One Year MBA Class 2018 At Imperial Spells Diversity with 45% females, 88% International Students

Diversity is the name of the game for the full-time one-year MBA class 2018-19 at Imperial College Business School striving to achieve gender parity with 45% female representation, 88% international students and just 19% with an undergraduate degree in business or management.

The 74-member batch began classes in the first week of September. Program Director Professor Andreas Eisingerich greeted the new class on the first day with an introduction to the Business School and what they could expect from the program. He also highlighted the valuable network of classmates from diverse backgrounds with whom they will be working with over the year.

The satellite was launched on May 11, 2018, from the International Space Station. He has also co-founded the Space Systems Laboratory at the university, the first laboratory of its kind in Central America and the Caribbean.

Marco Gomez, who has joined the program after working as a Professor and Researcher at the Costa Rica Institute of Technology in his home country, says he received a key piece of advice from this speech. “During his opening words to the cohort, Andreas compared us to a tribe that will support each other throughout the year and our careers. After only spending a few days with them, I am sure I will form many meaningful, long-term friendships.”

Gomez had earlier completed his MSc Degree in Aerospace Engineering at the Delft University of Technology. He had worked as Project Manager of Irazu, a project to design, build and launch Costa Rica’s first satellite to monitor rainforest growth.

The satellite was launched on May 11, 2018, from the International Space Station. He has also co-founded the Space Systems Laboratory at the university, the first laboratory of its kind in Central America and the Caribbean.

Paveenuch Sritragul, an Equity Research Analyst at Thai brokerage firm Bualuang Securities Public Company Limited, says she joined the program for “the best experiential learning in a very concise timeline. Within one year you get both theoretical and practical learning, and at Imperial, you can tailor the journey of the MBA however you want it to be,” she adds.

The class has 88% of the students from outside of the UK. As many as 30 nationalities are represented in the class who speak 24 different languages.

Less than a third of the students come from the banking and finance or consulting and professional services industries. The cohort comes from sectors that range from engineering, energy and pharma, biotech and healthcare to consumer and retail, law and government and the public sector. The average age is 28 and they have an average of six and a half years of work experience.

Katia Fox, a recipient of a Forté Foundation Scholarship, is impressed by the diversity of the cohort’s background and future aspirations. “The fact that it is 45% women is fantastic, and it’s incredibly diverse with people from all over the world, with every kind of experience and background. Everyone had different jobs before, and everyone is going in different directions too, which is exciting.”

The class have had a packed induction schedule which runs over two weeks, with daily activities, workshops and networking events designed to accelerate their relationships as a cohort and cover contemporary business topics, such as resilient leadership, networking skills and unconscious bias.

During their first week, the class heard from Cath Bishop, an Olympic-medal-winning rower and diplomat. They also took part in a Careers kick-off day. The class had an opportunity to build their professional and personal network with students across the school at a South Kensington Tea Party. They also had a team building away day, during which they indulged in teamwork activities, creative problem solving and decision-making skills on high ropes and climbing towers course.

Core modules, Careers Week and a welcome reception at the neighbouring Natural History Museum are also scheduled in the first term.