New master in management for recent graduates

In September, INSEAD students from across the globe will converge on the school’s Europe Campus in Fontainebleau. They will arrive, as they have for 61 years, energetic and determined. This year, some will merit another description: younger.

That’s because this fall, INSEAD will welcome its first cohort of students into its new Master in Management (MIM) programme. Aimed at recent college graduates with minimal or no work experience, INSEAD’s MIM is designed to jumpstart global business careers.

The 10-month, full-time programme will launch with an inaugural class of 80-100 students who hail from across the world. They will spend seven months on the Europe Campus before moving to the campus in Singapore for three more.

It is a significant addition to INSEAD’s existing degree programmes, which have – until now – targeted experienced professionals. INSEAD’s MBA students enter with an average of six years of work experience; Executive MBA students come with even more. The advanced degrees they earn help them to re-focus or accelerate their existing careers. MIM students, in contrast, want to start their career in business, and evolve globally.

INSEAD’s MIM joins a crowded market. But the school is confident its programme will stand out. “We wanted to create value by offering something different from other MIM programmes out there, while staying true to the INSEAD DNA” says Programme Director Thibault Seguret, INSEAD MBA’12J. Three years after the initial conception, the school has done just that. The programme that will debut this fall is uniquely INSEAD.

How the INSEAD MIM works
At 10-months-long, followed by 4 to 6 months of professional exposure, the INSEAD MIM is one of the shortest MIM programmes available. Five periods make up the fast-paced full-time course – three periods in Fontainebleau and two in Singapore. Each period includes core management courses conducted alongside skills workshops. And each period culminates with a practical 2-week-long exercise in which students apply their knowledge to a real-life business scenario. Seguret describes this critical practical segment as “two weeks of living the life of the professional you will become.”

The programme closes with an opportunity to customise the learning journey. Each student chooses his or her own line-up of electives. Social media analytics, fintech, entrepreneurship and blockchain are among the offerings, which will evolve to reflect the most important business trends. Other options, such as storytelling or “paths to power”, allow participants to refine their soft skills.

MIM students will be bolstered by INSEAD’s intensive career counselling and education. A structured career curriculum will enable MIM students to design a long-term career plan that matches their inner strengths and values, acquire the tools to be performant jobseekers in today’s world, and create opportunities to execute their plan. The programme also affords its students access to INSEAD’s network of 60,000 alumni working in 177 countries.

Responsive and Relevant
Intensely practice-based, the new degree reflects input from business recruiters who weighed in on the skills they want to see in MIM graduates but often don’t. The programme’s emphasis on technology, for example, is the result of feedback from leading employers. “They told us they needed people with a strong grounding in technology – data, programming and coding – as well as the ability to see and assess opportunities arising from technology,” explains Seguret. One outcome of such exchanges is that all MIM students will learn the basics of a programming language as part of their curriculum. The practical exercises that close each period also were developed in conjunction with recruiters.

Global and Diverse
True to INSEAD’s identity as The Business School for the World, the programme will be highly global in practice and perspective. “INSEAD students come from all over the world. They are open-minded, embrace cultural differences, and are committed to building global careers – the MIM follows in that tradition,” says Dean of Degree Programmes Urs Peyer.

The MIM Class of 2021 is expected to include over 20 nationalities. Classes on INSEAD’s campuses in France and Singapore – as well as optional trips to Abu Dhabi, China, and the US – will provide an international backdrop for this globally-minded group.

In addition to diversity of background, MIM leaders are also aiming for diversity of thought. Students with undergraduate degrees in all subjects are encouraged to apply. “We want our classrooms, study groups and teams to be alive with a range of academic perspectives,” says Seguret.

Redefining what business can do
The school’s signature commitment to making business a force for good will also animate the MIM’s classes and practical experiences. From its ambitious Force for Good fundraising campaign to its socially-oriented leadership, INSEAD has never been more focused on making business part of the solution to the world’s most pressing problems.

It’s a commitment that strongly resonates with recent college graduates and, says Seguret, has distinguished the applicants that the programme has seen to date. “These are students who have created social impact start-ups in their teens, who are working to address climate change, to alleviate poverty. This age group wants to make an impact and really move things. They epitomise Georges Doriot’s quote: ‘without action, the world would still be an idea,’” adds Katy Montgomery, Associate Dean for Degree Programmes. For recent graduates who want to use business to create a world of difference, the INSEAD MIM will be the ideal place to start.

Amplifying the INSEAD impact in the world
In fact, Seguret – an alumnus who returned to INSEAD to direct the programme – sees the MIM as a powerful way to maximise INSEAD’s impact. “Our MIM students will pursue this degree at a formative time in their professional development. They will absolutely gain vital and immediately applicable skills, but they will also develop an INSEAD mindset that will colour their entire career.”

“In the past, when I’d meet recent graduates, or bachelor’s students, with drive, talent, and vision, I’d tell them, ‘you should consider INSEAD in five or six years.’ Some of them did but many wanted a more immediate solution. Today, I can say, ‘you should be at INSEAD now.’”

Putting the INSEAD network to work
Our alumni are our best ambassadors. As we launch INSEAD’s newest degree, we depend on you to help us build a class that will carry the school’s vision forward. If you know a recent graduate who would thrive in INSEAD’s MIM programme, please contact us or go to www.insead.edu/master-programmes/mim for more information and an online application.

We are also actively building connections with top universities and schools locally who have talented students eager to study abroad. Do reach out directly to Thibault Seguret if you are still in good contact with your undergraduate school.