In this installment of our Admissions Director Q&A, series, we meet Francesco Farné, the new Admissions Director at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Francesco has over 12 years of experience managing global products and leading sales teams within the education sector, specifically at EF Education First, where he honed extensive expertise in global sales, strategic account management, and customer success. He is deeply passionate about digital transformation, customer experience optimization, and driving business growth within fast-paced industries. He is now thrilled to leverage this experience in his new role with IMD, eager to help his team achieve its goals and empower students to embark on truly life-changing experiences.
Read our Q&A with him here for his advice on navigating the application process and insights into the IMD MBA program.
Clear Admit: What is the one aspect of your program that you wish applicants knew more about?
Francesco Farné: While many applicants are drawn to IMD for its leadership and personal development stream, one aspect that often goes underappreciated is the depth and impact of our hands-on, experiential learning approach. In fact, around 40% of the MBA program is experiential in nature.
This includes not only entrepreneurial projects with startups and international consulting assignments, but also a one-month Future Lab on our Singapore campus. Our teaching methodology is very dynamic, and includes live case studies with guest speakers, role plays, and simulations, all designed to bring deeper insights and broader perspectives.
Students also participate in immersive 48-hour labs, such as a sustainability-focused mountain experience and an intensive leadership lab. By the time they graduate, our MBAs haven’t just studied theory—they’ve tested it, refined it, and applied it in diverse, challenging environments working in teams with peers from a wide range of cultures and professional backgrounds.
CA: Walk us through the life of an application in your office from an operational standpoint. What happens between the time an applicant clicks “submit” and the time the committee offers a final decision?
FF: That ‘click’ is already a moment of celebration in our office as our recruitment and admissions team typically knows each individual even before the deadline arrives.
From an operational standpoint, as soon as we receive the official application, the first step is just to check that all the required documents have been received, including the recommendation form and GMAT or GRE score.
The admissions committee then assesses each application holistically to see if the candidate meets our requirements, aligns with IMD’s values and standards, and shows clear potential to benefit from—and contribute to—our program.
Candidates who meet this initial evaluation are invited to our signature assessment day and interview. Whenever possible, we encourage applicants to join us on campus, where they participate in a mix of individual and team exercises, get a feel for our campus, and meet current students. The following day, we offer a more informal opportunity to explore Lausanne and the surrounding lakeside region, along with alumni and members of our team. For those unable to attend in person, we offer a comprehensive virtual alternative that maintains the same rigor and engagement.
After the assessment, applications move to our finance committee for scholarship review. This allows us to communicate both admission and scholarship decisions together, providing successful candidates with a complete and transparent offer.
CA: How does your team approach the essay portion of the application specifically? What are you looking for as you read an essay? Are there common mistakes that applicants should try to avoid? What is one key thing they should keep in mind as they sit down to write?
FF: While much of the application is focused on facts and credentials, the essay is where a candidate’s voice truly comes through. We are looking for authenticity, clarity and coherence to help us see who the person really is – not just professionally, but also in terms of attitude, learnings and openness.
A common mistake is writing what applicants think we want to hear rather than sharing something meaningful and personal. The best essays feel honest, thoughtful, and specific to the individual.
CA: Could you tell us about your interview process? Approximately how many applicants do you interview? Who conducts the interview and what is the nature of the interview? Will your admissions interviews be in-person or virtual for the 2025-2026 admissions season?
FF: All candidates need to take part in our assessment day, either on-campus or online, before we will accept them into our full-time MBA program. Conducted by a member of our admissions committee, the interview is a key component of this as it allows us to explore the candidate’s motivations, clarify any aspects of their application, and better understand what they hope to gain from the MBA. Just as importantly, we assess how well the candidate fits with the class we are building—both in terms of what they will take away from the program and what they will contribute to the experience of their peers.
For the 2025–2026 admissions season, we will continue offering both in-person and virtual interview options, with a strong encouragement for candidates to join us on campus if possible.
CA: If your application features an impromptu video interview/video essay, how does it differ from the main interview? What should applicants know about this step in the process?
FF: Our assessment days are designed to offer a truly holistic and mutual evaluation. Just as we’re assessing whether an applicant is the right fit for IMD, we also want candidates to have a meaningful opportunity to determine whether our MBA program is the right fit for them.
This interactive and personalized approach is one of the key aspects that sets our admissions process apart. As such, we do not currently include a separate video requirement, instead we focus on in-depth, real-time interactions, where we can engage authentically with each person.
CA: Is there anything in particular international students should keep in mind during the admissions process?
FF: As 97–98% of our students are typically international, our admissions process is the same for all applicants, regardless of nationality. However, one important consideration for non-EU candidates is the visa process.
Since securing a student visa can take time, we strongly encourage applicants who do not hold an EU passport to apply in one of our earlier rounds. This helps ensure there’s plenty of time for visa processing and relocation planning—without unnecessary stress.
CA: What is your favorite spot on campus?
FF: We are so lucky to have a campus right next to Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) with its impressive views over the Alps. By just crossing the road you can enjoy a moment of lakeside reflection, or even enjoy a lunchtime walk or jog for the more motivated among us! But when students are on campus, I actually love the buzz of the MBA-dedicated study rooms. With our small class sizes, we get to know each student personally, and the atmosphere is warm, collaborative, and friendly. Even outside of class or study hours, you’ll often find students chatting over pizza in the MBA kitchen or letting off steam with a game of ping pong in the locker room. It’s those shared, everyday moments that really bring the IMD experience to life.
CA: Is there anything else you’d like to highlight about your MBA program or admissions process?
FF: With so much global focus on AI at the moment it’s inspiring to see how quickly IMD innovatively redesigned our MBA program to meet the evolving leadership demands. A new systematic process measures and reports on students’ development of ten fundamental transversal skills that are essential for navigating complexity and therefore highly valued by recruiters: asking insightful questions, decision-making, structured problem solving, divergent and convergent thinking, pattern recognition, quantifying strategies, systems thinking, scenario planning, storyboarding and storytelling, and strategic presence.
Through this initiative, which resulted in IMD’s MBA program being named ‘Program of the Year’ in 2024, the school’s aim is to prepare graduates not just to succeed in today’s fast-changing business world, but to lead with purpose—toward a more sustainable, and inclusive future.
