Charlie Ballard, ESADE MBA Student, Class of 2012: Welcome to MBA PodTV and welcome to ESADE. I’m your host Charlie Ballard. I’m a current MBA here at ESADE Business School here in Barcelona. Today, we’re going to take you behind the scenes of the program, get you a few admission tips, and give you a glimpse into what life is like here at ESADE. I can promise you, it’s been one amazing ride.

Joining us now is Associate Director for Admissions, Jeroen Verhoeven and Director of Full Time MBA Program, Olaya Garcia-Lancha. I’ll also introduce you to some of my classmates. Alamelu “Preethi” Narayanan, ESADE MBA Student, Class of 2012: You know, I really like the people, I really like the culture and one of the reasons why I wanted to come to Spain was because the culture was very, very attractive to me. When I was looking at MBAs in Europe, ESADE was obviously one of the top programs here in Europe and I spoke to a couple of colleagues of mine from Google who were ESADE alumni at some point and they had really good feedback about the school. I was considering two or three different schools, you know, I really got a good feeling about the school, which was why I decided to come here.
William Benthall, ESADE MBA Student, Class of 2012: My final decision, I think, came down to a combination of factors, one the sheer diversity here. I believe, there are 52 nationalities represented on campus. The varied teaching style, I really wanted a teaching style that reflected the business environment and wasn’t just about case studies. And then really the feeling I got when I came to the school, it’s a very socially orientated school. It was number one in the FT in Europe for CSR and this is definitely an area that interests me. I think it’s very important for business schools to be educating responsible leaders and I felt this from the day I came here on the open day.

Jeroen Verhoeven, Associate Director of Admissions, ESADE: We are a relatively small MBA program; therefore, we can be more personal as well flexible both in the program as well as in the admissions process itself. When I refer to flexibility in the program, I mainly refer to the 12, 15, and 18-month option in the MBA program and the flexibility and personalization in the admissions process, you mainly reflected that we really go the extra mile to try to really get to know our candidates beyond what will be the pure paper requirements. So we really spend a lot of time talking to the candidates so we get to know them and they get to know us. All of this to create a good fit.

Olaya Garcia-Lancha, Director of Full Time MBA, ESADE: One of the things that set apart from other business schools is the flexible program. The students can finish their MBA in either 12, 15 or 18 months and they can choose their track after the second term so once they have their plans a little bit more clear. Another differentiation point is the strong focus on entrepreneurship and innovation as well as our team-based methodology. And the third one is our huge international population, more than 80% of our students are international and that allows them to really enjoy a unique and variety in atmosphere as well as they’ll get to know other business practices from all over the world.

Alamelu “Preethi” Narayanan, ESADE MBA Student, Class of 2012: I actually just picked my course track a couple of weeks ago. I’m doing the 18-month MBA because I’m doing a three-month exchange and I plan to do a three-month corporate internship as well. One of the reasons I picked this track was because it was going to give me exposure to actually go to a different school and spend some time with a new set of students and also broaden my network. In terms of internship, I’m looking for an experience somewhere here in Europe or even back in India. So it’s a good combination of a lot of different things and it’s going to be done in 18 months so it’s going to give me more time here in Barcelona, which is fantastic.

Charlie Ballard, ESADE MBA Student, Class of 2012: The program here at ESADE is in many ways unique from your standard two-year program. They offer 12, 15, or 18-month versions, which can vary based on how many electives you want to take. I took the 15-month program because it was important to me to take a summer internship but then afterwards, I could quickly finish up, graduate in December, and be back in the business world.

William Benthall, ESADE MBA Student, Class of 2012: I’ve selected the 18-month MBA for two reasons. Firstly, so I can do an internship this summer, I’m doing three months in Nigeria with the Clinton Foundation and then also so that I can do an exchange program. From January next year, I’m spending three months at ISP in India, which is a fantastic school and will provide me with an extremely rich experience by the time I leave.

Jeroen Verhoeven, Associate Director of Admissions, ESADE: The question we often are asked in the admissions process, if people actually need to speak Spanish before they join the ESADE MBA. You don’t need to speak any Spanish joining our program. We have an English track of the MBA where you actually have Spanish language training in the first part of the program.
Now for those who would like to do the bilingual track of our MBA program, it is indeed a requirement to be absolutely fluent both in English and in Spanish and obviously in the interview process and the admissions process, we will check
your level of Spanish. But it is interesting to stress that for those who don’t speak any Spanish at all, it’s perfectly possible to do the ESADE MBA and of course, you will learn Spanish during the actual program. This is, I guess,
particularly relevant for certain groups. We’ve seen a lot of interest obviously from the United States as well as Brazil for the Spanish language requirements as particularly those countries have a large, how can I say, a big importance of
the Spanish language in their day-to-day business life. So to be able to speak at least some Spanish and in some cases, really get to a very high level in Spanish is absolutely a clear advantage of doing an MBA in Spain, in Barcelona.

Charlie Ballard, ESADE MBA Student, Class of 2012: I remember putting hours into putting together an application for ESADE that would tell a really complete story of why I wanted to go there. And when you’re applying, I think, the most important thing is exactly that, that you really need to make a story about yourself, what’s led you up to this point, and where you see yourself going, and why ESADE is really going to help contribute to that. For me, it was really the international aspect of ESADE and the way that the MBA from here would basically open my career up to more of a global focus.

Jeroen Verhoeven, Associate Director of Admissions,
ESADE: Very important for us is the actual work experience, so what have people
done before they decided to do an MBA. Obviously, the MBA is kind of a
partnership between on the one hand of course the students, the companies, as
well as the business school. So the more successful people have been prior to
their MBA, the more likely it is that if you top that up with a good MBA, the
more successful they will be when finishing the program. In addition to success
on the workflow, we try to look for people who are easy adapting to the
fast-changing global world. So we look for things such as international
experience, we like to see languages. ESADE is well known for the diversity of
the student population so this is something that we can offer to the companies
on campus so, obviously, this is something that we’re looking at when candidates
apply. We also have a culture at the ESADE MBA, which is very much focused on
teamwork so we try to see if people have been able, you know, to thrive, to do
well in teamwork settings prior to joining us.

William Benthall, ESADE MBA Student, Class of 2012:
ESADE students are very willing and eager to share their knowledge and
experience and this goes for anything from your classic MBA jobs like my
classmates from McKinsey or BCG or Citibank to those from non-traditional
backgrounds like myself. So my advice to prospective students would definitely
be to think about what it is that you want to share and can bring to the student
body, how you want to help shape other people, and also what you want to get
from other students when you come here because this is going to be one of the
things that provides you with a really rich experience.

Jeroen Verhoeven, Associate Director of Admissions,
ESADE: I would say think of your essays as a way to really introduce yourself to
the admissions committee. So try to identify for yourself what are my unique
selling points, what am I going to bring to an MBA program, why would other
students be interested in studying with me. So, first of all, my advice is think
about what you can offer to the class and then try to think how you can transmit
that in an open, nice, and positive way and those essays usually are the best
essays. Obviously, thinking as well of, you know, your past success when we
discuss the importance of the previous work experience for the MBA, just try to
identify what have I done, what are the things that I’m particularly proud of,
you know, in a way of sharing that with the rest of the admissions committee.
You can actually put that in the essays.

And more or less the same, I would say, goes for the
interview as well. The interview is for you a way to express who you are, what
you have to offer to ESADE and vice versa, to learn from ESADE as well. See the
business school as a partnership, that I mentioned before, where companies are
involved, where of course our students play an absolutely crucial role and the
business school itself is a vital part. So try to think how can I help the
business school and how can the business school help me and try to talk about
those things in the interview process.

Alamelu “Preethi” Narayanan, ESADE MBA Student, Class
of 2012: We have a fantastic bunch of people here, extremely collaborative,
extremely helpful, people who really want to learn from each other and, you
know, give as much as they can to the community here. So, if you are looking for
an MBA from Spain, and given that ESADE is one of the top schools here, I would
definitely recommend you attend one of our sessions here. Sit with us in one of
the lectures then you will get an overall feel of, you know, how the program
works because it’s a combination of a lot of different things, but it gives you
the maximum value that any MBA can.

Charlie Ballard, ESADE MBA Student, Class of 2012: And
that’s a wrap for MBA PodTV. I’m your host, Charlie Ballard. Join us on our
website at mbapodcaster.com for weekly audio and video shows.

Why The ESADE MBA

Located in the vibrant Mediterranean city of Barcelona, Spain, The ESADE MBA is a unique and challenging experience which will have a lifelong impact on your career and professional development. Our innovative Full Time MBA opens a world of new opportunities and offers you the ability to customize your MBA experience in 12, 15 or 18 months depending on the objectives you place yourself.
With over 40 nationalities from all continents represented on-campus, The ESADE MBA is a truly diverse experience enabling you to not only increase your global network but to also gain first hand insights into the different cultural practices that guide the way business is conducted around the world. Our cooperative and teamwork-centric methodology will reinforce your multicultural exposure and fine-tune your leadership competencies within diverse contexts.

As a program open to approximately 180 students per graduating class, the degree of personalized attention you will receive at all levels throughout The ESADE MBA, from Program Management to Career Services, is second to none. Given the select number of participants admitted into our Full Time MBA, this differentiating focus which we place on you, the individual, will also be evident as you are given the chance to really stand out in front of the International Recruiters from the top global companies that hire on-campus.

We invite you to visit our website, www.esade.edu/mba, to find out more about us but we also encourage you to meet us in person by attending one of our on- and/or off-campus events!

ESADE Staff:

• Gloria Batllori, Executive Director, MBA & Executive Masters Programmes
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• Nuria Guilera, Marketing Director, MBA & Executive Masters Programmes
• Cristina Sassot, Admissions Director, MBA & Executive Masters Programmes
• Olaya García Lancha, Programme Director, Full Time MBA Programmes