The MBA experience, considerations one year after: the journey never ends

A couple of days ago, I participated in the yearly edition of an event I had been to in person in September 2019. Back then, it was the first time I had taken part in an international fair as such, and I went with a group of my MBA mates. The master program was in its early stages, classes hadn’t begun yet and we didn’t know each other very well. Nonetheless, we were already managing to actively get involved in what the city would offer. This year the event shifted online, due to the Covid-19 situation, and I didn’t arrange anything with my classmates. However, it acted on me powerfully as the madeleine that drove me back to the memories of this very intense year. Here is my summing-up.

For sure, one of the questions my classmates and I have asked ourselves a lot during the exceptional times we have been experiencing in recent months, is if the choice to pursue an MBA in 2020 was the right one at all. Back then, we didn’t know what would be coming and if I think about the times we spent at MIP during the fall and winter, I recall hectic hours, a whole lot of classes and assignments, but most of all Halloween and Christmas parties, calcetto&pizza nights and smiling mind talks where each of us would share their experience, background and goals. This blog gave me the chance to express how the human connection and the network of international people I met during the program was the very best part of the experience at MIP, and this last article I am writing can only confirm the thought!

On a personal level, thinking about the educational side of the MBA, my expectations were highly met. I am glad the first part of the year was held in person, and of course I regret that the bootcamps had to move online, but overall, considering that MIP adapted to the lockdown at an unexpected and successful pace overnight, preventing us from losing a single day of classes, I can really sense a change in my mindset and attitude, a change that I wished to achieve when I enrolled. As I have said many times, my diverse background and my distance from the business world made me feel different from the “average candidate” at an early stage, but through the year, along with being aware of the value of this diversity, I can also recognize that I complemented it fully. I am now a person who thinks strategically and with a business mindset, not only in my working life, but whatever I do, from planning for the future to setting a short-term everyday life goal.

This new mindset is indeed particularly relevant at a professional level if I think about my post-MBA work experience. What I was wishing to achieve one year ago was to move from academia into the business world, building upon my research competences and leveraging on the new ones acquired during the master’s. From what I wrote in a previous post where I talked about my project work and thesis, I can claim that the balance between these two areas of knowledge has been achieved. Working on a change management project, I came to fully apply a blend of topics coming from both my profile as a PhD and the subjects explored during the MBA classes, such as Organization Design, Design Thinking and People and Organizations. Without the courses at the Politecnico, I wouldn’t have had a whole lot of knowledge that I am currently using.

When I think about the one-year-ago-me who crossed the sliding doors of MIP for the first time as an MBA candidate, I can see someone who had very different goals from nowadays, who was maybe a little confused and uncertain, but who at the same time was open to discovering new things. That curiosity made me find things I am passionate about and that I didn’t know before, it made me meet people who were the opposite to me, but who still make my life richer; it made me go through a huge personal transformation, where concepts such as leadership and value have a precious meaning; most of all, it made me grow. So what I can say with this last post is that yes, the MBA experience has come to a formal conclusion, but the journey along the path of growth never ends.

 

About the author
Marianna Trimarchi
I am an alumna of the International Full Time MBA at MIP. I have a background in academia as a PhD in Communication and Strategic Analysis and a career as content producer in the Media Industry.I have worked for the Italian Television as author and assistant producer for cultural programs as well as for other media outlets as journalist. I am passionate about understanding complex phenomena particularly related to internationalization and global development from a multidisciplinary perspective.

 

 

My MBA journey: challenges and emotions

It has been an intense and challenging two-year journey to get my Part Time MBA diploma at the MIP, Politecnico di Milano School of Management. Emotions were certainly not lacking and neither were moments of joy and those of suffering. I have finally reached my most important training milestone and concluded an incredible experience that I will try to convey in a few lines in my last article, which officially closes my journey.

We have all carried out the part-time master in parallel with our professional career and personal and family commitments. During these two long years each of us students has run into changes, unexpected events and more stressful moments that have drained our energies and made us falter: a change of role in the company, a problem in the family, a birth, or a love that has ended. But the structure of the course with the two international weeks, the company visits and the exams, which almost all included an individual and a group part, have allowed us to develop relationships and friendships that have been consolidated exam after exam. We have therefore sustained each other by supporting colleagues while they were going through a more difficult time or when they simply encountered greater difficulties in a specific exam, far removed from their work area or from their university training environment.

Together we faced the health emergency of Covid-19, a complex and unprecedented situation. We remained isolated in our homes but still connected thanks to the cutting-edge technology made available by MIP. Together with the school, we adapted to the unexpected situation and finished our studies in the best possible way.

But the most intense challenges were contrasted by equally joyful moments. The international weeks in particular have given us the most beautiful emotions. They forced us to live in close contact with each other and to share intimate moments such as lunches, dinners or a hotel room. This MBA has given me inseparable new friends. I have seen some of them become fathers or mothers and others get married and, all together, we have reached the most demanding educational goal.

I must conclude with a sincere thanks to those friends who have been closest to me: Luca Randazzo, Alessandro Artuso, Alessandro Brunitti and Antonio Rossi. With them I had the pleasure of carrying out the project work and also spending much free time outside the master. They are incredibly intelligent friends but also capable of making themselves equally stupid when necessary to cheer you up in difficult times!

 

 

About the author
Andrea De Donatis

I am Andrea De Donatis, alumnus of the international part-time MBA at MIP Politecnico di Milano. I Graduated in energy engineering and I am currently working in technical sales for a leading multinational electronics company based in Milan.
I am very passionate about technology, IT and digital marketing. I strongly believe that disruptive innovation is vital to create new value.

 

 

MIP Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Business and BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas together for your future

BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas is offering MIP Graduate School of Business students resident in Italy the possibility of accessing a loan to enable you to plan your future with greater freedom and security.

The BNL Futuriamo loan is designed to help you deal with the needs your study programme entails, both in Italy and abroad: tuition fees, study materials, housing and transport costs, the purchase of a PC or tablet.

BNL Futuriamo can finance from 5,000 to 70,000 euros in a single payment, repayable over a period of up to 10 years, with the possibility of postponing the repayment of the capital from 12 to 36 months from the disbursement.

For younger students, there will be joint registration with a parent/guardian resident in Italy.

The loan is managed entirely by BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas. The granting of the loan is subject to the approval of the bank. For all information, together with contractual and economic conditions, please visit BNL.it or make an appointment at one of the BNL branches.

 

Are you a Junior candidate? For further information click here

Are you an Executive candidate? For further information click here

 

To contact the BNL consultants and request a loan, simply click on “Call me back” and fill in the request form.

Regaining spirituality (to become a more aware and efficient manager)

Going beyond soft skills. The executive programme in spirituality and management aims to guide students to acquire a deeper level of understanding of humankind and to give life to a virtuous contamination with topics that are more closely tied to business. «We are targeting those who want to know themselves better in order to take a leap forward», explains Professor Luciano Traquandi

 

The importance of soft skills in education, training and work is now accepted by everyone. However, there’s a deeper level to explore, seemingly antithetical to concepts like business, productivity and technology, but fundamental to finding a deep balance: spirituality. «We live in a period in which the excess of technology, with its defined paths, can lead to an entropic state, and thus of decline. The spirit, instead, is deeply human and, by nature, anti-entropic. And that’s exactly what we need», explains Professor Luciano Traquandi, who oversees the executive programme in spirituality and management (SPEM) for MIP Politecnico di Milano.

 

The balance between humans and technology

But what does spirituality mean exactly? And why did MIP decide to devote an entire course to this topic? «We decided to use this term because it was the one that most of all indicated something inmeasurable and intangible, something that escapes any kind of measurement. To understand its nature better, think about the term “culture”», explains Traquandi. «You can’t “weigh” culture. But different cultures lead to different outcomes. With the SPEM programme we want to go beyond this, and address issues that are often elusive».

This course required a lengthy preparation: «We’ve been working on it for about ten years. But it comes at the ideal moment, in an historic period in which we are deeply shaken by something that is apparently insignificant and intangible», explains Traquandi, referring to the coronavirus. But this need for spirituality is also tied to the enormous technological acceleration seen in recent years: «The futurologist John Naisbitt stated that high tech needs to strike a balance with high touch: that is a human touch that balances out technology. But let’s not make the mistake of putting these two areas in contrast: technique benefits from spirituality, and spirituality is helped by technique; think, for example, of those Buddhist monks who are also theoretical physicists», says Traquandi.

 

It’s not quantified: it’s perceived

The goals of the SPEM programme are tied precisely to this: providing keys to understanding the dimension of the spirit, with the aim for a virtuous contamination with the world of production. And spirituality has repercussions on numerous fields: change management, economics, law, decision making, even artificial intelligence. «The category of the spirit is pervasive», explains Traquandi. «But take note: it’s not possible to measure it. In the face of it, we must give in. We can feel it and perceive it but not control it. And although this course is strictly secular, it’s worth recalling cases of companies which, following problematic acquisitions, accepted to undergo theological analyses that then allowed them to overcome critical issues identified. And it’s normal that this is the case: we all live this profound dimension. Maybe it’s not easy to confess it to ourselves, but we live it».

 

A study path that aims for understanding

The SPEM course addresses all these themes: «It is directed towards courageous and sensitive people, with great skills», explains Traquandi. «People who feel the need to take a leap forward, both for work and for themselves. Precisely becase self-knowledge is a fundamental element of this course. The approach is complex. Each module will be dedicated to a theme.

And seeing that, as we were saying earlier, the spirit is pervasive, we will have speakers from a wide variety of fields: doctors, theologians, members of the military, entrepreneurs, experts from the world of research and the economy. We’ll offer students a variety of stimuli, necessary to arrive at a full understanding. There aren’t and can’t be unified theories and results. Every participant’s experience will be a personal one that will draw from their own reservoir of spirituality. For this reason, participation will be fundamental: discussions within the group will be decisive for the success of this experience», concludes Traquandi.

Changing business to change the world: MIP announces new partnership to elevate purpose across the global corporate landscape

The Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Business (MIP) has launched a pioneering partnership with independently owned consultancy The Mind at Work, that will challenge the prevailing orthodoxy of why a business exists. 

The collaboration showcases a combination of excellence across two distinct specialisms, bringing a new way for people to create business value by re-routing business strategy through the lens of human experience.

The initial focus of the partnership centres upon the re-alignment of the purpose, values and culture of MIP itself, which will in-turn enable a fundamental shift of the strategic direction and educational approach of the business school in the future.

Here we explore how The Mind at Work’s ability to infuse purpose into the formulation and deployment of strategy, along with the MIPs long-standing history of innovation and rigorous methodological approach can create a new, high-performing type of organisation, built upon an elevated sense of purpose, meaning and stakeholder value.

 

The link between a better future and business schools – MIP’s challenge:

The business of business is business”. This paradigm has dominated management theory and practice for the past 50 years but is currently being challenged in increasingly compelling ways. The impact of this traditional model is being felt in economic inequality, environmental degradation and social exclusion; with a new wave of leaders emerging, committed to re-purposing business beyond the narrow aim of “profit above all else.”

Organisations face a profound choice to either be driven solely by profit or to revisit the role that they play within society at large. They are called to realise that profit is a means to a higher end. In a word, to achieve a purpose that has a positive impact on the whole system – not just on the financial bottom-line.

As part of this transformation, the aims of business schools are themselves required to shift from a limited purpose of simply helping individuals succeed in their careers, to embracing a wider, collective and elevated purpose that will reconcile the false paradox of purpose vs profit.

MIP has chosen to play a proactive, innovative and committed role in meeting this challenge through the establishment of its strategic partnership with The Mind at Work, who have developed deep expertise in the knowledge and application of purpose in relation to leadership, culture and strategy-making.

As MIP dean, Federico Frattini explains: “We want to inspire and stimulate our students and the organisations we work with to actively contribute to building a better future for all, engaging in a thorough overhaul of the role a leader must play as part of this change.

“In an effort to have these skills — i.e. the ability to connect the most external managerial dimension with the values and passions that motivate us — we have chosen to partner with The Mind At Work, a team of passionate professionals who have worked for decades on helping companies achieve remarkable results through the power of acting with purpose.”

 

The human being at the centre

Business schools are the breeding ground of the corporate leaders of tomorrow and are uniquely placed to serve as the catalyst of this fundamental change. Yet, the work required to answer the important question “yes but how?” is only just beginning.

Co-founder and director at The Mind at Work, Darren Rudkin, expressed his delight at having this opportunity to partner a progressive, international business school such as MIP.

Darren said: “I have wanted to work with a business school for many years and I understood right from the start that the change being sought by Federico was not shallow, he genuinely wants MIP to put the human being at the centre, starting with MIP business school itself.

“We have a shared purpose to inspire a profound transformation to the overriding paradigm that has been followed by the vast majority of organisations over the past 50-years.”

Darren went on to stress the importance of avoiding some of the ‘purpose traps’ that have already begun to emerge as purpose becomes somewhat of a buzzword.

He added: “There is now a real danger that purpose becomes a new word for an old idea or a simple repackaging of a mission statement. Purpose is not a repackaged mission statement, it is a fundamental human force, speaking to our inherent ability to create meaning and energy for all our engagements.

“It is not another word for sustainability, or vision, it is likewise untrue that purpose stands in opposition to profit – they are not two ends of a spectrum. Whilst terms such as sustainability or CSR are predominantly focussed upon the ‘what’ and the ‘how’, purpose stresses the ‘why’ or inner meaning and provides the energy that transforms ‘business as usual’ into something with the meaning to inspire and connect others.

“Purpose represents a present moment, alive and useful guiding force for the dilemmas leaders face each day in their decision-making, responsibility and conscious action. As such, a purposeful leader is one who is truly awake, vibrant and focussed upon something far bigger than the task.

“I am excited to invite MIP and its vibrant community of students into the deep knowledge and application of purpose. “

 

If there is a purpose, the results will follow

Liaisons between MIP and The Mind at Work were made possible by former Moleskine CEO, Arrigo Berni who is now an adjunct professor at the business school and partner at The Mind at Work Italy.

Arrigo added: “My experience is that, at first, finding a balance between the pressure for financial results and being true to a higher purpose appears a mission impossible.

“Ultimately, though, I realised that this dichotomy is in fact false: if you succeed in building a company where people pursue a common purpose, financial results will follow as a direct consequence. There is no contradiction between these two elements.

“This does not mean having to give up traditional analysis tools, but rather using them to develop and implement the purpose – and The Mind at Work knows how to do this.”

Purpose is therefore core to everything. But it has to be genuine.

Darren explained: “Purpose is an opportunity to stop doing the same things over and over again. Organisations are like human beings, after a while, they tend to lose the awareness they may have had in the beginning.

“Conversely working according to a purpose requires continuous awareness. But it is very easy to fall back into old habits. What’s more, since it is a paradigm shift that also affects corporate structure and practices, not all players on the field might be ready to embrace these changes.

“However, the biggest difficulty lies in the ability to fully understand that purpose is not just a word. Simply uttering it will not implement the change, you need to grasp its meaning fully.”

 

Purpose-oriented teaching

MIP, which has already won the B Corp certification — an award extended to companies and organisations that “endeavour to disseminate a more evolved business paradigm” — wants to continue along this path.

“Our aspiration”, concludes Federico, “is to train and inspire more conscious leaders and decision makers who are genuinely involved in building a more responsible society.

“We will first of all work on our corporate culture to ensure that change is genuine. And then we will overhaul what lies at the heart of business schools, our MBAs and EMBAs, to adopt purpose-oriented educational approaches”.

For more information on MIP contact info@mip.polimi.it. For more information about or to contact The Mind at Work visit www.themindatwork.co.uk/contact-us/ or email arrigo.berni@themindatwork.it

 

 

Employers Warm to Online MBAs in Coronavirus Pandemic

Once seen as second-rate, online education is gaining favor as the corporate world shifts to remote working

The perception among hiring managers that an Online MBA is a second-rate qualification is improving. Historically, companies were skeptical about the early iterations of online learning. Concerns centered on the fact that these degrees often lacked interactivity between participants and teaching faculty.

However, the perception of online programs has certainly evolved in the past few years, according to Julie Neill, assistant director of the Office of Career Services at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. “The fact is that graduates receive the same MBA degree and diploma from the institution regardless of the format,” she says. “What does matter greatly, though, is the reputation of the institution which grants the degree and of course, its accreditation.”

Phil Heavilin, executive director of the Career Development Office at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, agrees. “Indeed, perceptions of quality are closely tied to the program’s institution,” he says. “As more business schools with strong brand reputations, selective admissions and rigorous curriculums launch degrees, the reputation of Online MBA programs will continue to rise.” […]

“The digital transformation imperative for most companies requires the bringing together of technology and management skills,” says Tommaso Agasisti, associate dean for internationalization, quality and services at MIP Politecnico di Milano. “An Online MBA encompasses all of these skills. Therefore, employers perceive the programs as having a great value.”

Coronavirus has forced MIP, like many schools, to invest in career resources to support students who face the difficult task of finding a job during a global economic slump and a pandemic. At most institutions, Online MBA students have access to all the same resources as their counterparts who are studying on campus. This includes individual career coaching, webinars, job postings, networking events and company information sessions.

MIP has added to this roster of support. The Italian school recently hosted a two-day virtual careers fair to connect companies with students. It also created an online portal where companies, students and alumni could access advice, articles and live webinars to help them overcome their current corporate challenges.

Agasisti says: “The support students receive online had, and will continue to be, just as extensive as it would be in person – and, paradoxically, even more.”

He points out that Online MBA students also have distinct advantages, including the chance to have more flexibility in their personal and professional life and the freedom to be unconfined to geographical locations.

“In our hectic world, technology has enhanced our human capability to learn and to engage with each other, and being able to learn online is a privilege that can reap excellent benefits if incorporated into your life effectively,” he says.

At the same time, attending an Online MBA does not mean that you can’t immerse yourself in the community of the school, he concludes. “Online learning is a rich, international experience, and it permits people to break down cultural barriers and to connect from all corners of the world.”

Click here to see the full version of the article 

How to Pay for an Executive Course

Executive education can be expensive, but the benefits should far outweigh the cost

Traditionally, corporate sponsorship has underwritten a large chunk of executive education, as companies throw their financial backing behind rising stars destined for a place on the board. That source of income for business schools is now under threat as participants report that employer funding is harder to come by.

Demand for executive education tends to track economic cycles. When the economy is doing well, companies are more willing to splash out on training for their senior managers. But in a downturn, revenues will dry up and employers will cut back on expenses.

“Some of the professionals who are interested in taking executive education courses tell us that they are finding it more difficult to obtain employer funding. They also report that in some cases it’s hard for them to make the time available, because they are so busy [managing a crisis],” says Nicole Kleyn, dean of executive education at Rotterdam School of Management.

That said, she believes forward-looking organizations realize that during these difficult times, employees will need new knowledge and skills. “We’re not seeing a change compared to before COVID-19; around 90 percent of our participants are funded by their employers,” says Kleyn.

The Dutch school also works with grant providers who seek to create impact by funding education. “We offer discounts for our alumni and self-employed professionals and, under certain circumstances, allow for payments in instalments,” says Kleyn. RSM also collaborates with UAF (a Dutch refugee organization) to offer executive education scholarships to refugees, to help them find suitable employment on the Dutch labor market. […]

MIP Politecnico di Milano also has several loan agreements with financial institutions. But if you need to apply for a loan, you need to be sure the business school you choose will lead to the job opportunities and networking that will help you to quickly offset the financial investment that you are making.

Greta Maiocchi, chief customer management officer at MIP in Italy, says the benefit of executive education far outweighs the cost. “Employers have come to rely on executive education to fill skills gaps, solve challenges and meet business goals. It is also a great way for an employee to get exposure to the latest trends and business thinking.”

As a result, employees are often more engaged at work and, if they received corporate sponsorship, are more loyal too. Maiocchi says: “These are just a few of the many reasons — for both employer and employee — to invest in executive education.”

Click here to see the full version of the article

86 candidates from 24 different countries have just begun the digital journey of MIP’s International Flex EMBA

The new edition of our International Flex EMBA has just begun with a large number of participants from all over the world, each ready to live an unforgettable distance learning experience.

Dozens of candidates, connected from 26 different countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, officially started the MIP’s distance-learning Executive MBA on Friday, 6 November, providing tangible proof of the unstoppable nature of training!

Our Business School has set up a class made up on average of professionals aged between 30 and 40, primarily with an educational background in engineering and economics and over 10 years of experience chiefly in the fields of Information Technology and Construction, in their various capacities as Project, Sales or General Managers.

This success goes to show that plenty of professionals continue to be driven by the desire to improve, to refine their managerial skills and above all, to look to the future with positivity and far-sightedness. But it is also shows the perseverance with which MIP Politecnico di Milano intends to exploit the potential of digital learning to pursue its goal of training innovators capable of leveraging digital technologies to drive economic and social development. This commitment has helped us scale major global rankings, coming in 5th in the QS Online MBA Ranking 2020 and 9th in the Financial Times Online MBA Ranking 2020.

Our School is delighted with the diversity of this year’s EMBA, its international reach and the varied backgrounds of its participants, all of which will undoubtedly enrich the participants’ cultural and personal baggage. At the Master’s opening ceremony, the students themselves commented profusely on the class’s “incredible blend of skills and experiences” and on its “representation of the entire business world”, also in geographical terms.

Congratulations to everyone involved for deciding to invest in training!

And congratulations to the hundreds of young graduates and professionals who, since September, have chosen MIP for their professional and human growth.

Digital transformation: now or never

Professor Antonio Ghezzi presents the International Master in Digital Transformation: from the strategic to the organizational repercussions, moving from the need to develop an entrepreneurial mindset to managing a now inescapable change. For every company

 

Digital transformation yes. As long as you talk about it in the right way, deeply understanding its nature and repercussions for companies. «Today we’re seeing an abuse of this term on the part of many groups, in order to position and reposition themselves», explains Antonio Ghezzi, Associate Professor and Director of the International Master in Digital Transformation at MIP Politecnico di Milano. «What we need to do, instead, is to establish the boundaries of this concept. Too much emphasis risks leading to an inflation, with a bubble like that seen with dotcoms in the early 2000s. Instead we must try to understand the nature of technological waves, what they can bring to business and how the role will change of managers, who can no longer ignore the transformations underway».

 

An opportunity even for the smallest

According to Ghezzi, implementing a digital transformation leads first of all to transformation processes that must be interpreted. «The first theme is of a strategic nature. Through the combination of different technologies, new markets can be created. In addition, the nature of competition changes, it evolves, abandons the shapes of the past. The second theme is of an entrepreneurial nature», continues Ghezzi. «This phenomenon leads to the emergence of new business opportunities, that you need to know how to seize. Creativity becomes fundamental, from this perspective. And it allows startups and all these born digital companies to compete with companies that are much more structured». The third and last theme is the organizational one: «It’s difficult to implement a strategic plan, if the organization isn’t aligned. And then you need to think of the impact of digital: what impact does it have on the macrostructure? And the microstructure? Are there the appropriate skills to bring forward the plan?».

 

The digital company must experiment

Obviously, the role of the manager becomes fundamental in the face of a change that is inescapable and so necessary. «It’s important to recognize that, by now, the world is digital», explains Ghezzi. «Even those who have managed to position themselves in a confined space must know that, sooner or later, that niche will be eroded. To find new paths, companies must experiment, investing a little bit in different directions, learning to test the quality of their choices, to understand which are the best. In such a turbulent context, where discontinuities aren’t only of a technological nature, classic planning becomes impossible. This has also been understood by the largest companies, which are now starting to imitate this approach that up until now has been typical of startups». To face these challenges, according to Ghezzi, the entrepreneurial mindset is ideal: «The search for business opportunities must be constant. The discontinuity in which we live forces us to do so. Unless companies want to be supplanted. Think about how much digital companies like Amazon, Airbnb, Uber have achieved in such little time».

 

From know-how to know-where

However, you need to know the technologies in play. Better yet, you need to know where to find them. «We’re moving from the know-how model to the know-where model. It’s unlikely that a single company possesses all the technologies that are now characterizing the digital transformation. If we put artificial intelligence at the top of the pyramid, descending we would see that this will require machine learning, big data and data collection that can happen at the consumer level, or through the Internet of Things. And all this data, then, has to be put into the cloud. So it becomes hard for a single company to manage this complexity, and for this reason it becomes important to know where to find these digital services».

MIP Politecnico di Milano has created the ’International Master in Digital Transformation in order to train professionals at ease in this environment. «First of all, we provide general management fundamentals to our students, along with notions of marketing and finance strategy. Then we examine the technologies closely, evaluating their managerial impact. The third part includes an analysis of lean start-up and design thinking approaches. Students will have the opportunity to put into practice what they studied. There’s no better moment than now to enrol. Organizations that don’t put into place this process risk ending up on the sidelines», concludes Ghezzi.

QS MBA Career Specialization Rankings 2021: work, research and placement make the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano one of the best in the world

QS ranking recognises MIP’s MBAs in six areas, with special emphasis on the excellent score achieved in Operations Management, followed by Entrepreneurship and Marketing. Such a recognition bears out the labour market’s appreciation for both the training endeavours of the school and its alumni.

 

MIP’s MBAs rank among the best in the world, including in terms of specialisations in the different working fields. This is revealed by the QS MBA by Career Specialization Rankings 2021 drawn up by Quacquarelli Symonds, a company that engages in analysing academic curricula available worldwide. According to this ranking, built on the results achieved by the different schools and alumni in a variety of business areas, the School of Management of Milan Polytechnic ranks among the top 100 in as many as six categories, standing out in particular in Operations Management, Entrepreneurship and Marketing.

 

More specifically, the best result was scored in Operations Management, where the School ranked 5th, while it reached the 35th position in Entrepreneurship and the 43rd in Marketing. Acting as key enablers of this remarkable achievement is above all the very high score awarded to research, together with reputation among employers and career placement.

 

These results are even more relevant if benchmarked against the method used to draw up the ranking, as over 37 thousand employers were considered and millions of academic publications and statistics on alumni employment were reviewed. First and foremost, this goes to show that the labour market recognises the prowess of the people trained at the School of Management, and that these very people then pursue top-level careers, either as independent professionals or within leading organisations.

 

The variety of the considered areas is also striking, confirming the school’s commitment to pursuing a path where management, economics and technology meet and blend together to form an educational whole.

 

In addition to the three areas mentioned above, the School of Business also ranks among the top 100 in the areas of Consulting, Information Management and Technology.

 

This is the third confirmation in a few days of the quality of the School educational offer. MIP Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Business has been included for the second time in its history in the prestigious international Financial Times Executive MBA 2020 ranking, while MIP courses have been celebrated in the QS Business Masters Rankings 2021. A double recognition further enhanced by the result achieved in the QS MBA by Career Specialization Rankings 2021.