Meet IMD Business School’s MBA Class Of 2022

Summer on Campus

P&Q: If you were giving a campus tour, what is the first place you’d take an MBA applicant? Why is that so important to the MBA experience?

OT: “The study rooms – a key element of both the leadership stream and the experiential aspect of the program revolves around teamwork. Throughout the year, for each module or key activity, our MBAs are split into small groups of 5-6 students, typically each with very diverse backgrounds. The team focus not only increases the learning and team-building skills of each individual, but is also key to the bonding that takes place each year.

Each team is assigned their own study room, in an area that also incorporates a small kitchen, video conferencing facilities, and a recreational area as well as a study room for partners and a small laundry area. Visitors to the campus are always impressed when they see this part of the campus as it highlights the personal touch, and attention that we give to making their on-campus experience as smooth as we can.”

P&Q: What is the most innovative thing you have introduced into the MBA program in recent years? How has it been a game changer for your program?

OT: “The Innovation Lab and Discovery Expedition are two of the newer experiential elements of the program that encourage our students to think out of the box and develop a wider understanding of global challenges. On the one hand, we use the Innovation Lab to present them with an existing challenge that is being faced by an industry. The week is full of workshops that help them move from rapid prototyping to workable solutions while they explore new angles of leadership and sustainability as they come up with solutions that they present to a jury. We then take them on a Discovery Expedition, which is adapted each year so that we can take them to a relevant part of the world to develop a global awareness of innovation opportunities, technology, business models, and environments. This year they had the choice of Buenos Aires or Dubai, and will be visiting Silicon Valley all together at the end of August.”

MBAs walking to campus

P&Q: What have MBAs told you is the most memorable, signature experience they’ve had in your program? Why did it resonate so much with them?

OT: “This year’s Discovery Trips to either Argentina or Dubai. Students could choose which destination they preferred. The trip to Argentina focused on experiencing first-hand how businesses manage volatility and uncertainty. The week included a deep dive into the economy, history and finance of Argentina as well as multiple company visits. The trip to Dubai focused on Managing Growth, inspired by the city’s growth story. The trip cohort was divided into twelve teams and assigned to various projects to work on with companies based in Dubai. As one of our students, Ayesha Fariz, claimed “It was a unique experience traveling together as a class, and being put in a new learning environment enabled us to think more outside the box.”

P&Q: What is the most underrated part of your program that you wish students knew more about? How does it enrich your graduates’ lives and make them more valuable to prospective employers?

OT: “While the majority of our students claim that they joined the MBA program because of the Leadership stream, we still consistently hear that they under-estimated its depth and impact. Right at the start of the program, the stream is launched with a 2-day Leadership Lab, which focuses on team-building, off-campus exercises. The MBAs arrive thinking they have self-awareness and team skills, but by the end of the two days, facilitated by our leadership coaches, they have already developed a clearer understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, gaps in their experience and how the program will help them. The program then continues to build on this experience to develop a multitude of skills to help develop self-awareness and ability to become reflective and responsible leaders ready to face the unknown challenges the future will present them with.”

P&Q: What have your employers told you are the two biggest strengths of your graduates and how does your programming bolster these differentiators?

OT: “Employers typically appreciate the combination of the extensive and personalized screening process that our students have already been through before they are accepted to the program with the actual learning that the MBAs get from such an experiential leadership-focused year. When they graduate from IMD, our students do not just have the theoretical knowledge, but have spent about 40% of their time with us applying their learning to real situations. This means that when they graduate, they are ready to make an immediate impact on the organizations that hire them.”

MBA team brainstorm

5 REASONS TO CONSIDER THE IMD MBA

1) Leadership Steam: “Their emphasis on leadership and personal development – getting access to a leadership coach and PDE analyst are undoubtedly some highlights of the year. The leadership stream isn’t just a set of generic theoretical classes. Instead, this stream ties in personal development so we are able to understand not only what kind of leader we are naturally going to be, but also what we need to work on to be the kind of leader we want to be. As someone who hopes to have leadership positions in my career, I knew this would be invaluable in my personal leadership development.”
Amanda Tan

“IMD offers a lot of introspection exercises throughout the Leadership stream, including the year-round Personal Development Elective in which we can voluntarily sign up to personal sessions with a psychoanalyst to get to know ourselves a little bit better. This was a turning point in my decision because I have always believed that to be the best business leader you can be, you really need to know yourself: what moves and drives you in-and-out of the workplace.”
Maureen Pellicer

2) Learn By Doing: “The experiential aspect of the curriculum, with a stellar cast of professors and a strong focus on leadership, was a critical element that made me choose IMD. We start the year with not only the core courses but also working with real startups for a period of three months to add operational value to their businesses.

Overall, the whole year is centered around a very crucial global challenge – that of climate change. We learned about difficulties that businesses face in sustainability through interactive courses such as COP simulations, sustainability accounting, and impact investing and worked with a green startup accelerator for a week during the innovation lab.”
Maureen Pellicer

3) Diversity: “It has been the proximate opportunity to learn from my peers who come from diverse career backgrounds (from flying planes, to mining minerals from the earth core, and everything in between – consulting, fashion, sports, etc.) and have my paradigm constantly challenged. Also exciting is the potential reach of our network. We represent 39 nationalities from all the continents and know one another relatively well.”
Oghosa Evbuomwan

4) Personal Bonds: “I feel privileged to be a part of the 2022 IMD MBA cohort, an incredibly diverse group of highly skilled individuals, each with a fascinating background and a story to tell. The best part of being in a small class with this group of classmates is the bonds that I have built. Indeed, the small class size makes a difference and gives us an opportunity to get to know each other well, but what was more fundamental was the attitude that people brought to IMD. IMD admits people who have leadership potential – people who are humble and reflective. This means that the students at IMD bring curiosity, and an open mind, facilitating relationship building, and creating bonds that will last a lifetime.”
Bavly Obaid

5) Overall Experience: “It was the short duration of the program and a strong emphasis on the practical application of business theory in multiple countries via Startup Projects, Discovery Expeditions, Integrative Exercises, and the International Consulting Projects. Although intense, I chose it regardless because I have a non-business background and wanted to spend the shortest possible time out of paid employment before pivoting into a business career.”
Oghosa Evbuomwan

MBA Student Hometown Undergrad Alma Mater Last Employer
Parco Chan Toronto, Canada University of Toronto Eli Lilly & Company
Shivam Chandra New Delhi, India Cabair College of Air Training Scoot, Singapore Airlines Group
Oghosa Evbuomwan Benin City, Nigeria University of Benin, Nigeria St. Nicholas Hospital Lagos
Ayesha Fariz Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Knox College (USA) edotco Group (Malaysia)
Peter Holt Theisen Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen Business School Google
Yu Lin Xi’An, China Northwestern Polytechnical University Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Commodity Management
Sarah Mumbi Ndegwa Nairobi, Kenya University of Nairobi Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (FINNFUND)
Bavly Obaid Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom University of Hertfordshire Ricardo Strategic Consulting
Maureen Pellicer Mexico City, Mexico Universidad Iberoamericana Paramount
Juan Perlas Montevideo, Uruguay Universidad de la República (Uruguay) Saceem
Amanda Tan Jakarta, Indonesia Durham University MoveMeOn
Ekaterina Volkovich Desnogorsk, Russia Bauman Moscow State Technical University KPMG

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