The island of Mauritius, home of the now extinct bird “Dodo”, located in the Indian ocean, has an estimated population over one million and an economy based on tourism and agriculture. I confess I didn’t know much about this country before, but after a special lunch at IMD, celebrating the Independence of Mauritius, I did some research.
This is one example of how international every single experience is at IMD. While we were trying some Mauritian recipes, we started talking about business in our countries. At the table all of us were from different parts, we didn’t even share the same native language. I looked around and it was difficult to spot one group with at least two people of the same nationality. It is an amazing opportunity to have the chance to learn about businesses, cultures, traditions, and languages from every corner of the world. In the #IMDMighty90 there are 37 different nationalities represented.
The MBA class is not the only example of how international the program is. IMD’s faculty is comprised of the best business authorities from around the globe. A quick check of the calendar shows that we have classes in the following weeks led by a Belgian, an Indian, a Frenchman, an American, an Italian, etc. All of them experts in fields from Leadership to Finance and with experience in no less than 3 countries in global companies. Their backgrounds are also reflected in our assignments – we work on business cases where the faculty had a direct impact and we can see that something that worked in Asia may not work in Europe. You start developing a broader mindset that allows you to develop the right solution by taking into account many different variables, including geography.
Being in Switzerland is also an advantage. Home of several of the largest multinationals and of a booming startup scene, we have the chance to listen how top management overcame challenges of some of those current or potential billion-dollar businesses. And the best is yet to come, the International Consulting Project, the Discovery Expedition, etc.
Indeed, you’ll see the world from the shores of Lake Geneva!
