Hi guys!

Many of you might know that University of st. Gallen has been offerring business education, economics and law courses since 1898. yes that’s right, University of St. Gallen (HSG) has been offerring bachelors, masters and phD courses in these fields for nearly 110 years! (No wonder it is the most sought after university here!)

However, its MBA program was started only in 2005. My friend recently asked me thatin view of so many concurrent courses, how does the HSG view its MBA program and does the MBA have a differential identity of its own. Also, whether having bachelors and masters students is a disadvantage in any manner.

Well i’ll try to address these issues one by one:

First and foremost, the MBA program was started by HSG in a bid to spread its wings globally. HSG has earned an unparalleled reputation in the German speaking region. however, it realised that it needed a global identity. So the MBA is a strategic decision and is of utmost priority for St. Gallen.

In view of this priority, HSG has undergone several structural changes in order to facilitate the creation of the right quality of mba program. First and foremost, in a clear departure from tradition, HSG has made this program self funded and declined state support. This was essential because swiss rules restrict the ratio of foreign students in each class for programs that the swiss government (or for that matter , any Kanton funds)

Secondly, a separate Executive School http://www.es.unisg.ch/ was set-up under the leadership of Prof Peter Gomez (the current SWX chairman) which is primarily responsible for executive education. The MBA program falls under the executive school which is responsible for making it a success.

To serve the interests of MBA students, the career services centre (http://csc.unisg.ch) has been detached from the university and is now under the folds of the executive school and the MBA program has its own career services coordinators. As a result, the company events for MBAs has risen and in addition for each corporate event that takes place in the main university, we usually have a separate Apero for MBA students.

We are a small batch of MBA students. While this is an advantage for us as students, it can be a turn off for most recruiters as we don’t have the large numbers to offer for recruitments. In this sense, having a large pool of students in the University (over 5000) and HSG’s reputation in the business world has helped ensure that year after year companies flock to the campus in herds.. the number of corporate events listed on the CSC website are very large and keep growing and we as MBA students find several opportunities to participate in ones that interest us. We arenot the odd ones out in these events as typically Masters and PhD students challenge us in these workshops, however, the clear edge we have as MBAs help us gain recruiters attention and provide us a premium positioning.

On other fronts, u have access to huge academic resources , diverse student body (read: pretty girls!!) and also initiatives like the buddy system, AIESEC, freshers parties and so much more.. so it is a lot of fun…

So doing your MBA in St. Gallen, is a very sensible thing to do!!
cheers!!

The first week at HSG (University of St Gallen) was really a lot of fun..

and this is the photo album of our experiences at the creative challenge…

On the last day we brought in some wine and raised a toast to Klaus who made this a very stimulating experience (=great fun) for all of us

cheers!

Stuart

• Now when I decided to set sail on the MBA voyage, I found myself with numerous opportunities . With the world moving fast towards becoming a global marketplace, i greatly felt the need to get an international perspective on business, economics and world affairs.

  I was keen to immerse myself in a pool of “ignited” minds and benefit from the intellectual abrasion that results when you work in closely knit groups on tight deadlines.

  I wanted to pursue my MBA in Europe, Australia or Asia and finally zeroed in on St. Gallen, Switzerland.

  Why St. Gallen?
  

• The reputation of the University of St. Gallen is unrivalled in Switzerland and German-speaking Europe, and is seen as one of Europe’s premium International Business Schools.
• Small , well-knit batch ( 30 participants) : good bonding/ strong networks, personalized attention!
• Even though it is a new program, it is very selective (avg GMAT is second only to INSEAD and higher than LBS/HEC/IMD),
• Truly global: Over 95% international students
• One year course: the idea of spending two pristine years of my life pursuing an MBA didn’t appeal to me.
• NETWORK: Strong links with industry: has an old boys network with top officials of Swiss and German industries, which throws open several doors of exciting opportunities

Downside: It does not figure in FT/Businessweek rankings. However, this is because although St Gallen was established in 1898 , the MBA course started in 2005 and all renowned rankings consider institutions which have been around for five years or more.

However, the Karriere and Wiwo rankings put it right up at the top of the league! It is also very highly recommended by people in the business spheres

Stuart decided it was time to grow up and arm himself for the real world. What better way than to get himself an MBA.

Why MBA? Well what else.. ? how would you describe an intense international learning experience that screws ur weekdays (& weekends) stretches you beyond your capabilities (that means no sleep for the whole year) helps u bond and build networks.. (make ur own gang oops! club lol) and still gives you a feeling that u r having the time of ur life…

So he’s counting days to the start of a new exciting (!) one year that’ll change (screw?) his life
cheers!