F1GMAT: Tell us a little bit about Università Bocconi, SDA Bocconi School of Management. How did the SDA Bocconi Full-time MBA programme come to existence?SDA Bocconi : SDA Bocconi School of Management is the leading Business School in Italy and also stands among the top-ranked European Institutions. Founded in 1971, with its over 30-year experience, SDA Bocconi offers a top MBA program, and a Global Executive MBA, both entirely in English, as well as the Executive MBA/Evening Executive MBA in Italian. It also offers many specialized masters and executive programs.The school is positioned at the heart of Milan, a major capital of industry, finance, arts, media and, above all, fashion. Milan is a real-life laboratory for SDA Bocconi. The city is home to a myriad of companies and stock markets to which students are directly exposed. SDA Bocconi added-value is that of having on one side the academic excellence and tradition, guaranteed by ‘Università Bocconi’, its reputation, strong faculty and research centers, on the other, through its School of Management, an eye constantly opened on the market, on the business world needs, a practical, business oriented approach when facing contents and situations.The twelve-month Full-Time MBA is the School’s flagship program and begins each October with approximately 100 new MBA students. Great importance is given in the program to soft skills, such as decision-making, personal leadership, negotiation and governance.
F1GMAT: Apart from Full-time MBA programmes, what are some of the other courses offered to Management students?SDA Bocconi : In addition to Full-Time MBA in English the School offers: 1. One International Executive (MBA – GEMBA)2. Two Executive MBA in Italian (EMBA + EMBAS)3. Five International Full-time Specialized Master Programs4. Five Full-time Specialized Master Programs in Italian5. Two International Executive Specialized Master Programs (1 joint degree with ESADE Business School)6. Four Executive Specialized Master Programs in Italian F1GMAT: Can you give our readers a demographic snapshot of the Full-time MBA programme (Class of 2010)?SDA Bocconi: In 2010-2011 Edition, participants were 29 years old on average and came from 26 Countries. They were 33% women and 67% men. On average, they had 5 years of professional experience, mostly from industry (36%), 21% had a services background, 15% consulting, 12% banking or finance, 10% TLC/IT. The most part had a Economics or Engineering degree. F1GMAT: What are some of the unique courses offered in SDA Bocconi Full-time MBA programmes? How will these courses help future managers?SDA Bocconi : The SDA Bocconi MBA is an ambitious undertaking. While it requires drive and motivation, it offers you a unique opportunity to improve, personally and professionally. From day one and throughout the Program, you will be plunged into a very intensive period of full-time work that progresses in set stages. It is demanding, sometimes stressful, but it is also sustainable, allowing to set a proper balance between career aspirations and personal life.The SDA Bocconi MBA is an integrated and innovative curriculum as it is based on real world management knowledge; it draws directly on our faculty's current research work; it blends together the analytical and social dimensions of managerial issues and instills ethical values; it takes place in a unique learning environment: academic as well as practice-based, diverse, teamwork oriented, open to the outside world and fostering interpersonal communication.The MBA also involves you outside the classroom and after hours: extra-curricular activities actually belong to the mainstream program and offer an unrepeatable opportunity to make life-long friends and to network.The first phase tackles the essential management tools common to all companies and organizations, along 5 paths to Managerial Excellence. Each path involves two courses and is divided into two terms; A technical ancillary course in Quantitative Methods is also offered during the 1st term.At this point of the Program, you have acquired plenty of specific management skills and knowledge and put them into practice. In the Second Phase you will fine-tune your more personal qualities, usually referred to as soft skills, or leadership skills.Many qualities are needed to be a successful leader: competency, communication and relational skills, vision, pragmatism, ethical sense, consistency, ability to negotiate and resolve conflicts, as well as to inspire and motivate people.To help you fit this profile and become a talent coveted by the most successful companies, the MBA program fosters six areas of development: applied decision making, project management, entrepreneurship and business planning, leadership and change management, business law and corporate governance, corporate citizenship.In third phase you put into practice the theory you have acquired, broadening your horizons and enriching your management skills. To fulfill your project requirements, you must complete one of the following four options: in-company individual internship, in-company group project, entrepreneurial project, research project.In the final two months of the Program you have the opportunity to focus your path on those specific managerial subjects, in line with your preferences and abilities. ElectivesMore than 20 electives are offered every year. The Electives are grouped into three main and three niche concentrations, covering the most important fields in management: marketing, corporate finance, strategy, innovation, investments, luxury and fashion.Download the SDA Bocconi Full-Time MBA Brochure 2011-12F1GMAT: Are there any exchange programmes provided for the MBA students?SDA Bocconi: As a major international school of management, SDA Bocconi is engaged in an active and prestigious network of exchanges, collaborations and interactions with its peer institutions. The International Exchange Program offers selected candidates the opportunity to spend the last months of the program at prestigious institutions.The School receives approximately the same number of incoming international exchange students as those SDA Bocconi MBA students going abroad, thus further adding to the diverse nature of its MBA classroom and providing the opportunity to expand personal and professional networks.Students who apply for an International Exchange Program must demonstrate precise interests and solid motivations. The School evaluates the reasons candidates put forward, and gives priority to those who most clearly demonstrate that they can benefit from the exchange. Here are the list of Business Schools that SDA Bocconi have partnered with:Europe ESADE Business School (Barcellona)ESSEC Business School (Cergy-Pontoise)HEC MBA (Jouy-en-Josas)IE, Instituto de Empresa (Madrid)KOC University, Graduate School of Business (Istanbul)London Business School (London)MBS, Manchester Business School, University of Manchester(Manchester)RSM, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University(Rotterdam)USABabson College (Babson Park, MA)Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University (Columbus, OH)Fuqua School of Business, Duke University (Durham, NC)The Johnson School at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University(Evanston, IL)Ross School of Business, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)Stern School of Business, New York University (New York, NY)Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth (Hanover, NH)UCLA Anderson School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC)The University of Chicago Booth School of Business(Chicago, IL)Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida (Gainesville, FL)Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)CanadaRotman School of Management, University of Toronto(Toronto, ON)Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia(Vancouver, BC)Schulich School of Business, York University (Toronto, ON)Australia AGSM MBA Program, Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW)MBS, Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne(Melbourne, VIC)Brazil FGV-EAESP, Fundação Getulio Vargas, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (São Paulo)ChinaCEIBS, China Europe International Business School (Shanghai)SEM, School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University (Beijing)India ISB - Indian School of Business (Hyderabad)Japan Graduate School of International Management, International University of Japan (Niigata)Download the latest SDA Bocconi Full-Time MBA BrochureF1GMAT: Is the SDA Bocconi MBA programmes accredited?SDA Bocconi : The SDA Bocconi School of Management is accredited by EQUIS, the European Quality Improvement System, which was formed in 1997 by the European Foundation for Management Development as a monitor of excellence among European business schools. SDA Bocconi School of Management is the first school of management education in Italy to have received this honour. It is also AMBA and CSQ accredited.F1GMAT: How has SDA Bocconi coped with recession and helped MBA graduates with Job placements? Can you give us a class wise breakdown of sectors (Finance, IT, Marketing, HR etc.) that SDA Bocconi MBA graduates have selected to join?SDA Bocconi: Career Development Service (CDS) performs a key role in supporting MBA participants in their career search. CDS activities help students to both gain a greater understanding of the market, their professional goals and their individual "selling proposition", and to create effective contacts with the business community and the world of MBA recruiters, in an on-going exchange of information regarding job profiles and job offers. To facilitate your personal and professional development track as well as to provide companies with effective recruiting tools, the CDS provides One-to-One Services,Class Services and Company Services.Every year a Career Report is published, presenting the trend 3 months after the end of the MBA program. The Career Report gathers, quantifies and analyses the information about the reinstatement of the MBA graduates in the labour market. These are some data provided by the last Report: 81% Found a NEW JOB Three Months from Graduation 53% of NEW Professional Opportunities Provided by CDSDownload the SDA Bocconi Full-Time MBA BrochureF1GMAT: What are some of the advantages of having SDA Bocconi Business School in the heart of Milan? SDA Bocconi: The choice of an MBA at SDA Bocconi has its own perks. The school is positioned at the heart of one of the best-connected European cities. The city is a major capital of industry, finance, arts, media and fashion. In other words, it is a real-life laboratory for SDA Bocconi. The city is home to a myriad of companies and stock markets to which students are directly exposed via a series of facilities the school provides. We furthermore engage and enhance well-grounded bonds with key corporations on all levels. Besides Bocconi's reputation at the international scale, such advantages are the reason why participants from about 30 countries choose SDA Bocconi and Milan to pursue a quality Business education. An SDA Bocconi student operates at the heart of Milan to later find out that they are evolving at a wider scope. This represents an asset they strongly capitalize on through their enterprises of maximizing their professional, personal and cultural turnovers. Milan incorporates a dynamic global venue that reflects the peculiarity of the European marketplace. Furthermore, the international aspect you gain out of such a vibrant economic center is not exclusively regional. Instead, the kind of experience you acquire is relevant to other marketplaces where you eventually project your domain of operation.The city makes it easy to find accommodation, to move around, to eat, to spend your free time and take care of practical necessities. And in the Masters Division you can always count on the support and advice of the Student and Internal Relations service.Despite your commitment to the MBA, you will be granted the chance to embark on occasional weekend trips via a club activity or simply on your own with fellow students. Life around Milan is fast-paced. You will fine arts, design, events, good food and drink, and great fun. Those little rites - a cappuccino, a slice of pizza, the happy hour - help soften the hustle-bustle of the city. Your Milan life is rich of options to live a diversified life. There are plenty of shops, parks to sit or jog in, places to move around and meet people.F1GMAT: Is it mandatory to learn Italian to actively participate in class discussions for the MBA programmes? Is there any pre-MBA courses offered to students?SDA Bocconi: In September, the School offers a package of courses to provide some basics essential to succeed in the MBA itself. Not compulsory, pre-courses may be demanded for those without a background in economics and finance and those interested in learning Italian language.Download the SDA Bocconi Full-Time MBA Brochure in PDF Format