Degree Programmes

The joyful return of all master students to campus ushered in a particularly intensive year. Not only did face-to-face teaching resume, there were additional make-up graduation and commencement ceremonies, with accompanying “reconnection days” for the classes that were unable to experience an in-person graduation during the pandemic years. In fact, there was a whole month of such events in the summer of 2022, including an INSEAD “first-ever” of two MBA graduation ceremonies on a single day. Dean of Degree Programmes Urs Peyer, also set a new personal record by proudly shaking hands with 1,527 new graduates over the course of June and July.

We were delighted that during 2021/2022, student satisfaction levels returned to their excellent pre-pandemic levels. The year’s rankings also brought good news. The MBA programme was ranked #3 by the Financial Times, which means it has been in the top four for the last eight years – another first for INSEAD. It was particularly encouraging to see very high scores this year for research, gender diversity and sustainability, reflecting the many investments in these areas during Dean Ilian Mihov’s tenure.

The similarly energetic and interactive Master Strategist Days continued to pair sustainability themes with technological innovation, as students experimented with immersive learning through VR platforms and headsets. The two whole-class events in autumn and spring, brought in real-world social impact organisations to work with student teams on strategies to preserve biodiversity and to prevent avoidable blindness in Egypt.

And looking to the future, preparations began in 2021/2022 for a new addition to the portfolio that will break new ground for INSEAD. Based partly on pandemic innovations, the Master in Business Data Analytics (MBDA) will be the school’s first ever masters programme to be delivered predominantly online. Marketing is expected to begin in summer 2023.

Designed for early to mid-career professionals, and featuring an accelerated 10-month curriculum, our MBA programme develops successful leaders and entrepreneurs.

Our Global Executive MBA programme is tailored for experienced professionals who wish to develop their leadership skills while they continue to advance their current careers.

This dual degree combines INSEAD’s global perspective and Tsinghua University’s in-depth expertise of business in China to produce highly successful business leaders and entrepreneurs.

The INSEAD Executive Master in Change takes participants deep into the basic drivers of human behaviour and the hidden dynamics of organisations.

Blending cutting-edge theory and best practice, the programme is for professionals with work experience in finance-related roles.

Aimed at young leaders with a clear sense of direction when they finish their undergraduate studies. Students want a deep dive into business theory and a complete set of management skills. The MIM programme also focuses on leadership in global business with international experience integrated into the course of study.

INSEAD’s most academically demanding programme does not simply train and export great minds to the world’s best business school faculties. It is also the magic ingredient in our formula for research excellence. Like the rest of the school, the doctoral community thrived in the virtual landscape of the pandemic. But, reunited once again, we were reminded and convinced of the incalculable value of face-to-face interactions. There is no substitute for spontaneous encounters among students and professors, when it comes to generating new insights and fresh ideas.

Fortunately, the small class numbers enabled us to return to the physical teaching space sooner than other INSEAD programmes. We were also able to resume the regular student exchanges between campuses. Meanwhile, those PhD candidates already in the research phase of their studies were inspired to win a bumper crop of awards and prizes, as well as publishing articles in top academic journals.

Other reasons for celebration include: an increase in both quality and quantity of applicants; a greater number of female enrolments; and an outstanding 100% placement record for graduating students. The schools that recruited our new PhD holders were (in alphabetical order): Copenhagen Business School, HEC Paris, I.E. Business School Spain, IESE Business School Barcelona, National University of Singapore, Southern Methodist University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

In addition, the global INSEAD PhD alumni community has become more connected than ever, thanks to the launch of a new annual newsletter. Much more than a simple communications tool, this is an exciting vehicle for promoting lifelong research collaboration and career development.

All in all – and all together again – 2021/2022 was a truly inspirational year for the INSEAD PhD programme.

Prizewinners in 2021/2022 included the following:

A rebound in MBA employment offers contributed to placement in major cities such as London, Singapore and Dubai hitting a five-year high.

On-campus recruiting formats and events have continued to evolve in exciting new directions in the post-pandemic world. Many recruiters and students welcomed the regained opportunities to interact in person during the year, while others opted for the flexibility and greener credentials of virtual engagement. We expect on-campus recruiting to become ever more personalised going forward, through a combination of digital and face-to-face contact.

Meanwhile, the recovering world economy’s strong labour markets, particularly in consulting, fuelled a rebound in MBA employment offers to pre-pandemic levels. This contributed to placement in major cities such as London, Singapore and Dubai, hitting a five-year high.

MIM graduates also fared well in this market, with 99% of them receiving an offer within three months of finishing at INSEAD.

Sustainability is a key theme for the Career Development Centre, just as it is for the programmes served by our staff of careers educators and counsellors, employer engagement experts and operations specialists. This year, we worked with the Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society on the award of Impact Internship Stipends and the MBA Summer Start-up Tour to explore EdTech ecosystems in Europe and the Middle East.

The global economic outlook for the upcoming year is uncertain, but our job markets appear relatively stable. We expect demand for the school’s talent to remain strong. By attracting high-calibre students at all career stages and equipping them to be adaptive, INSEAD will continue to bring a broad set of employers from all sectors and regions to engage with the Career Development Centre.