Tuesday, October 29, 2013

IMD in the rankings - The Economist 2013

A couple weeks ago The Economist posted the results of their 2013 MBA rankings. IMD came in at a solid 13th place. Compared to last year's ranking, IMD's results didn't change a whole lot, but it did drop three places from last year's 10th spot.

A few months back I took an in-depth look at IMD's strenghts and weaknesses in the Economist's 2012 ranking. I thought it would be interesting to do a side-by-side comparison and see how IMD's rankings changed from 2012 to 2013.

Overall, IMD's value proposition continues to be strong, with high levels of student satisfaction and some of the best post-MBA placement/salaries out there. However, two things jumped at me from the results. First, IMD seems to still be feeling the effect of the less-than-ideal employment picture in Europe. The changes weren't too drastic, but there were decreases in the mean salary, the percentage salary increase, and the percentage of students with jobs three months after graduation. Also, IMD seems to have gotten more competitive. The average GMAT score has gone up by 10 points, the number of applicants per full-time place went up to 5 from 4 (a 25% increase!) and the student diversity scores have increased dramatically.

See below for the side-by-side results for each category:

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Let the coursework begin

The MBA program doesn't officially start for another three months for the class of 2014, but our first assignments have already started pouring in! As of right now, I already have six or seven different things to work on, including tests, deadlines and everything! And at the rate of a new assignment popping up every few days, it won't surprise me if I get some more even before the end of the week!

The first assignment came from Prof. Benoit Leleux to try and get us in the right frame of mind for his Entrepreneurship class. It's pretty straightforward - he asked us to read The Monk and the Riddle, by Randy Komisar, and write out some bullets and "learning points" as we read it. By all accounts it's a captivating and inspirational book about the life lessons of a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. I've purchased the book, but have to admit I haven't started reading it yet. I guess the old reading list will just have to be put in the back burner for now.

The pile is only going to keep growing!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

The partner perspective

IMD is one the schools with the highest percentage of students who bring their partners. It's clear from reading blogs from previous years that the partners are an integral part of the IMD community. Not only do they play a crucial role in supporting their significant others throughout the MBA program, they also gain a lot of friends and positive life experiences during their time in Lausanne.

Needless to say, I am very happy that Ashley will be coming with me! More than ever, she will be my constant. She'll be taking care of the baby, working remotely, and pretty much keeping the boat afloat while I'm trapped in the dungeons at IMD. Considering how big a part she'll playing in getting me through the year, I thought it would be cool to ask her directly for some insights from her experience getting ready for our year at IMD so far.

So thank you Ashley for sharing your perspective, for everything you've done to help me so far, and for everything you will do next year to support me! You're the best! :)

  • What are you looking forward to the most about your experience as an IMD partner next year? What are you looking forward to the least?

  • Ashley: There are so many things I am looking forward to next year as an IMD partner! Getting to know the other IMD partners and their families is definitely at the top of the list. It will be a truly unique experience to be able to befriend so many people of such diverse backgrounds all at once. I am also excited to try life as an expat, especially in a French-speaking country. I’m hoping I can manage to pick up French again.

    Hands down, I am least looking forward to missing my Marshmallow! I’m told that I shouldn’t expect to see him too much, which will be hard, especially once Little Marshmallow arrives.


Tuesday, October 8, 2013

A tip of the cap to IMD's support services


Much obliged!
I wanted to acknowledge the phenomenal job that IMD's support service team has been doing to help out with our preparation for the move to Lausanne. The weeks are going by faster and faster, and Ashley and I have been working our tails off to make sure we check all the necessary boxes before our departure date gets here. Throughout the process, IMD's support team has been so helpful, resourceful and responsive, and it's made our life tremendously easier.

I've always liked how the IMD "family" is so tight-knitted, and how the whole experience is so personalized. I am happy that Ashley and I are already experiencing this, even before we arrive!

Here are some of the ways IMD's support team has helped us the most:

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

The IMD Scholarships

Yesterday was the deadline for the submission of essays for the IMD MBA scholarships. Needless to say, I've been busy the last several days polishing up my essays and getting them ready to send in. The whole process was reminiscent of the days back in January, when I was cranking away on my IMD application form. Good times!

IMD's scholarships are awesome. Excluding the merit scholarships, which are awarded at the time of admission, there are 11 others on offer. In a class of 90 students, this means that over 12% of the class will get a scholarship. And the award amounts aren't too shabby either: the lowest one is for CHF 20,000, and the highest is for USD 50,000!

So there was plenty of motivation to get those essays in tip top shape!