Manchester vs IE distance learning MBA

Question

Considering both of those two fit all other parameters, that they cost the same, and with the idea that working in Spain or in UK doesn't matter as I expect to go where I'll find job, wich one of this distance learning MBAs would you choose?

Here are my considerations about.

IE

pros:

1) Better in all ranks, as Business school, full time MBA, blended MBA;

2) intensive case study;

3) shorter duration (15 month);

4) flexible, live lessons on saturday, manadatory residence 2 weeks in total (one week each one)

Cons:

1) Young institution, and no forecasts about future brand/program recognition;

2) Maybe less known internationally except for the rankings;

3) no electives modules;

4) on diploma it is written "blended"

5) Spanish unemployment is strong, and hystorically Spain in not a business country, so the con is the business/educational contest of the school

MBS

pros:

1) Old university;

2) Stable, it is not in the top, but never in the worst; My idea is that in future it can rank only better;

3) Seems well known internationally, and I think it will stay so in the future;

4) Case study and group/project works with good enphasis;

5) presence of electives modules;

6) on diploma there are no referements to on line/blended mode delivery;

6) Hystorically UK was a leader in business, so the age of the school and the cultural contest represent big added values

cons:

1) lower rankings at all compared to IE;

2) double duration (30 months against 15)

3) no same flexibility (3 days residence for each module)

4) no many informations about the program quality and about the distance learning mode

What's you opinion about? Is here any student of MBS distance program that can leave an opinion on the overall experience of this delivery mode?

desmo · Answer

nobody has some insights? What about Manchester test instead of GMAT?

warrak2000 · Answer

Just want to mention that IE certificate doesn't say "blended". They actually award the same certificate for all their MBA programs regardless of the delivery method.

Back to your question, I would always choose a UK BS over a Spanish BS but since we're talking about online MBA the MBS online program is set-in-stone and boring - they are still using the black board technology which is quite old. A friend of mine in Dubai decided to leave the program after he enrolled because he found it very academic-focus, dry, and self-dependent.

On the other hand, IE blended program is more attractive, hands-on and collaborative.

BTW, if you are a non UK/EU citizen and your goal is to secure a decent job in Europe then perhaps you need to think of doing full time MBA.

warrak2000 · Answer

You don't need to do GMAT or Manch test if you have 10+ years experience. A friend of mine got a waiver by just proving years of experience in his Resume!

Cheers,

desmo · Answer

I am european, and don't own 10 years work experience. Perhaps I'm not for on campus MBA as the opportunity cost rises impressively, so if I worry about the ROI of a blended format, of course I'm sure an on campus MBA it is not worth the investment (if we don't speak about first 10 world best programs).

If MBS is too academic and boring then I will go over it as I have economics and business academic background so I don't need another "only theory" course. In that occasion I could choose a Master Degree.

warrak2000 · Answer

I would still recommend MBA over MSc unless you want to use MSc as a corridor for PhD?!

Regardless, if the full-time MBA is not an option for you then perhaps the best European BS with online MBA are IE and Imperial.

Per chance, have you looked at Imperial online program? they call it "the Global MBA" it's quite new - just started in 2014/2015 and the Hub technology they're using is state of the art.

One more option to consider is part time or EMBA but that depends on your location. In Dubai there are plenty of top BS from all over the world so I have the luxury to pick and choose but I understand this could not be the case elsewhere.

Cheers,

desmo · Answer

Warrak, you have just broken into pieces those few certainties I had.. :lol:

I was just sure for IE, but looking at the new Imperial MBA, new doubts rise up...but this time is more difficult as this Imperial MBA is new so I don't believe to be in condition to collect enough informations to make the right choice. So now my brain is thinking: Uk MBAs better than Spanish, but not maybe when we compare IE (n. 12 in the world for FT) with Manchester or Imperial. Of course Manchester is well known internationally, and Imperial? Is it so? Then you said that Manchester seems more theoretical/boring MBA than IE, and what about Imperial new GMBA? Is Imperial technology better than IE one for distance program? Will be better investment even if the IE is ranked is much higher, and it is stable in the years? In the end, what can be your choice order between Imperial new GMBA and IE blended MBA, and why..? Just an insight: in 2014 IE is the third business school in europe, Imperial is 13. Globally, IE is 12, Imperial is 34. For distance programs IE is 1 in the world, Imperial is neither in the ranking. What about this data?

warrak2000 · Answer

You are absolutely correct; IE has always been ranked higher than Imperial. Imperial BS is relativity new, it was established in 2003 Vs IE which was founded in 1973. Having said that, I personally look at the ranking of the mother university when choosing between multiple business schools as this would give me an indicator on where the BS is going 3-7 years down the line.

Imperial (the mother university) is consistently included among the world's best universities, in the 2015 QS World University ranked Imperial 2nd in the world:-

https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2014#sorting=rank+region=+country=+faculty=+stars=false+search=

Imperial's faculty and alumni include 15 Nobel laureates and according to a corporate study in The New York Times the Imperial graduates are among the 10 most valued in the world:-
 https://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2012/10/25/world/asia/25iht-sreducemerging25-graphic.html?ref=asia

Personally, I would choose Imperial over IE for the following reasons:-
1- I don't speak Spanish and I'm not planning to work in Spain, Miami, or LAC which are considered the IE stronghold.
2- In Dubai, Middle East, and Asia, the US/UK education is highly regarded while Spanish education is just not well-known.
3- from my personal experience, the vast majority of senior managers (outside consulting firm) care about the university name more than the BS name.

On the other hand, if you're working or planning to work in the consulting arena (particularly management consulting) then IE will make more sense. One more advantage for IE is that its blended MBA is 15 months while Imperial is 2 years.

Cheers,

desmo · Answer

I agree 100% with your analyses, and just because of this reason I have these new doubts: if I had to follow only the FT ranking I would say IE by far, but I thought exactly what you thought, so one seems a better business school and a well known distance program, as the second, the Imperial, is a top university with a new (so not tested and not ranked) program, wich seems very interesting still. Duration is not the prior parameter, but quality, yes it is. I tried to check about professors quality of both schools, but it's not easy to find something. Of course, Imperial is a top research university, and because of that, can it represent a risk about being too theoretical program and less connected to real business cases, while IE focuses just on this method? Would employers better value a better mother university like Imperial, or will recruit from top 3 European Business schools, where IE seems to be the third after LBS and Insead (for someone) or in the first 5 (adding IMD and Esade)?? The posted "what the job market job wants" is very interesting, just could be great to have details abou parameters used for that statistic, as to see a Penn over 40th place and a Goethe around 10th, or a Kellog over 62th and Heidelberg 12th... it seems much depended on who (which company) was interviewed and where it was located..I mean, the minimum was to operate a segmentation by companies (sector/location/size). This is the new doubt: IE: pros: 1) better ranked BS (12th in the world); 2) well tested, 1th in the world ranked, distance method; 3) maybe...more quality professors focusing on cases because of the school reputation; 4) Duration, 15 month, not bad... So it seems a secure investment cons: 1) Not known school outside the Business schools world; 2) Spanish business background is not attractive as in history Spain never was a "leading business" Country; 3) MBA has no electives; Imperial: pros: 1) belong the best universities in the world and internationally a very respected school; 2) very good research department; 3) UK is an attractive "business leading" Country; 4) MBA has electives presence, and two of them can be followed on campus with no added costs; cons: 1) worst ranking as business school; 2) not ranked program (or not well ranked); 3) no informations about theoretical vs practical case study approach; Can be a better investment in the long run thanks to brand name (never dies) and potential of the new technology, as Imperial is well known for technology. Who knows. Hard stuff. I am italian, and I would like to work in my country if in decent conditions. So for unemployment it is enough my country's one, don't need the spanish one too

From another side Spanish is an important language in nowday business (I think the most after chinese) as many industries moved productions in LAC (in my Country also Fiat, for example, did it, and it produces in Serbia and Brasil too). So with globalization we have to consider that Spanish speaking countries have a not ignorable role in our economy. So again, hard stuff between Imperial and IE. Can a moderator change the topic title in: IE vs Manchester vs Imperial distance/blended MBA?

warrak2000 · Answer

Sad that SDA Bocconi doesn't offer online MBA (at the moment) otherwise your decision would have been very straight forward.

Regardless, let me shed some light on couple of points you raised:-

1- Is Imperial GMBA too theoretical? well, I attended an online information session for Imperial GMBA and some of prospect students asked the same question. the school dean highlighted that Imperial has invested heavily in the hub bespoke technology (unlike blackboard tech used by Manchester & Warwick) to keep the program as engaging and hands-on as possible.
Now, maybe the question would be, is the hub tech more engaging and business-case focus than the one used by IE? I guess your best bet to answer this question is to attend info sessions for both schools and have them get you in touch with current alumni so you can get the right answer directly from the source.

2- I did a quick research on LinkedIn about the number of IE alumni currently working in Italy Vs Imperial's. I found out that there are 294 IE's working in Italy Vs 633 from Imperial. 
The top recruiters for IE in Italy are McKinsey and UniCredit while top recruiters for Imperial are Banca Fideuram and Eni.
Please keep in mind that Imperial has several other schools (engineering, medical, etc) that might have contributed to this result and this outcome isn't only from Imperial BS.

Cheers,

desmo · Answer

Yes, sad that Bocconi doesn't offer it, however, you reached the target: the question is not about Imperial or IE, but it comes to be a technology differences problem. I have just something to say about but for first I would like to collect more informations about the distance systems of Imperial and IE from a student interaction perspective, before to judge which of this two delivery methods works better for the distance student.

Very useful informations about Linkedin profiles...thank you for the research!

desmo · Answer

Quite difficult to judge the Imperial technology, interaction, and approach without students opinion. The school will not be so good to underline own defeats..

Just a question: how you can say that hub is state of the art technology? I'm searching a lot about but can't find examples. What is on website doesn't give an idea of the experience, while I found a page with IE case studies and I was quite impressed...but also, this cases appears to be much Spain centric...not global as an international institute would be. So I opened a new topic specifically for the new Imperial GMBA in the Imperial MBA section to know more about the program, hoping that students who follow this new course will give some light on the case.

desmo · Answer

Warrak, what kind of informations do you have to confirm that the Imperial hub technology is a state of the art technology and that is not anymore based on the old Blackboard as many other BS still do? I'm very interested in this informations as I can't find nothing on the web about. You said that the best are IE and Imperial, but Imperial still doesn't appear in the rankings..you seems one of those few persons to have some informations and I'll be glad if you can provide me something more about. Thank you a lot

warrak2000 · Answer

Quite frankly I built my conclusion based on feedback from people not from b-school because simply I don't trust b-school. Here are some details from my due-diligence:-

1- Manchester: A friend of mine working with me in same company matriculated at MBS Global MBA which is the online version of MBA at Manchester. After couple months he decided to withdraw because he said the program is quite tough and blackboard platform is old and theory-based. He said the program is undergrad kinda study and not MBA style at all.

2- Warwick: Another colleague of mine did the online MBA at Warwick and actually completed the degree but he said the blackboard platform wasn't engaging at all. He told me about issues in posting the assignments and other tech issues in replying to inquiries etc.

3- Imperial: I know a person who did the online MBA at Imperial around 4-5 years ago i.e. before the Hub platform was rolled out. so basically he did the program based on the old backboard platform and similar to others, his experience with the online study wasn't impressive, however, all Imperial alumni that I met with talked very positively about the hub because Imperial actually invested heavily in this platform to overcome the issues of the previous platform which was in fact impacting the reputation of Imperial as one of the best tech institute in the world.

Regardless, I attended an online info session for Imperial and the dean of the b-school talked proudly about the hub for 30 min, he explained all the advantages and compared it with other programs. I encourage you to attend one of the online sessions and request access to the demo website.

On a separate note, I attended a session last Thursday for IE at one of the luxury hotels in Dubai, and I had the chance to talk with two of IE alumni who did their MBA at IE online. They talked positively about the platform however they mentioned that sometimes you need to use another ways to communicate with prof such as Skype.
The IE adcom mentioned to me that I can get access to the demo platform thru the IE website so I can log-in, play around, and check all features. so I think this is something you wound be interested in.

Good luck,

desmo · Answer

Thank you so much Warrak, this is very very helpful for me!

Manchester vs IE distance learning MBA

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