Past Admitted Students Discussions. IMD MBA Interview with Current Student Vikas Menon Aiming for IMD? An Admitted Student Shares His Story and Advice Admissionado Chat Transcript - Tips for R3 and European School Applications.pdf IMD_Bschool,429685183566974976,600

The placecards are set, who will set next to whom? The doors are locked for now; we shall find out on Monday. https://blogs.imd.org/mba/Lists/Photos/lorange_door_sign.jpg For now, we can only glimpse through the peephole https://blogs.imd.org/mba/Lists/Photos/lorange_peephole.jpg

IMD has a long tradition of intra-class football matches and the Class of 2015 continued this today. https://blogs.imd.org/mba/Lists/Photos/2015-01-11%20Football.jpg Organised by Hersh, the 120 minute (!) game included a spectacular solo goal by Marco. Special thanks to Chris Eaborn for supporting the footballers and loaning the match ball, cones and bibs!

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IMD Calling all applicants Class of 2015-16

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TheAlbatross

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15 Nov 2014, 15:10

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mbaoneyear

can anyone comment on this strange event at IMD? sound like there is a serious problem in the program.

https://poetsandquants.com/2014/10/30/mo ... a-program/

So I am actually on the waitlist and have been speaking to many of the admissions people. They said they would let me know as soon as possible but some of the people I've been speaking to are in that list of departures.

When I went for the assessment, I heard grumblings of changes going on at the program. However, this news is massive. Really not sure what to think...

mbaoneyear

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16 Nov 2014, 06:35

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TheAlbatross

mbaoneyear

can anyone comment on this strange event at IMD? sound like there is a serious problem in the program.

https://poetsandquants.com/2014/10/30/mo ... a-program/

thank you for the info. Who handle the admission office right now?

TheAlbatross

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16 Nov 2014, 09:08

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mbaoneyear

TheAlbatross

mbaoneyear

can anyone comment on this strange event at IMD? sound like there is a serious problem in the program.

https://poetsandquants.com/2014/10/30/mo ... a-program/

thank you for the info. Who handle the admission office right now?

Right now, I'm not sure there is anyone left. The admissions director and the three people in her office have all resigned so I don't know who is actually running the office. Everyone I met when I was there has either resigned or given notice!

I spoke to a few people (current students included) and they are all recommending that I dont go there even if I got off the wait list.

mbaoneyear

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16 Nov 2014, 11:38

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https://poetsandquants.com/2014/10/30/mo ... a-program/[/quote]

So I am actually on the waitlist and have been speaking to many of the admissions people. They said they would let me know as soon as possible but some of the people I've been speaking to are in that list of departures.

When I went for the assessment, I heard grumblings of changes going on at the program. However, this news is massive. Really not sure what to think...[/quote]
thank you for the info. Who handle the admission office right now?[/quote]

Right now, I'm not sure there is anyone left. The admissions director and the three people in her office have all resigned so I don't know who is actually running the office. Everyone I met when I was there has either resigned or given notice!

I spoke to a few people (current students included) and they are all recommending that I dont go there even if I got off the wait list.

Luckily, I have other options but I'm quite sad as IMD was my top choice. I'm very surprised at how this is all turning out. It's hugely damaging to their image and I can only imagine what it'll do to their ranking.

Posted from my mobile device [/quote]

if you allow me, may I know what is your alternative option? I am very sad as IMD was my target for many years, three years ago, I have got an offer from the largest MBA school in the world to study in their campus in Singapore, but I chose to work because I got good job with good company, and was always have hope of doing an MBA in IMD. Now, apparently, it is not the school that was once one of the top (unless something exceptionally happen), so I am thinking of applying to another good one year program. What you think of Cambridge, Cornell One Year, Keloogg One year?

Pandal

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22 Nov 2014, 22:14

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Hello there, can anyone update on the recent admission rates? is it true that this year application number was low?

newsIMD

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24 Nov 2014, 09:00

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FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Electives, deep intent and Christmas market

As we are coming really close to the end of the program, we have more freedom to choose the topics we are interested in, as this is the time of the electives. The courses are more advanced, and I find them very useful, although I could experience only two until now, the Strategic Partnerships course by James Henderson (absolutely real life examples with a senior guest speaker from Honeywell) and the Options, Futures and other derivatives course from Salvatore Cantale (with a lot of fun and also hard-core finance calculations). I’m very happy, that I could use these electives to add some more background to my past experiences related to these topics.

Prior the electives we had a new element of the program, the Movers, shakers, preachers and pragmatists, where we tried to go deeper behind the questions and discuss topics, like what is the proper pricing strategy for a pharma company, when we are speaking about life saving medicines, or what is the role of the NGOs and how should business handle the relationship with them. We could also hear about more details about the hot topic of tax optimisation from the experts of PWC. Personally I liked the most the sessions of the two guest lecturers, Michael Yaziji and Didier Marlier, who brought us into a journey, where we could look for our „deep intent”.

As the program is coming closer to the end, there is also a positive „side effect”, Christmas markets are opening all around. On Saturday we visited one in Montreux with a lot of delicious food and drink to taste, I could even buy the Hungarian specialty, „kürtőskalács”, which was a very positive surprise, and let me feel a little bit like at home. After the market we have visited an iconic place, the Mountain Studios, owned formerly by the rock band, Queen, the place where several famous songs were born. It was great to step out a little bit from the pressure of job search and year end obligations and have some rest prior the last two weeks of the program.

András

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Pandal

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29 Nov 2014, 22:51

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all the best.

newsIMD

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10 Dec 2014, 02:00

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FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Graduation and mixed feelings

Last Friday we had our graduation with a lot of proud people around (family, friends and of course classmates). IMD made a great job with all the graduation related organization, it was a very nice event. But our Yearbook Committee made maybe an even greater jobs, as we have received our yearbooks also and we have realized, that it was worth to keep all the hard deadlines. The yearbook became fantastic. Thank you all for this great job!

And the same was true for the graduation ball, thanks to the Social Committee and everybody who helped in the organization or played music during the ball. It turned out, that we had some real hidden talents in the class sitting back until the last moment. The ball became a great and unfortunately last party together with all the classmates and partners with whom we have spent the last 11 months together.

After that we have started receiving “bye Lausanne” Viber messages, helping each other with packing furniture, having last-last dinners, and IMD is more and more empty now, waiting for the next year candidates to come.

It was a great year. I met with amazing people, and I have found a lot of very good friends! I hope you have enjoyed my posts on the blog, thank you very much for reading them and especially thank you for the nice feedbacks I have received from you during the year!

Merry Christmas!

András

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FROM IMD Admissions Blog: The Lorange Auditorium is ready and waiting for the class of 2015.

The placecards are set, who will set next to whom? The doors are locked for now; we shall find out on Monday.

For now, we can only glimpse through the peephole

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FROM IMD Admissions Blog: The first football session of the Class of 2015

IMD has a long tradition of intra-class football matches and the Class of 2015 continued this today.

Organised by Hersh, the 120 minute (!) game included a spectacular solo goal by Marco.

Special thanks to Chris Eaborn for supporting the footballers and loaning the match ball, cones and bibs!

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FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Getting the party started!

To kick off our IMD year we had a party at "Watergate", right on the shores of Lake Geneva!

The bar at Watergate

Ken and Xavier in the party spirit

DJ Ato mans the decks: "No Elvin, you can't have Britney Spears".

Serious dance skills were exhibited

Synchronised routines were learnt

And a dance-off occurred.

All organised by this man.

A thumbs up from a successful party organiser and a big thanks from the 2015 MBA candidates and partners to Marco for organising such a fantastic party!

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12 Jan 2015, 00:00

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FROM IMD Admissions Blog: What can you say to a five-year-old girl about why you are doing an MBA ?

What can you say to a five-year-old girl about why you are doing an MBA ? That you want to change your career ? And your industry ? And learn about all the importance of finance and accounting ?

A couple of months ago when I was about to break THE news to my two girls, a five-year-old and a three-year-old, I was not sure how to make them understand that their mother would go to Lausanne and "disappear" from their lives for one year. It turned out that children were much more intelligent than us. I told them that I would go to a school only for adults and learn lots of interesting things, kind of like what she was doing in her kindergarten. The school was not in Basel, but in a far-away city called Lausanne. So their mother had to move and would only visit them from time to time on the weekends. The girls understood quite quickly without needing further explanation.

A week ago I moved to Lausanne to participate in the immersion program. After the IMD opening day finished, I went back to Basel for the weekend to enjoy some time with the girls. I was a bit anxious and didn’t know what to expect. When the girls saw me Saturday morning after they woke up, they hugged and kissed me excitedly. The five-year-old Laura then said, "Mommy mommy I have been good the whole week and didn’t do any silly things. I colored a princess for you and used the pink glitter for the roses. You can bring it to your school. " The three-year-old Elena followed her big sister and gave me all her drawings and crafts from the week. I had never been pampered with so many gifts in such a short time, not even by my husband!

If seperation always brings back the honeymoon feeling, being away from my family during my IMD year might not be as difficult as I thought. Loaded with lots of creativity and love, I am now ready to start my IMD adventure!

p.s. For those who do not know what the second photo is: it is my locker in the "dungeon" – so-called study rooms for the MBA students.

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13 Jan 2015, 14:00

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FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Imagine...

Imagine you live in London, one the world's pre-eminent cities;
all of your loved ones around, you have a rewarding job with fantastic
colleagues and clients, and a great apartment. Seems like a great
deal. So why would you press pause on your life for 11 months to move to
Switzerland?

This thought was on my mind yesterday evening after my first day on the IMD MBA
course. Rather late yesterday evening. Because whilst the first day
started at 8am, it finished at 10pm. As a proposition, giving up a year
and a substantial amount of money to move across a continent to work 14 hours a
day without pay doesn't sound that compelling. However, as I collapsed
onto my bed, I concluded that it's the ultimate proposition. Here's why.

- Where else will you spend a day with 90 people representing 45
nationalities? Other than the airport, pretty few. As you can see
in the photo, Japanese work exercises have already been included the MBA daily
routine. That was unexpected. But since this daily routine is now
being passed amongst classmates, perhaps it'll be trending globally
soon. Because I realised pretty soon yesterday that from my 90
classmates, I'll experience the flavour of a large part of the globe just by
being in sleepy Lausanne.

- Diamonds are made under pressure. The IMD MBA has the curriculum
of a 2 year course compressed into 11 months. If last night's experience
was anything to go by, I'll be happy in the pressure cooker. Why?

It's because based on my 1 day of experience, the course doesn't teach you
facts. It doesn't even teach you a way of thinking. It present the
facts, the ways of thinking, and allows you to think for yourself. I can
see in 11 months from now, my whole way of working and thinking will have
changed.

For me, it's a case of 'so far, so good'. An MBA has already stretched,
challenged and enriched my thinking. That's after one day. Quite a
proposition. Who knows what's next?

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14 Jan 2015, 16:00

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FROM IMD Admissions Blog: To study or not to study: that’s NOT the question

Before coming to IMD, I spoke with several alumni trying to get a full picture of what the life would be like. I received slightly different kinds of comments, but there was one thing in common: one has to invest lots of time to study or do assignments. I thought it was rather a myth created by a group of very elite and exclusive people to scare other people. After all, an MBA is not rocket science, right ?

After the immersion course on Finance and Accounting, I was very much inspired and enthusiastic (the non-politically correct version: I was frustrated and frightened) and organized with some other students a study group. The study group was supposed to take place for the first time tonight, but it was organized before we knew if we would have other assignments. Today after 8 hours of work on industry analysis and audit, I was not sure anymore if anyone would show up. Therefore I was very happy to see those who did at the end! We played a small game to get to know each other better and it felt good to see people open up themselves. I was really proud of us that we committed to each other even though we were all very tired after the brain sabotage. A good start is half way to success, say the wise Chinese :=)

Now we can say loudly to Nuno: we are ready for you next week!

p.s. For those who don‘t know who Nuno is : he is our (in)famous finance professor J

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17 Jan 2015, 11:00

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FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Week 1 - Country confusion, emotions, and the surprising Swiss

There are three things that have surprised me during the week I've been at IMD so far.

Firstly, I am permanently confused as to which country I'm in. This is getting embarrassing. As a well-travelled Geography graduate, you'd think I would be able to at least process which nation I'm currently living in. However, IMD is leaving me a state of perpetual confusion. As I speak to a different group of colleagues during the day, I switch between thinking I'm in China, back home in London, or perhaps in the States. IMD's international profile is one of its greatest attractions, but it has a downside when I go to a shop and can't remember what language I'm supposed to be speaking. The good news is that I do get a reminder when I look out of the window of my apartment - a view of snow-capped mountains and a beautiful lake soon reminds me that I'm in Lausanne.

Secondly, I am humbled by the sacrifices that my colleagues on the course are making to get an MBA. Whether it's one colleague who isn't going to see his girlfriend for a year, my co-blogger Stephanie who is seeing her children at the weekend, or even the partners of my colleagues who have moved to Lausanne to support their loved one during their year at IMD, it is truly overwhelming that so many of the IMD community have given up so much to get their MBA. This commitment really motivates me to ensure that I am contributing as much as possible to the course, and that I value the time I spend here as much as possible.

Finally, I don't think many people could persuasively argue that the Swiss nation are surprising, or love to shock. Their national image is based on reliability and consistency. However, this week, the Swiss national bank shocked the world and tipped markets into disarray when they ditched the peg to the Euro. For me, it seemed like a regrettable decision. Which nation wants to make their exports 15% more expensive overnight? One thing is for sure. Swiss business will be forced to innovate to overcome their currency which now comes with even more of a sting in the tail.

So I'll say goodbye now - I'm off to meet my classmates for a pizza. Who knows what language I'll speak to the waiter in this time?

Nick.

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18 Jan 2015, 14:00

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FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Photos of week 1

With the first full week of the 2015 MBA already over, here are a few key photos:

The rucksack for the 2015 MBAs, to be stuffed with laptops, iPads and the occasional book.

To cut down on waste, each MBA candidate was given a plastic cup to use with the coffee, tea and water machines.

The Japanese members of the class took us through their morning exercises to get us awake for our 0800 industry analysis lesson...

...whilst others tried chairobics.

The African class members woke the class up with some Ghanaian dance moves...

... whereas other classmates went for a retro workout courtesy of Jane Fonda...

...and the Dutch class members just went crazy.

Regardless of the exercise, the class participated wholeheartedly!

Roles were played...

...the consulting industry was explained...

...and hieroglyphics were deciphered.

We also had another party, but that'll have to wait for another blog post!

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19 Jan 2015, 03:00

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FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Because sometimes, stereotypes are fun.

When asked to band together in our regional groups and to explain a little about out culture at Friday's party, most of us couldn't resist playing up to a few stereotypes.

The Italians

The Japanese

The French...

...who were of course on strike.

The Arabs

The Chinese

The North Americans

The Warsaw Pact did a little jig together

A viking sang a song, backed up by a Swiss farmer.

Finally, the Indians explained to Ralf how to dance Bollywood-style. Apparently the technique is to screw in a lightbulb whilst simultaneously petting a dog. We will be demanding a solo performance soon.

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19 Jan 2015, 06:00

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FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Do you speak Business?

A week of IMD's course has past, what did we learn? Was was the main thing that we have worked on? I was thinking about it over the weekend, and came to this conclusion - we were learning a language.

Yes we were learning the language of business. As someone who has no formal studies in business or economy, I have to start to learn how to communicate when talking in a business environment. Like learning any language, it is not only about learning the terminology (which is of course also important, but not enough), it is about learning the structure and the rules (sort of like the grammer). How do you structure your thoughts in a way that everyone else (including the professors) in the class would understand and be convinced? How do you tell your story? More importantly, it is also about learning the culture of the language: how to think and how to behave so that you don't look like a stupid foreigner. With Ralf , you need to learn especially well the punctuation: when to put a question mark, an exclamation, or a period.

Like learning any foreign language, there is a learning curve. In the beginning, it is slow and painful. After a certain time, it speeds up and becomes easier. Luckily it was not so long ago that I had to learn Italian to talk to my parents-in-laws, so I am still familiar with how the learning curve feels like. This definitely gives me some confidence and perspective looking into the life in IMD for the next couple of months.

Do you speak business? Do you know the langauge of the flower (see below photo)? If you have been to Ralf's class, you know what I am talking about

Stephanie

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21 Jan 2015, 06:00

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FROM IMD Admissions Blog: What did the Englishman say...

What did the Englishman say to the American, Brazilian, Italian, the Dutch guy and the Taiwanese lady?

Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, doesn't it? Well, it might turn out to be one, but for now it's the line up for my study group. So far I'm really enjoying the experience of learning and working together and I can imagine that our group of six will be a vitally important support network over the next few months. Watch this space for updates of success, failures, (possible) tantrums and group bonding...

Our courses are really kicking in now, and the biggest surprise of this week so far has been operations and supply chain management. When I heard the title I couldn't have imagined a topic that would be a better cure for insomnia - however, our first two lectures have completely shattered my perceptions. Turns out that this topic is not only extremely important, but also interesting to boot... Who knew? I would never have imagined that this factor would have such a significant bearing on the success of so many companies. The teaching style has been so accessible, using well known brands to illustrate different approaches to supply chain management.

Otherwise, tomorrow is my first group running session - at 6.15 am... IMD has an intrepid band of runners - let's see if I can keep up! And the big news is that I've seen my first snowfall in Switzerland.

Nick.

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22 Jan 2015, 15:00

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FROM IMD Admissions Blog: We are here thanks to you – our families

A classmate’s father died all of a sudden without any warning or illness. When I heard the news, I couldn’t help but think of my father and feel very sad. He passed away five years ago due to a brain stroke. It happened without any expectation, so I was not able to say goodbye.

My father was my mentor and he brought me to IMD. He taught me the value and wisdom in life. He was not only a successful businessman, but also an inspiration to his colleagues and friends. He demonstrated real leadership by being humble, gentel and full of compassion. I remember very well that more than a hundred people came on the day of his funeral: colleagues from work, business partners, family members, and people I didn‘t know. Lots of people came to me to tell me how much my father had helped them and changed their lives. If there is anything I could wish for myself, I would wish for the same thing.

I know that if I would have any achievment in life, I owe it to my parents, my family, and my husband. Because of their support, I am able to pursue my dream in IMD. Therefore I want to say a big thank-you to them as well all the family members and partners of MBA 2015 class all over the world – we know that we are here because of you. We keep you close in our hearts and love you very much J

Stephanie