An MBA With an Irish Flavour at Smurfit in Dublin

The UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School offers a 1-year MBA program that claims to provide an unequalled opportunity to unlock and develop your leadership potential, accelerate your career and build a global network.

Located in Dublin, a hub of business, finance and innovation, besides cultural diversity, the program has an outstanding and challenging academic curriculum, delivered by an international faculty. More than 70% of the class comprises international students.

The program includes case studies, action learning, international study trips, integrated projects and global virtual teamwork. There is also a dedicated careers service and an active network of 3,800 MBA Alumni worldwide.

A unique feature of the program is the Global Virtual Teams (GVT) delivered in two parts. The first section is part of the Leadership and Organisational Behaviour module where the students collaborate virtually with their counterparts in partner schools.

The class has a female-male ratio of 42:58. The average age of the students is 29 years. They have an average work experience of 6 years and an average GMAT score of 640.

The Foundation Week is held in the last week of August to prepare students for the MBA by providing an introduction to core modules such as Finance, Financial Reporting, Marketing, Strategy and Leadership.

Students also learn case study analysis and report writing. They get exposure to team dynamics through team building activities, business simulations and communication workshops.

Smurfit’s MBA Leadership Development program focuses on the skills necessary to communicate effectively, understand yourself better, and lead diverse teams and organisations anywhere in the world.

A member of the Global Network of Advanced Management (GNAM) network of 29 business schools including Yale, INSEAD and LSE, Smurfit offers students a global perspective through international study trips and exchanges, action learning via global collaboration, exposure to thought leaders on global issues and problem-solving in international settings.

A unique feature of the program is the Global Virtual Teams (GVT) delivered in two parts. The first section is part of the Leadership and Organisational Behaviour module where the students collaborate virtually with their counterparts in partner schools.

The simulation segment of GVT forms the second part. It is delivered during the second semester in the Operations and Supply Chain Management module. The students work in virtual teams with students from partner schools to run a business in real time, solving real-world business problems.

There is a one-week international study tour as part of the ‘Doing Business in International Markets’ core module. The tour involves visits to high profile companies, presentations and panel discussions with top executives, government officials and entrepreneurs. Previous study tour destinations included China, South Africa, India, UAE, Brazil, Japan and Korea.

Students who join the rugby club at the school, get an opportunity to participate in the MBA World Rugby World Cup at Danville, Virginia, to play against teams from North American and European international business schools.

The students can also participate in the Yale Integrated Leadership Case Competition.

They can also get involved in an International Consultancy Project. In June 2017, MBA students had gone to Iceland capital Reykjavik on a week-long trip to work closely with local companies on real-life assignments.

In the summer semester, they participate in a capstone consulting project to be completed in six weeks. They work with companies to address real-life strategic or operational issues.(Image Source:Wikipedia.org)