Global mindset is the hallmark of the IMD International Business School

The IMD international business school is constantly taking key positions in the international rankings. The IMD executive education was ranked the third in the world and the first among European business schools for the overall quality of its programs in the 2005 Financial Times rankings. The MBA was ranked the first worldwide in the 2005 Wall Street Journal rankings. Where does the secret of its popularity and good reputation lie?

For a start, the school certainly possesses a great expertise in terms of leadership training. In the focus of its intensive, a ten-month MBA program is a "leadership stream", which is a number of courses and projects that help high-potential managers early in their careers to move to a higher management level.

The leadership emphasis explains for the most part the good name of the IMD international business school both among recruiters and its alumni. It is no secret that many other business schools concentrate on leadership programs, but IMD is still at the front line, holding the banner of innovation.

The Global leadership experience is developed through annual group trips to countries with a complex business milieu, for instance like Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the aim to explore local economic and social challenges.

"Stakeholder Management" is the latest novelty in the leadership program of the Institute for management development. This is an obligatory three-week course, designed to familiarize students with all the difficulties that may emerge from the interaction with main stakeholders, including NGOs, governments, the financial community and the media.

Another distinctive feature of the IMD international business school is its diversity regardless of its small size. The school is highly- selective and intakes only ninety participants to its full-time MBA program. It is not an easy task to get into the school. You need at least three years of work experience and an equivalent of an undergraduate degree in addition to the high GMAT score. You have to be extremely bright and educated. Notwithstanding exacting requirements of the school, it prides itself on one of the most international MBA classes. The percentage of Swiss residents is only two percent; the rest of the class is forty other nationalities. Moreover, an average IMD student speaks four languages.

The MBA program is conducted in almost a military style. Attending classes is obligatory. Being late is strictly prohibited and can end in exclusion from the school. The participants have very little time to admire the school's beautiful lakeside ambience, as the program is run in a very intense manner with classes from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays and until noon on Saturdays. 

A small full-time MBA class does not prevent the IMD international business school from attracting almost fifty recruiters to its campus. Recruiters frequently name the student's maturity and global mindset as two most striking features of the school.