Why I decided for the London Business School

Our generation is living in a world of rapid change, characterized by uncertainty about where tomorrow’s business opportunities will be. After four years at the multinational company, Alstom, it became clear to me that my long-term career goal would be in the corporate strategy department of a leading industrial company and that the MBA would help me acquire the relevant skills. During the selection of MBA programmes, I was looking for a school that would first and foremost, prepare its students for this global environment. London Business School was therefore my first choice.

"Global" is the word that best describes London Business School

London Business School carefully selects its student body from all over the world and guarantees an international alumni and faculty base. I really learned to value this when we entered into our first class discussion, which was significantly enriched by the diverging opinions of students from around 70 countries. In addition, the school had introduced the "Global Business Experience", which is a mandatory one-week project abroad that takes place in the second year of the MBA.

London Business School also partners with many top MBA programs for its international exchange programme which takes place in the September or January term of the second year of the course. Nearly half the class takes advantage of these opportunities, giving testimony to the school’s international commitment. I decided to do an international exchange term in the second year of my MBA at the leading Brazilian business school, FGV in Sao Paolo, to gain more in depth knowledge about emerging markets first hand.

Important for a fulltime MBA student: the career service

The LBS community also strongly supported me in finding a full-time position upon graduation. The Consulting Club’s and Career Services’ excellent relationship with consulting companies ensured that there were many on campus recruiting events to awaken my interest. My summer internship at McKinsey confirmed that strategy consulting would be the perfect next career-step for me.

In addition to my fellow students and the academic and professional development during the MBA, there are two major things that made LBS special to me: the trips and events!

My two favourite trips during the first year of my MBA experience were:

Africa – After visiting Ethiopia’s holiest cities and doing a Safari in Ugandawe had the opportunity to delve into the Ugandan wilderness to witness gorillas in their natural habitat. The trip was enriched by the contact with local NGO's and start-ups.

Italy – This more business related trip included a cooking class at the headquarters of Barilla and a tour through the production site of Ferrari. We also mixed some drinks with the CEO of Campari. Another highlight was being met by a member of ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA who presented their successful clothing brand to us in the city of fashion, Milan.

My two favourite events during the first MBA year were:

Diwali – Students from everywhere in the world formed groups to practice and perform Bollywood dances at the important Indian festival.

Santa pub-crawl – The goal of the night was to transfer hundreds of happy London Business School students dressed up in identical Santa costumes from pub to pub. The highlight was the invasion of Piccadilly Circusby nearly 400 Santas to sing Christmas carols.