emlyon international MBA student

Joshua Lee

“The program is helping me to refresh many important notions like strategy, marketing, economics but in a very practical way through many study cases. This helps in understanding how to better apprehend things in a fast moving business-world. Concerning the specialisations, I chose Finance and Entrepreneurship. The courses really give me strong tools and make me feel more confident professionally.”

"Several factors came in to play when deciding on a school. The price-to-quality ratio, the size of the cohort (larger size means more competition in job searching), the diversity of the cohort, the location, and the practicality of the onboarding were all important. emlyon, with its smaller but diverse class, became an easy choice regarding those factors and was the only school I applied to."

The results of the Poets & Quants International MBA world ranking were revealed at the end of December. emlyon business school rose from rank 39 to 33, moving up 6 spots on the overall ranking. Globally, Poets & Quants observe a strong growth of European and Asian schools, which are more and more attractive for MBA international candidates. The ranking system includes multiple data, such as recruiter feedback, the schools publications, or the wages of MBA alumni. This composite ranking ranks the best 50 international business schools based on the compilation of the most prestigious MBA rankings such as that of the Financial Times or The Economist.

Engineering PhD Hortense Kirisli decided an MBA was the way to push her career as a software developer to the next level.

An MBA can be a great way to boost your current career. 41% of MBA applicants plan to stay on their current career path, rising from 36% ten years ago. With a combination of brand-new knowledge, international experience, and the prestige of having such a coveted degree, doing an MBA can be a great way to boost your career. Hortense Kirisli was already excelling in her career path of choice, with a PhD in medical informatics. But she was keen to enhance her career as a software developer at a French healthcare technology company. An MBA made sense, but always seemed like too big a step. “To me, an MBA was something huge—too complicated and expensive,” she admits. “You think there’s a lot of barriers, and it’s something you can’t get.” But after speaking to old friends who had pursued the International MBA at emlyon business school, though, her view changed. “Looking at the course in detail, and being coached by people who had done it, I thought ‘why not?" “I know I wanted to go further in my career, but my current company was not willing to invest in training for myself—so I thought ‘I need to do something.’” From technical career to MBA Hortense started with a degree in electronic engineering, before pursuing a research PhD in medical informatics in the Netherlands. In 2013, she applied to a position at Philips, but was unsuccessful. “I liked the work-life balance in Netherlands, and I wanted to stay,” Hortense reflects. “I tried to get a job at Philips but it just wasn’t possible at that time.” Instead, Hortense started her career in software development for a small-to-medium-sized enterprise (SME) in Lille, doing “research within the company, but also management of international people,” she explains. “It gave me a nice overview of the different rules and positions within a company, which coming from research I didn’t know,” she adds. “But the CEO wanted me to take even more responsibility, and I felt that I was missing something.” The international nature of the program really appealed to Hortense and emlyon business school prides itself on its international cohort. Despite having only 64 participants on the MBA last year, students hailed from over 30 different countries. “To me that was one of the big things on the program,” she asserts, “just the fact of being with all those international people—that was really nice". “Early in the year, we got some classes on cultural differences and emotional intelligence, and that really helped to understand others,” Hortense adds. During her program, Hortense also undertook a semester at MIP Politecnico di Milano, an experienced that allowed her to expand her knowledge in data analytics, and broaden her network. The thing that stood out most for Hortense was the Entrepreneurial Leadership Project (ELP), a seven-month team project that allows students to work with businesses to solve real problems. Past companies have included business giants such as Airbus, Pepsico, and BNP Paribas. Hortense’s project was at Neolys, a pharmaceuticals startup based in Lyon, aimed at making radiotherapy treatment more efficient. “It was nice as the case was really in my field,” Hortense explains. “It enlarged my experience, and I could do sales strategy and marketing.” Getting a job at Philips Even after her rejection in 2013, there was really only one place Hortense had her sights on for a post-MBA job—Philips. “My goal was to go into healthcare, radiotherapy and oncology,” she explains. “That’s where I have my network and added values." This time, Hortense was successful, securing a position as business development manager of oncology solutions at the healthcare giant. “I might have got the interview because I was recommended internally by a friend, but I got the position because of my profile,” Hortense clarifies. “For me, the MBA is what enabled me to differentiate from other candidates.” With her dream job in the bag, Hortense is focusing all her energy on performing to the best of her ability, something which her MBA is helping her with. “Something that is valuable for me was the change management class that we got during the MBA,” Hortense explains, “and understanding the different tools you can use to make a change in an organisation." “If I had to say what’s the added value of an MBA, I would simply say the MBA is the key on your resume that will make a difference.” Written by Abigail Lister for Business Because

Nhung Hoang changed location, industry, and function after her MBA at Emlyon Business School, starting an exciting new career in consulting

The MBA at Emlyon Business School gave Nhung access to the French job market Nhung Hoang knew she'd made a big decision when with her husband she decided to to start a new life in France, leaving behind a job in the Netherlands and starting fresh. As well as the excitement of learning a new language and immersing herself in a new culture, Nhung felt the move could be the push she needed to change her career direction. After three years as a senior purchaser and inventory planner for Dutch computer hardware company, Supermicro, she wanted to move into consulting, specifically focused on the management of international supply chains. An online search later and she landed on the International MBA from Emlyon Business School, choosing to pursue the MBA’s International Strategy and New Venture Management track. Why an MBA? Nhung (pictured) already had a Master’s in International Business and Economics from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, but to make her transition into a new job market easier, she decided to apply to MBA programs in France. Nhung felt her prior skillset was lacking when it came to management and leadership skills needed for a career in consulting. She wanted to be an appealing candidate for more senior positions, so addressing these weaker areas of her skillset was essential. Although she already had the theoretical knowledge of macroeconomics in business, she says the Emlyon MBA put this into context. How does the macroeconomy impact international businesses? How do you adapt an international business to survive macroeconomic volatility? “I wanted to improve my professional reputation,” she explains. “I also want to launch my own international business one day. I would love to have some experience in the local French job market, and see how they’ve been faring compared to the rest of the world." “Knowing how to be a good leader––working across Europe and Asia––is essential to that. With this in mind, I knew an MBA would be perfect.” While at Emlyon, Nhung studied alongside people from all different backgrounds. She says she enjoyed learning from their prior experiences as they learned from hers. The IMBA pushed her out of her comfort zone, she adds. Nhung previously didn’t have confidence with public speaking. She admits that, while class exercises where she had to present one-minute pitches to sell a particular product or win over the majority to her idea were daunting, being thrown in the deep end helped her become far more confident in public speaking going forward. “Before the MBA, I never would have thought I could do that,” Nhung says. “It helped me realize that, if I could do that, what’s stopping me from stepping out of my comfort zone going forward in my career?” Written by Business Because

“I hadn’t even officially finished my MBA before I moved to Geneva to start at ISO. emlyon is very insistent that you start applying for jobs early. They have a whole team to help you launch your career. They’re very good at it and they’re always trying to improve, particularly in how they help internationals get their careers started." Class of 2017 - 2018

“When you think to go abroad and to pursue an MBA in an international school, you’re looking for as many international encounters as you can have, in order to maximize your network. At emlyon we had a lot of opportunities to go abroad on field trips and even work with international companies during our Entrepreneurial Leadership Project.” International MBA Class of 2017-2018