You’ve decided you want to do an MBA. Great! You’ve gone and downloaded all of the GMAT practice tests, bought the prep books and now you are taking a bit of a breather only to ask yourself, but what kind of programme do I want?

Why not an international MBA?

No matter where you come from, or what country you are currently calling home, it is impossible to deny that the world today is far smaller than it ever was before. Business is global and managers now need to know how to communicate across cultural divides. An international MBA programme fully immerses you in such a situation. Just reading about how how say, the Chinese approach negotiations isn’t as good as actually practicing these skills with your classmate who happens to be from Shanghai.

My study group at MIP consisted of four different nationalities – Italian, Ecuadorian, Japanese and American. And no, as the American I was NOT the loudest one in the group. It’s more than just getting to work with people from different cultures than your own. It’s developing an understanding as to how and why they make the decisions that they do.

Studying in such an environment is a microcosm of how global business is currently being done at the highest level. Stepping into such a situation outside of the classroom, you’ll find yourself much more at ease.

That kind of understanding and the confidence that goes along with it is difficult to get when you’re in a more homogenous atmosphere.

Now that you’ve read this, you’ll have to find which programme is right for you.