota and Vodafone.

He has directed IMD’s Chief Marketing Officer Roundtable, IMD’s flagship program Orchestrating Winning Performance, IMD’s most Senior Leadership Program Breakthrough Program for Senior Executives and the IMD MBA (2002-2005). He has also served on many of IMD’s institutional committees and was Dean of External Relations from 2008 to 2010.

Commencing his career with Arthur Andersen in Oil & Gas, Media, Retail and Financial Services. He was Director, Marketing at Deloitte before joining doctoral studies at London Business School.

On completion of the 15-month full-time program, you will receive the MBA as well as an MS degree. Unlike similar programs that offer the students only a few weeks of foreign sojourn, this program involves a full term of 5 months at Purdue. Another highlight of the program is the internship opportunity for the students, that is not usually included in other 1-year programs.

Class Profile

The PGPX Class of 2018 comprises 21 students including 3 females. They have an average work experience of 4.8 years. The minimum work experience is 2.6 years and the maximum 9.5 years.

In work diversity, the participants are from IT, Engineering Design, Oil & Gas, Engineering Projects, Automotive, FMCG, Telecom, Power, Analytics, Retail and e-commerce.

They have worked for several well known firms including Cyient, IBM, TCS, AECOM India, Ramboli India, Technit India, L&T Technology Services, Accenture, Maruti Suzuki, Tube Investments of India, Lafarge India, HPCL, Godrej & Boyce, Wirintco, Tolaram Group, Idea Cellular, Reliance Power, JP Morgan Chase, Lakme Lever, CSC and Alstom.

Candidates with a minimum of 10+2 years of school education and a minimum of 4 years of university education with a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in any discipline. A valid GMAT score with relevant work experience of a minimum of 30 months as of January 1, 2018.

They had also done corporate internship at Amazon, Ernst & Young, Athena Supply Chain Lab, Eureka Forbes, Siemens, Mahindra & Mahindra, Procam Logistics, Cargill, Babaji Shivaram Logistics, Farm Taaza and Tupperware. Post Graduate Program in Management for Executives (PGPX)

At this year’s Summer Internship, the Class had a total of 11 companies wooing them for a variety of roles in the Supply Chain domain, including Logistics, Transportation, Planning, Forecasting, Sourcing and Procurement.

Admission Criteria

Candidates with a minimum of 10+2 years of school education and a minimum of 4 years of university education with a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in any discipline. A valid GMAT score with relevant work experience of a minimum of 30 months as of January 1, 2018.

Applicants must submit one Language Assessment Test for admission to Purdue University. Students can choose from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or Pearson Test of English (PTE) scores.

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Purdue accepts all valid forms of TOEFL testing, including those earned through the paper based-test (minimum score of 600), computer based-test (minimum score of 260), and Internet-based test (minimum score of Writing 20, Speaking 22, Listening 18, Reading 22, and Total bandwidth 93). For the Internet-based test, all 5 minimum scores must be satisfied.

Purdue accepts International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores. An overall band score of 7.5 is required for admission, with 7.0 required per each section. The Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic scores. An overall score of 70 is required for admission.

All scores must be documented by an official report from the Educational Testing Service, IELTS, or PTE and must be no more than 24 months old at the time the application credentials are reviewed by Purdue.

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IIMU will accept applications for which English language proficiency results are not yet available. However, candidates who receive provisional acceptance from IIMU cannot submit their applications to Purdue without proof of satisfactory English language proficiency.

Admission Process

Selection of students will be done jointly by IIM Udaipur and Purdue University. The admission process for PGPX is completed in two parts:

In the first part, applicants to IIMU are shortlisted on the basis of the above eligibility criteria and called for the second round where they are screened through a personal interview.

A provisional offer of admission is made on the basis of a weighted score of the candidate’s demographic profile, academic profile, course relevant work experience (SCM), score in GMAT and personal interview.

In part 2, candidates who have successfully completed part 1 should comply with the application requirements for admission to the MS course at Krannert.  After initial screening and a personal interview process at Purdue University, the applicants are made an offer of admission by Krannert School of Management. Following this a final offer of admission is made to the student by IIMU.

IIMU and Purdue University have reached an agreement where Purdue University shares its minimum criteria for admission and these are ensured by IIMU before granting provisional admission to applicants. Consequently, in the 3 cohorts of the PGPX to date, 100% of the participants selected by IIMU have been confirmed by Purdue University.

There is also a 2% drop in international students to 90% from 92% in the Class of 2017.

The School’s MBA offers students the flexibility to choose a curriculum that can be tailored specifically to support the individual’s career path and also to finish the programme in 15, 18 or 21 months. The next batch starts on August 14, 2017 with the fees pegged at £75,100.

The incoming class comprises 425 students with 35% female representation and international students from 70 countries. The female presence fell from 37% in the previous batch.

The average age of the class is 29. The students have an average GMAT score of 708 going up by 7 points from the previous year and an average 5 years of work experience.

Europeans (excluding the UK) constitute 19% of the class followed by North America at 18% and Latin America at 12%. India comes next with 11% while Asia and the UK comprise 10% each. Australia/New Zealand constitute 7%, Middle East 4%, Africa 3% and others 6%.

As far as pre-MBA experience is concerned, 27% of the students are from Finance/Accounting, followed by Consulting at 26%. With these two sectors claiming more than half of the class, the rest is a rainbow of different professions with a sharp plunge in percentage to single digits.

Energy/Power Generation/Electronics and FMCG/Retail/Luxury Goods constitute 7% each followed by manufacturing/Engineering/Construction at 6%.

The average age of the class is 29. The students have an average GMAT score of 708 going up by 7 points from the previous year and an average 5 years of work experience.

Marketing/Publishing/media is at 5% along with IT&T. Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals/Biotechnology and Public/Not-For-Profit/Education is at 3% each. Aerospace/Automotive, Defence/Military, Law/Legal Services, Leisure/Sports/Entertainment/Travel and Others constitute 2% each with property/Real Estate filling up the remaining 1%.

LBS says its MBA is aimed at those who have gained some high-quality work experience but are at a relatively early stage in their career. It is for those who want to increase their knowledge of business and management to enhance their existing career and accelerate their promotion prospects.The program suits those seeking to change career by changing function or industry or to start their own business.

The highly international nature of the programme also makes it suitable for people who want global mobility. It is also a preparation for general management with a global outlook rather than remaining US-centric or Euro-centric.

While the average work experience for joining the program is 5 years, the criteria may be relaxed in case of applicants with less than 3 years work experience if they can demonstrate superior academic credentials and truly outstanding evidence of leadership through professional and personal experiences.

Fees & Expenses

The fee for the programme commencing in August 2017 is £75,100. The figure covers the full 15-21 months of tuition and course materials.

LBS allows payment of fees in three instalments, one at the beginning of each term. It can also be paid in full for the first year at the start the program.

Earn While You Learn

Students have earning opportunities during the program in the form of summer internships. In 2016, summer internship salaries averaged £1,064 per week (10-12 weeks’ duration), and the top earnings were £2,500 per week.

Program Schedule

The programme begins in early August each year with an Orientation week followed by three study periods: Autumn Term (August to December), Spring Term (January to March), and Summer Term (April to July).

Exams take place throughout the first year, and these may be scheduled over weekends. Core courses run Monday – Friday and you will also spend time throughout the week in a variety of classes, tutorials and personal and professional development sessions.

In addition, a number of block weeks, covering various electives, run outside term time. Students are also required to complete a range of exams, assignments and project work over the break periods.

“We recommend you see your study at London Business School as a continuous period of education from September through to June each year, with vacations involving consolidation, preparation and project work, as well as completing your summer internship in the main summer break,”LBS says.(Image Source:Wikipedia.org)