Italy’s Top-ranked B-School: SDA Bocconi School of Management

Glamour, intellect, cutting edge technology and old European culture. There’s a touch of the James Bond movie about the SDA Bocconi experience, with the bonus of a real-life leg up the European corporate ladder.

The Milan-based school recently announced a partnership with high-end accessories firm Bulgari that will enable 20 students on the full-time MBA to specialize in luxury business management. The students will have three months of training at the Bulgari headquarters in Rome, followed by a two-month project there.

The partnership is typical of Italy’s top business school, which has been making a name for itself as a feeder school for Europe’s manufacturing and financial services giants since it was established in 1971. As well as the full-time MBA, the school offers English-language Master programs in corporate finance, fashion and design, food and beverages, health care and economics and policy.

SDA Bocconi’s full-time MBA, with an intimate class size of 100 students each year, is the only Italian business school in the FT’s 2010 global MBA rankings, ranked 38th worldwide.

The school’s location is a key advantage. Northern Italy and the nearby regions of France, Switzerland, Germany and Austria are Europe’s wealthiest spot, with job opportunities in sectors as diverse as banking (the Italians invented it), pharmaceuticals, industrial machinery and designer clothes.

The students seem pretty happy with what’s on offer outside the classroom too.

Check out the video for a closer look and stay tuned for more news and interviews with Bocconi students and alumni.