Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) and Discover Student Loans are offering graduate business students who take the Graduate Management Admission Test exam an opportunity to receive a 0.25 percent interest rate reduction on new MBA Loans from Discover Student Loans.

To qualify for the interest rate reduction on a Discover MBA loan:

• The Discover MBA Loan application should have been submitted on or after December 16, 2013.
• The applicant must be approved for a fixed or variable interest rate MBA Loan originated by Discover Student Loans.
• The applicant must have taken the GMAT exam within five years of submitting the Discover MBA Loan application and the completion of the test must be verified by GMAC.

The 0.25 percent interest rate reduction is for fixed or variable interest rate Discover MBA Loans and is effective for the life of the loan. Discover Student Loans also come with zero fees, no payments required while enrolled in school at least half-time, and 24/7 US-based customer service. Students also are eligible to receive an additional 0.25 percent Auto Debit Reward benefit if enrolled in automatic payments during repayment.

“Discover Student Loans believes in the value of education and that begins by providing students with affordable options to pay for college and graduate school,” said Danny Ray, president of Discover Student Loans, in a statement. “Providing a cost-saving benefit for graduate business students is another way we are committed to being a responsible lender.”

“Taking the GMAT exam and pursuing a graduate business or management degree is about connecting talent and aspiration to opportunity,” said Sangeet Chowfla, president and CEO of GMAC, makers of the GMAT exam. “Through this reward with Discover Student Loans, GMAC is extending its commitment to the next generation of leaders—and their aspirations—by helping them manage and lower the cost of their education.”

Professor Kathleen Allen of USC Marshall School of Business has been awarded the 2014 Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year award. Past winners of the award include Tom Byers of Stanford University and Steven P. Nichols of  University of Texas, Austin.

The new year has started on a good note for USC Marshall School of Business, USA. On January 10, the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) awarded its prestigious 2014 Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year Award to USC Marshall School of Business Professor Kathleen Allen.

The award is given to an entrepreneurship educator who has provided distinguished leadership in the field and contributed greatly to the way scholars think about and approach entrepreneurship teaching and learning. In bestowing the award, the USABE award committee cited the number of books and publications Allen has contributed to the field and highlighted her work on the forefront of technology commercialization.

In nominating Allen for the award, James Ellis, dean of the Marshall School, acknowledged that Allen, a USC professor for more than 20 years, has significantly contributed to the “national and international dialogue on entrepreneurship education.”

“Dr. Allen has been instrumental in building our curriculum [and] spearheading our university’s earliest interdisciplinary efforts in entrepreneurial education,” Ellis continued. “It is impossible to have a conversation with Dr. Allen without recognizing her immense, sincere, and deep commitment to both the educational experience and to entrepreneurship education as a whole.”

Greif Center Co-Director Helena Yli-Renko emphasized Allen’s “significant innovations” in taking the field of entrepreneurship beyond the business school. “She has been a vocal advocate,” Yli-Renko said, “of teaching entrepreneurship to engineers, scientists, medical doctors, and others with non-business backgrounds.”

Allen, also a founding director of the Marshall Center for Technology Commercialization, is the author more than 15 books in the field of entrepreneurship and technology commercialization including the leading texts Launching New Ventures and Entrepreneurship for Scientists and Engineers. She works with scientists and engineers to identify markets and applications for their technologies, develop commercialization teams, and prepare to seek funding and has been active in the commercialization of space entrepreneurship and ensuring that broadband is delivered to rural areas.

USASBE is the largest independent, professional, academic organization in the world dedicated to advancing the discipline of entrepreneurship. It is presently comprised of more than 1,000 member institutions—including primarily, but not exclusively, universities and colleges.

The announcement is is another feather in the cap for the Los Angeles based USC Marshall School of Business which
is internationally recognized for its emphasis on entrepreneurship and innovation.

• 79% of the graduating class has been able to to make a shift in either industry or function post their MBA
• Almost 30% of the graduating class saw a 100% or more increase in salary while the average increase in salary was 68%
• The business school did not make the salary data for the Class of 2012 public so it is hard to comment on the salary trend at the school. Though there are improvements on other placement metrics.
• The number of graduates who have received offers within three months after graduation has increased from 87% in 2012 to 90% in 2013.
• While 50% of the Class of 2012 saw a 50% increase in salary, 30% of the Class of 2013 has been able to secure a 100% hike in their post-MBA salary. As compared to 2012’s statistics, the average increase in salary of 68% for the graduating class of 2013 is also encouraging.

Change was the underlying theme of the 2013 IMD MBA graduation. Not only have the 90 graduates embarked on an enriching degree program destined to bring change to their lives, the world is also changing faster than ever, bringing new challenges and opportunities.

Keynote speaker Henrique de Castro (IMD MBA 2000), who is now Chief Operating Officer of Yahoo! Inc., addressed the ways in which technology is driving change.

“Looking at many industries, travel, retail, media, financial services and more, we see an incredible impact coming from technology,” he said. He added that technology would also change how they think about the world and how their careers will be affect by the impact.[pullquote]Don’t take yourself too seriously. If you are not enjoying the journey you are on, then you shouldn’t be doing it[/pullquote]

“It used to be that research studies and executives needed focus groups in order to track trends and preferences,” de Castro said. “Today, internet search proves to be a focus group on steroids.” Simply by analyzing search, we are able to evaluate demand and, for example, can even make fairly accurate predictions on box office sales days before a film is released.

But as so much is changing and so quickly, de Castro warned graduates not to over plan their careers.

“Don’t always take yourself so seriously. If you are not enjoying the journey you are on, then you shouldn’t be doing it.”

De Castro also reflected on his time at IMD. “The experience had more impact on me than I ever imagined and students graduating today are going to feel the same.”

The second is to stay true to your personal values. “What do you believe in, and how are you going to communicate it? This is of key importance for leaders. We should always be obsessed by the power of being different and standing up for our own values,” Turpin said. The third is keeping an open, curious mind and being committed to lifelong learning, because “curiosity is a key value for success.”

Professor Martha Maznevski, the IMD MBA Program Director, described the 90 graduating students as “exceptional leaders—they are the future of business, dedicated to sustainable solutions.”

The final speaker was 2013 MBA graduate Truth Kee Yang, reminded graduates that each person has a story. “By examining the uniqueness of our lives we better reflect on who we are and what our destinies will be,” Yang said.

The following members of the MBA Class of 2012 graduated with honors: Hernan Casanova, Fabian Leopold Chessell, Rodrigo Craveiro de Freitas, Anastasia Kovaleva, Christophe Henri Eduard Lamon, Irena Majcen, Stefan John Palmer, Mikhail Sazonov, Andrea Splendiani, Isaak Tsalicoglou, and Bogdan Volostrigov.

Since 1985, IMD has given The Welsh Family Memorial Prize to the best all-round female student in the IMD MBA program. The award was given in memory of Gillian Welshe (IMEDE MBA 1984). Though 2012 was announced to be the last year of the award, prior award recipients have come together to continue the prize.

“The percentage of women graduating in today’s MBA class is not that different than in Welshe’s class. As today’s business world remains one where the playing field for men and women is not equal, we felt compelled to continue this honor,” Joan Beets, last year’s award recipient said in presenting the 2013 award to Irena Majcen.

The graduation closed with a noisy tribute to the legacy of Nelson Mandela, who passed away the evening before. The MBA class visited South Africa in July, and were strongly impacted by the inspiring people they worked with there. Maznevski highlighted Mandela’s characteristics of ambition, perseverance, and optimism, and encouraged the class to continue his legacy in their own leadership.

The Class of 2013 is the 42nd to complete the MBA program, which began in 1972 at IMEDE (one of the founding institutions of IMD).