Mr. Andrew Dalik, Admissions Manager for the full-time MBA programme at Copenhagen Business School, shares in-depth information about the benefits of a one-year European MBA with a Scandinavian influence. Andrew Dalik is a Copenhagen Business School MBA alumnus, and also holds a Master of International Business from Macquarie University and a Bachelor of Arts from The University of British Columbia.
Please describe the full-time MBA offered by Copenhagen Business School. The full-time MBA at Copenhagen Business School is characterized by a small class size with a focus on sustainability, leadership and entrepreneurship. There is a mix of pedagogical styles, including lectures, guest speakers, case studies, group work, and presentations. A Scandinavian influence underpins all aspects of the programme, exemplifying the flat organizational hierarchy, equality of women and men, and dedication to transparency and ethics that is signature to this region. The programme is designed to enable ample amounts of personal contact with faculty and administration, as well as deep peer-to-peer learning. The programme’s strength is in general management training. Two key aspects of the curriculum are the Leadership Discovery Process and the Integrated Strategy Project. The Leadership Discovery Process is an inward-looking, reflective and immersive experiential learning process that helps each student find and hone a personal leadership style that matches with his or her strengths and weaknesses. The Integrated Strategy Project is a multi-month consulting project where a team of students advises a real company on a real strategic issue, allowing students to use the tools they have learned throughout the year to generate original data and decisions, and generate a final thesis based on analysis and recommendations.
How does Copenhagen Business School incorporate the diversity of Europe into its MBA programme?
The full-time MBA at Copenhagen Business School is consistently over 90% international students. Classmates and alumni hail from all corners of Europe and the rest of the globe. Each year the admissions team looks to create a class filled with a diversity of national, professional, academic, socioeconomic and religious backgrounds. The spirit of the programme is collaborative. We are looking for students who want to learn from their peers and engage in critical dialogue in a non-judgemental, respectful and curious way. Our lecturers also hail from a variety of countries other than Denmark, including Australia, Germany, Singapore, Sweden and the United States. Our class is also consistently over 40% women, which is unique on the MBA stage globally. Having a balance of males and females adds further diversity to the range of views and opinions that are shared and considered.
What are the benefits of the one-year programme duration and the senior level of the programme participants?
A one-year full-time MBA programme is like a highly intense job, and thus prepares candidates for the stress and time management that will come along with demanding career positions in the future. Given our small class size, all students go through the same curriculum together; the class is not split into sub-sections. The high intensity and intimacy of the class means that all students build a strong class relationship and rely on each other to navigate the year, in the process building extremely strong and genuine bonds. The average age of our current MBA class is 33 years and the range is from 25-44 years. Many classmates will have 10 or more years of work experience, meaning that high levels of expertise truly shape the peer-to-peer learning that occurs through class discussions and group work. Maturity is also a key defining attribute of our class, in terms of both work and life experience.
In what ways do you evaluate the applicants potential and skills? What are the candidate profiles you look for?
At Copenhagen Business School we are looking for people with a belief in conducting responsible business, a desire for being in an international environment and a hunger for making things happen. We think personal interests and passion projects are just as important as career growth and test scores. We want to hear about what makes people get out of bed in the morning. Communication skills are something we highly value, along with an understanding that our programme is about giving as much as it is taking. Since our programme is largely about contributing to the learning of your classmates and becoming actively involved in the experience, we look for people from all different backgrounds, from non-profit to healthcare, and everything imaginable in between.
What networking opportunities does Copenhagen Business School offer to its MBA students and graduates?
There are a variety of formal and informal networking opportunities. We have a dedicated alumni society and alumni relations manager specifically for the MBA programme, who organise events throughout the year. There are guest speakers that come to class and can be approached easily due to our small class size. Company visits are organized throughout the region, enabling students to see how various businesses work, with past visits ranging from a UN supply chain warehouse to the BIG architects headquarters. There are career fairs on campus, attended by Scandinavian companies such as Carlsberg, Novo Nordisk and H&M. We also have a dedicated career services person who works one-on-one with MBA students to search, create and prepare for various career opportunities.
How does Copenhagen Business School ensure high return on investment for its students?
Ultimately an MBA is a tool, not a ticket. How graduates use this tool is up to each individual, but when used strategically, it can be very powerful for both personal and professional development. On a personal level, graduates have a transformational year leading to higher levels of self awareness in one’s strengths, weaknesses, values and passions. On a professional level, graduates have a growth year leading to higher levels of confidence in one’s ability to work and converse across all aspects of a business or non-profit organization, from the governance level down. Copenhagen Business School is a globally respected research institution that holds partnerships with top businesses and educational institutions worldwide. Copenhagen is globally recognized as an urban centre that is at the forefront of thought and action in numerous business, political and societal realms. These factors combine ensure that graduates from the full-time MBA programme are afforded strong opportunities to generate a return on their investment on the world stage, whatever pathway they choose to continue their personal and professional story on.
