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International Experience Puts Edinburgh MBAs In High Demand

Students report increased job prospects after the Edinburgh MBA

By  Scott Kanowsky

Wed Mar 1 2017

BusinessBecause
Benn Lombard’s resume reads like a travelogue: a former London pianist, a music teacher in India, and now a business consultant for McKinsey & Company in Nairobi. In between his globetrotting, Benn carved out a year to get an MBA from the University of Edinburgh Business School.

It was the Edinburgh MBA that helped him shift from a career as a professional musician and teacher to a consulting role at McKinsey.

“I think a major contributor was the soft skills [I learned at Edinburgh], and having exposure to so many different cultures during the program,” he says. “That’s a very important part of consulting: the people relationship.”

Originally from South Africa, Benn’s international MBA experience is indicative of the global make-up of the Edinburgh MBA. There are 21 nationalities in the current MBA class.

Around 90% of Edinburgh MBAs land new jobs within three months of graduation. The 36-strong MBA class of 2014 are now working across 15 countries internationally.

“The cohort was really wonderful in terms of diversity,” he says. “It exposed me to variety of business cultures.”

Erin Bembe too, was drawn to the Edinburgh MBA program by its strong international focus. The American found the program full of classwork that combined international experience with practical expertise.

For example, the MBA’s International Business in Context module, which sends students to foreign countries where they conduct projects on behalf of companies in the area and explore how different cultures impact professional opportunities and relationships.

Erin’s project on sustainability took her from Scotland to Ghana, where she delivered to her findings to Johnson and Johnson— her future employer. Erin credits this global experience for helping her land her post-graduation placement, which she achieved only three months after completing her MBA.

“One of the things that the MBA does really well is the real-world application of theory,” she says. “In almost every class we had a consultancy project or worked directly with a client.”

Erin is still an avid traveler, and enjoys the many travel possibilities her job provides. Currently a senior financial analyst at Johnson and Johnson in New Jersey, USA, Erin says she could one day move to other offices around the world.

The popularity of such courses, along with the success of alumni like Erin and Benn, has led the business school to consider an extension to its menu of international treks. Edinburgh also fosters international exchange programs with leading institutions in Australia, China, and India; enhancing its MBA students’ employability around the globe. 

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