Swiss business schools offer international students a great range of programs

Swiss business schools offer international students a great range of programs

MBA students are attracted to Switzerland not only for its beautiful landscape and reputation as a clean, safe, and sophisticated country, but for its world-renowned business schools. IMD, HEC and the University of St. Gallen are a few of Europe’s top business schools, and for good reasons.

Yves Richardet, a student atIMD says there was no competition when it came to choosing a country of study. “I chose Switzerland because I wanted to study at IMD. The school’s small classes, older people, and very international atmosphere attracted me. IMD also focuses on personal development, which is very important to me.”

Philippe Du Pasquier, President & Managing Director of BSL Business School Lausanne discusses why Switzerland is on the b-school map. “Several factors make Switzerland an attractive place to study for an MBA. The first one is certainly a long and recognized tradition in quality education. A second good reason is Switzerland's reputation for stability and tolerance. World organizations such as WHO, UNHCR, ILO and many companies have chosen the country as the site for their headquarters, and these companies are always looking for dynamic, young people to join their international teams. A third element to take into consideration is the exposure to a multicultural environment. For example, in spite of the fact that German, French and Italian are the official languages of the country, approximately25 % of the people in Geneva work in an English-speaking environment.”

Switzerland boasts many top schools, some with unique program attributes that distinguish them from the rest. University of Geneva’s HEC School of Management, for instance, offers the International Organizations MBA (IOMBA) for individuals looking to pursue careers in ‘international governmental and non-governmental organizations and companies that work with these institutions.’ While related MBA programs that focus on corporate governance or corporate social responsibility are becoming popular, they are yet to be offered at all major business schools. And, if an individual is looking to run an NGO in Switzerland he or she will naturally look to such an established program within the country.

One sector that is known to have its anchor in Switzerland is Tourism & Hospitality, and accordingly, the country has become a hub for specialized MBA programs focusing on this industry. IUKB has teamed up with HEC Lausanne to create a very specialized MBA titled the Executive MBA in Tourism Management. EHL, also in Lausanne, offers the MBA in International Hospitality Management and the University of Business & Finance offers an MBA in Hospitality.

While the MBA has long been a popular choice in the arena of business education in Switzerland and around the world, it is by no means the be-all and end-all of postgraduate education in commerce. Numerous Swiss institutions provide specialized Masters programs in the likes of consulting and finance. The University of St. Gallen for example, offers a plethora of business-related courses from its Masters in Banking & Finance to the Masters in Information, Media & Technology Management. University of Lausanne offers an MSc in Economics, and ETH in Zurich has created the Masters program in Management, Technology & Economics for those looking to specialize in ‘interdisciplinary problem solving within a corporate environment.’

As Lucia Peters of GSBA in Zurich says, “Switzerland is a very good place to study because quality standards in this country are very high. Situated in the heart of Europe it has close connections with other European countries and it offers international students a more global approach to studying.” And with such a diverse range of available programs, who’s to argue otherwise?

Source: QS TopMBA.com

Mohannad Aljawamis
Comments
(0)