The INSEAD MBA: A Venezuelan Perspective

It is perhaps a bit of a corny title for a blog post, yet it underscores one of the founding principles of INSEAD: a truly global community.

When any Venezuelan first hears the word 'MBA', three institutions come to mind: IESA (Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración) in Venezuela, Harvard and Stanford in the United States.

It is an accepted fact, that back in Venezuela (and dare I say, in Latin America) that any quality education in business must necessarily come from either your country’s best business school or a US Ivy league. After all, business education is not just about the knowledge you stand to gain, but also the skills you develop, the people you meet, the network you build and (let’s be completely and brutally honest) the prestige you gain.

But this Latin American outlook that came about due to the prominence of the economical might of the United States and its influence in regional and world politics has also had its consequences.

For us in the Americas, the rest of the world seems to be too far away to truly matter; a completely irrational perspective considering the resurgent Chinese and Indian economies. It will not be long before India also overtakes the American Eagle. And every year, no… every day that passes the world becomes ever more globalised. Nowadays an archaic outlook that believes that only your country and the great power right next to you matters will hold you back. We must continuously strive to adapt.

If you are sure and passionate that you want to do an MBA, you must first do your due diligence.

I will perhaps explain what I did to choose my school. I first started by researching business schools worldwide. I soon found that, for all that schools promote their internationality, few are. A cursory glance through Harvard or Stanford student compositions show me that 75% come from the Americas. Like it or not, for the moment, they are not global, they are American. Most schools in the United States have similar student composition.

And this is where INSEAD truly shines. It is, in accordance to their own motto, “The Business School for the World”. And that is truly important in our globalised world.

It is most stimulating for my mind when I can meet and connect with people all over the world. So far, even before starting, I have met people from all over the world. The false globalisation that many European and American schools fall into does not happen with INSEAD. To reiterate the point, it is a truly global experience.

Sitting down to eat with someone from each continent is stimulating, and the discussion and experiences they have showcase not only the uniqueness of each student, but also how motivated and driven we all are. Just last night I have brainstormed with three other students for a product for the INSEAD Product Games, all from different countries. Today I have had lunch with people from more nationalities than countries I had visited before coming here. And in launch week even more global experiences are waiting for me.

So, I invite any reader that wishes to know more about the INSEAD MBA to do their due diligence.

Read other articles. Talk with current and past students.

And always remember that we all live in this globalised world. Because INSEAD truly is, without a doubt, the business school for the world.