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World’s top business schools for entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility take to the road on QS World MBA Tour
11th February 2010
Entrepreneurship has become a major driving force for recession-era MBA candidates, according to the most thorough research on the subject. And to capitalize on this, the leading international business schools for entrepreneurship and innovation are travelling with the QS World MBA Tour, the biggest tour in its 16-year history visiting almost 80 cities in 35 countries.
The 2010 tour features nine of the top ten schools in Europe that specialize in entrepreneurship, according to QS’ annual survey of MBA employers. Cranfield, EM LYON, IE, IESE, Imperial, INSEAD, LBS, HEC and RSM Erasmus are searching for the world’s brightest managerial talent, in all areas of business management.
Key figures from the 2009 TopMBA.com Applicant Survey
• 30% of applicants say entrepreneurship is a key reason for doing an MBA, up from 25% in 2008
• 15% of applicants seek schools strong in CSR, up from 9% in 2008
• Candidates wanting to work in CSR after graduating has almost doubled, from 3.8% to 6.4%
• 29% of MBA candidates see themselves running their own business in 10 years time, up from 22% in 2007
Professor David Bach, Dean of Programs at IE Business School, says: “IE's vision of 21st century management emphasizes entrepreneurship, global vision, and diversity as a source of constant innovation. The QS World MBA Tour helps us find prospective MBA candidates who want to discover the power of entrepreneurial thinking and become the leaders and change agents of today's increasingly global and multicultural business environment."
Simon Stockley, full time MBA Programme Director, Imperial College Business School says: "We regularly attend the QS fairs and, because of their importance, we send our Programme Directors as ambassadors of the Imperial MBA. Meeting gives candidates a feeling for the course's ethos, and a taster of what a year in London might be like. We get to know candidates personally, well ahead of an application, which helps both parties establish if we're well matched at a very early stage.”
The QS TopMBA Applicant Survey, conducted from attendees of recent QS World MBA fairs, reveals a steep increase in interest in schools specializing in entrepreneurship and with strong emphasis on social responsibility. In 2009, when asked their reasons for attending business schools, 30% of candidates selected entrepreneurship – a sizable increase of 5% from 2008. Meanwhile the number of candidates interested in social responsibility as a major impact on their selection almost doubled from the previous year.
Six of the top ten schools with expertise in social responsibility, based on the Beyond Grey Pinstripes ranking published on TopMBA.com in Oct 2009, also travel with the QS Tour in 2010.
Ross Geraghty, Managing Editor of TopMBA.com and the TopMBA Career Guide, says: “The top schools have all paid close attention to QS Applicant Survey statistics showing what MBA candidates want. They are experts at introducing new concepts and education to the business talent of the next decade. It is imperative that candidates find the right schools for their interests and there is no better way than to meet schools face to face, to get the direct answers they need as individuals and to start making shortlists for what could be the biggest career decision of their lives.”
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Notes for the Editor
QS has, since 1990, been the world’s leading careers and education expert, focusing on all aspects of higher education from university to Masters, PhD and MBA levels, and resultant careers.
Based in London, QS is an international company with over 120 employees in nine cities: London, Paris, Stuttgart, Boston, Washington, Johannesburg, Singapore, Sydney and Beijing.
The QS World MBA Tour brings hundreds of business schools from around the world to 35 countries each year and was visited by 65,000 MBA candidates in 2009.
