Insead director says downturn a good time to study

By Dana Halawi - Daily Star
The economic downturn is the best time to study, according to executive director  of MBA programs (EMBA) at Insead, Edward Buckingham. “It prepares executives for the next phase of growth and establishes skills that can be useful for navigating current difficulties,” the director says.

Buckingham explains that companies benefit when they send managers with responsibility on the EMBA because it improves motivation and talent retention. “The development dimension impacts both the participant and his or her organization because knowledge acquired on the program has to be applied to the work environment. The tools acquired on the program then become part of the sponsoring organization,” he said.

He added that some of the course assignments involve analysis of the participants’ own companies or industries, so there is an immediate benefit for companies. “We run corporate sponsors days each year to encourage this kind of information transfer and encourage sponsoring companies to share best practices with one another when they can.”

As one of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools, Insead brings together people, cultures and ideas from around the world to change lives and transform organizations. This worldly perspective and cultural diversity are reflected in all aspects of research and teaching at Insead.

Insead has already two campuses in Asia (Singapore) and Europe (France) in addition to an office in New York. Moreover, it has lately announced the launching of its world renowned EMBA program from its Abu Dhabi campus to extend the reach of its business education across three continents.

“Our decision to set up in Abu Dhabi is also a reflection of the United Arab Emirates growing importance as a global business center and Abu Dhabi’s vision to be an internationally recognized venue for higher education,” he said. “We have also been very encouraged by the Abu Dhabi government’s priority in providing a quality of higher education that was previously only available for students overseas.”

Buckingham believes that the Middle East as a whole is a very exciting region and one in which Insead believes can play a positive role.

An Executive MBA is an MBA program offered to senior managers who work while they study. There are a number of different formats, correspondence, night school, weekend and modular.

Insead offers a modular EMBA which means that the teaching sessions last about a week and fall every 2 months. “This structure establishes a strong international cohort who benefit from the periods between modules to apply what they have learned on the job,” said Buckingham.

“Meanwhile, the time that they spend on campus is a period where participants can focus on the material and learn from one another. Both leadership development and entrepreneurship are strengths of this program and its participants.”

Buckingham explains the importance of EMBA programs in the Middle East by saying that one of the key issues is the speed of development and growth in many of the regional companies. “Companies and managers within are being ramped up very quickly which means shortage of capable and trained managers,” he said.

“Some posts are simply difficult to fill as there are no people to fill them. This is where broader general management programs and leadership programs come in,” he added.

Buckingham said that a huge number of companies are getting more international in terms of operations and reach and they also want to benchmark themselves by international standards. “They want education that is world class and which offers them an opportunity to exchange ideas with and learn from their counterparts from outside the region.”