A new beginning for a more resilient and aware generation of managers

How does an important event for a School of Management such as an Open Day become really unique? Probably by bringing together its flagship programs in one day – the Full-Time MBA, Executive MBA (EMBA) and Global Executive MBA (GEMBA), whose rankings place SDA Bocconi 5th among European business schools. Probably by having the widest possible display and usability – two physical locations, Milano and Rome, as well as online streaming - massively involving the School’s faculty and staff. But certainly by its timing, considering the event comes at the end of a two-year emergency unprecedented in recent global history. These two years have made a new beginning, marked by resilience and experience gained that are perhaps unique in SDA Bocconi’s 50 years of history.

It is precisely during the past year that SDA Bocconi’s MBAs have achieved outstanding results: 12th place worldwide for the FT-MBA according to the Financial Times and 6th place for the Economist; 33rd place for the EMBA (5th for Overall Satisfaction of participants) also according to the FT; 10th place worldwide among Joint Programs for the GEMBA in the QS ranking. This has been paralleled by growing demand for all MBA’s programs, resulting in increasingly hard selection and increasingly high-level participants, while also leading to double the EMBA edition in Milano, in addition to the one in Rome.

A growing demand in a rapidly changing world, during an ongoing pandemic. . This could be the “perfect storm” for the ship to either sink, or emerge stronger. SDA Bocconi MBAs have been able to become more flexible in teaching, delivery methods (with increasing interconnection and synergy between on-campus and remote learning) and personalization (e.g. MBA concentrations, with on-demand exchanges and internships). But they also managed to integrate the lesson of the global emergency into their content, developing resilience, the ability to transform and innovate, and to seize the opportunities hidden in every crisis in the managers of the near future.

This emerges clearly in the words of the participants themselves – In the face of the last two years of great uncertainty, investing in education as an MBA has helped strengthen their position in a job market that increasingly values empathy, flexibility, and resilience. According to many of those who attended the most recent editions, this experience was a great opportunity to grow together, both as a person and as a professional. “A period of time that is necessary to consider the future we want for ourselves and for our children.”

If learning is an ongoing process, the last few years have taught the young managers some crucial lessons, showing that sometimes you need to be able to question the rules of the game. To conclude on the words heard in an MBA classroom: “Being part of SDA Bocconi’s international community and learning from each other new ways to approach business, brands and people is a unique opportunity.”



SDA Bocconi School of Management