INSEAD: the Forgotten B-School?
By BankersBall on Nov 21, 2006 in Emails & Diversions, Exit Strategy, M.B.A.: means business, a**hole
Newly appointed INSEAD dean Frank Brown is on a mission to bring the business school’s brand up in the world, reports the WSJ. The school, which has campuses in France and Singapore, bills itself as the “Business School for the World” but seems to have issues with the world knowing what it is.
Says Brown: “The biggest challenge that we have is communicating the Insead brand. … I’m amazed how many people know the name Insead but how few people know what Insead really is.”… ‘I think that the Insead brand should become more synonymous with the word ‘leadership,’ and specifically ‘transcultural leadership.’ We really do generate people at Insead with a unique perspective on the world. Our participants have an ability to navigate across geography and across cultures and really have a significant impact on organizations. ‘”
Efforts include strengthening the U.S. alumni network and creating a U.S. office for alums and executive education.
Despite apparent fans in the ranks of the authors of its Wikipedia entry, the school did not make the top 10 list of the Economist, which apparently is one of the few b-school raters that rank international schools against each other.
By the way, INSEAD is not an acronym. “Like Harvard is Harvard and Wharton is Wharton, INSEAD is INSEAD.” (From the INSEAD FAQ). Also, INSEAD is not a French business school, it’s just in France.
Related: The Tent People of Insead (after the jump)
The video has terrible sound quality but is interesting nonetheless. Somehow I can’t picture US B-schoolers doing this.
On Nov 21, 2006, Iceman said:
The US News rankings are the only ones that matter. Any ranking that considers Tuck as the best US business school and leaves Wharton out of the top 10 is completely worthless.
The three real non-US business schools are INSEAD, London and IMD. INSEAD isn’t that well known in the US, because very few Americans are really interested in going abroad for B-school with so many top schools here and with the US-based schools having better access to US employers.
On Nov 21, 2006, Juan Lopez-Valcarcel said:
As an alumn, I have to agree that INSEAD is a unique international program that few people know about:
- Condensed academic program = 1 year instead of 2
- One campus in France, another in Singapore, a close alliance with Wharton.. you can study almost seamlessly across all three
- A far more diverse student class than any US program (in my promotion there were 40-50 nationalities and none had more than 10% of the class)
Overall, this makes for a unique experience that truly broadens your mind and prepares you to take on the challenges of international management.
The sheer diversity of the program and the geographic dispersion of the alumni makes comparing this school to others in a ranking a challenge. If you want to understand the value of the program and the unique academic and personal experience that it entails just reach out for an alumn and hear them talk about it.
By the way, The Economist MBA rankings are known to be notoriously flawed:
http://www.yannicklaclau.com/2005/10/02/mba-rankings-tarnishing-the-economist-intelligence-unit/
On Nov 22, 2006, sell sider said:
wharton has the most depth and breadth. great proximity to the big apple, outstanding academic departments, and best suite of activities outside of the classroom. also people are well rounded and not strange like the U of C
On Nov 23, 2006, no ball said:
I got know one girl. she graduated from Insead this summer. And she still can not find a job.
On Mar 3, 2007, Anonymous said:
the irony is that the Economist CEO, Helen Alexander is an INSEAD alumnae!!
On Aug 15, 2007, bschool applicant said:
I am an MBA applicant and hope to attend a leading US or international business school.
Talking to people in industry, they rank INSEAD as number one in Europe, a few called it the ‘Harvard of Europe’. But they also said IMD, the school in Switzerland, is hot on it’s tails. For the US, they said Harvard and Wharton are the two most prestigious.
On Aug 19, 2007, obiwan said:
Insead? Why would you want to do half an MBA?
On Sep 13, 2007, Naizinder said:
Why do it slow when you can do it quik and get a best brand on your cv outside of america
On Sep 25, 2007, Bigzird said:
I just accepted to go to INSEAD in January. I’m sure I could have gotten into Harvard etc (I graduated with a 4.0 from an Ivy League School and work in Private Equity) but wanted something with an international focus. Rather than relying on the rankings, which are notoriously fickle and fluctuate wildly year-to-year for no apparent reason other than to draw attention, I’d focus on the quality of the students at INSEAD.
Firstly, it has roughly the same average GMAT entry score as Harvard and the top U.S. programs. This is despite those having over 80% of the class as native English speakers versus just 17% at INSEAD (and remember, half of the GMAT is verbal).
Secondly, and more importantly, just glance at the list of notable INSEAD alums (it’s on the current Wikipedia entry). It includes the CEOs of everything from Telefonica to BHP Billiton to L’Oreal to Roche, it’s an absolutely incredible list that no b-school in Europe can come even close to.
On Sep 26, 2007, anony said:
a 1 year program is like finishing college in 3 years; it’s like leaving the party at 9pm.
On Nov 1, 2007, Paul said:
I really laughed about the “Tent people of INSEAD”. I am sure, it is fake. The two guys are real, listed in the Insead directory. They were from Boston Consulting, who by the way OWN a few chateaux, esp. the View Moulin, that one in the middle of the river.
So, a funny fake story.
I easily found a great rural villa with a few classmates. There is a lot of housing in Fontainebleau.
On Nov 29, 2007, John said:
“Half an MBA”? More like all of one in half the time. The pace is bruising, more so than anything I’ve seen at a two-year school. Your adaptability and prioritization skills are sorely tested.
As for “leaving the party at 9pm”, I suppose if that’s your reason for attending b-school…
On Feb 8, 2008, sara said:
insead is the b-school outside the us. i was lucky enough to hear recently that i got into stanford. im doing my mba there because my bfriend works in sf. insead was my number two choice.
On Feb 11, 2008, Cityboy said:
B-schools in Europe are appalling.INSEAD is pretty rubbish.Close shave.
On Feb 14, 2008, marcellus said:
i earned my undergrad degree at wharton and work for a leading strategy consultancy in nyc.
a few years back i had a discussion with an insead alum who said that insead could game the rankings but instead focuses on quality in the context of candidates and admissions. specifically, it admits high earning candidates even though this will harm its ranking as the increase in salary figures would not be as great.
i remember questioning this this and argued that it should focus on the rankings. i now realise, having worked with alums from different bschools, that the rankings are not as powerful as your direct experience with alums from various bschools. without exception, i have found my insead colleagues to be down to earth, well rounded and very smart. alums from less established schools with higher rankings recently - i can think of one in particular, are simply of not the same quality.
i am applying for bschool this fall. hbs and insead are my top two choices on the basis of personal experience with my colleagues. in summary, if you’re going to bschool, i would follow the advice of a partner who was a harvard undergrad and stanford alum: ignore the rankings and talk to people.
i now realise
On Jul 15, 2008, fredriech said:
i work in consulting in nyc and have colleagues who went to lots of different b-schools. the insead alums are just like the hbs alums, arrogant about their school. they don’t even consider the competition as being in the same league, which is rubbish as there are many good schools out there.
On Jul 15, 2008, friedriech said:
I work with lots of MBAs and the Insead ones are like the Harvard and the Stanford ones, too bloody arrogant about how good their school is.
Why don’t people realise that there is lots of good schools out there.
THe Wharton guys have a chip on their shoulder about Stanford and Harvard and the other European schools alumni are chippie about Insead.
It’s pathetic.
On Aug 2, 2008, anonymous said:
Business school is waste of time and money. Most people at the top dont have Business school degrees.
On Jan 17, 2010, ?? said:
“Half an MBA”? Good luck. I can retire one year earlier than you.