What’s New At SDA Bocconi’s 1-Year Full-time MBA Program?

The 1-year full-time MBA program at SDA Bocconi School of Management has undergone some revisions and changes that include promoting equal opportunities with regard to gender and background.

The 44^th edition of the program has started with 108 students on the rolls.

Francesco Daveri, Director of the Full-Time MBA at Bocconi, says the program aimed at providing the students with the knowledge and expertise to tackle today’s global challenges.

In an interview to BusinessBecause, Francesco says the ideal candidate should have a social conscience, ambition to excel in his/her chosen industry and an aspiration to bring about changes.

He says among the factors that make the MBA at SDA Bocconi unique is that apart from the excellent teaching resources and professors, the small class size is advantageous.

Regarding advice for MBA aspirants, Francesco says, while around 70% of the students are from a financial, economic or engineering background, it does not mean that there is no room for anyone. Candidates with ambition, prepared to collaborate and integrate are welcome, he says.

The total intake of around 100 students is split into two classrooms of 50, creating a “cosy but competitive” environment.

In effect, it means that the students get more individual attention. It is really important that every candidate has their own identity and that their needs are individually catered for, he says.

Bocconi also believes in providing a diverse range of opportunities for specialists in their own fields and not just in finance and economics. Thus, the students come from a wide range of professional background and sectors ranging from fashion to food.

Asked about the changes that come into effect from the latest batch, he says while keeping the basic elements of the traditional full-time program, at least two aspects have been modified to improve the quality and result of the MBA.

The in-class preparatory courses, non-compulsory programs which were previously in place as foundation schemes to support the MBA, have been discontinued.

“We hope this will ensure that everyone is on an even playing field this year, reducing the level of discrepancy in ability and knowledge among candidates.

The pre-course curriculum is now embedded in the full-time MBA, providing an overview for all students rather than just a proportion,” he says.

Secondly, the program has been made more compact through moving the elective part of the course—which normally takes place in October—to May.

This change would allow the students to go for summer internships without any worries since they have completed the main body of the theoretical side of the MBA before the summer.

This leaves only the practical element of the program left to complete in October, focusing on soft skills.

About new initiatives, Francesco says Bocconi would continue with the ‘Lunch and Learn’ this year, after receiving good feedback from students.

This initiative enables students to meet leading figures from a range of sectors to discuss experiences and advice over lunchtime seminars.

Francesco says this time Riccardo Illy of Illy coffee is to deliver a lunch talk. The school was trying to get the big names from big brands to interact with the students, providing inspiration and information on how to be successful.

He says he has also specified that 50% of the speakers should be women. The latest batch has 42% female representation. They also represent several countries across the globe.

Regarding advice for MBA aspirants, Francesco says, while around 70% of the students are from a financial, economic or engineering background, it does not mean that there is no room for anyone. Candidates with ambition, prepared to collaborate and integrate are welcome, he says.