Oxford / Saïd MBA News

Hello and welcome to Fridays from the Frontline, Clear Admit's weekly exhaustive enumeration of the enterprising entries in the b-school blogosphere.  This week, current applicants are in full GMAT prep-mode, contemplating choice of schools and full versus part-time programs, while the Class of 2016 is looking forward to starting their MBA programs  in just a few short weeks, and all the life and career changes that will bring. This week we also welcome blogger QuietTiger81, who is sharing his perspective as a second year student at Oxford.  MBAonMyMind has added YaleSOM to the tally board, given the school's focus on  social impact businesses, and with three weeks into GMAT prep, all is going according to plan. With a GMAT prep plan of his own, GrantMeAdmission is gaining on his 760 goal with three life hacks to help him stay focused and positive.  GrantMeAdmission also takes some time to discuss the pros and cons of doing a part-time MBA, and why he chose to go the full-time route. Read more

A United Kingdom charity focused on helping children with cancer in developing countries will receive an infusion of expertise and energy this summer as more than 40 students from top business schools in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas develop plans to tackle business problems faced by the organization. The students, working in teams as part of the Financial Times MBA Challenge, will assist the FT’s seasonal appeal partner, which this year is World Child Cancer (WCC). Seven teams of students – who hail from schools including Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, Oxford Saïd Business School, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, London Business School, ESADE and IE Business School, among others – will each be partnered with a mentor and required to submit a business plan in September on a set topic. Read more

Far fewer MBA students from Europe’s top business schools are choosing careers in finance than they have in the past, opting instead for jobs at Facebook, Amazon and other tech firms, according to a recent report in the Financial News. London Business School (LBS), Cambridge’s Judge Business School, Oxford’s Saïd Business School, INSEAD and HEC Paris all report significant drops in the number of MBAs who have accepted full-time roles and internships at finance firms as the heaviest portion of the annual recruiting season comes to an end. Read more

Oxford University’s Saïd Business School is gearing up for a number of events on its campus, in cities around the globe and via webinar to introduce prospective applicants to the school and its MBA programs. Catch MBA Program Director Stephan Chambers in Toronto or Los Angeles, take part in Oxford MBA Open Day later this month or take advantage of a series of webinars directed toward prospective applicants in different parts of the world. Tomorrow, February 20th, Stephan Chambers will speak to prospective applicants in Toronto, Canada, providing an overview of Saïd’s MBA program and the benefits of studying at Oxford. Alumni will also be present at the event to share their experiences and meet with prospective applicants. Chambers will host a similar event in Los Angeles on March 6th. Read more

Saїd Business School’s Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship has partnered with an educational technology start-up accelerator to help drive innovation among early-stage education technology (edtech) firms, the school announced late last month. Through a new partnership with Emerge Education, which provides support designed to address the specific needs and challenges faced by start-ups in the edtech sector, the Skoll Centre will provide mentoring, advice and access to Saїd’s extensive entrepreneurship support structure. These benefits will augment the help Emerge provides to start-ups to secure funding, locate necessary skills and expertise and reach potential customers. Read more

Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford earlier this month announced the creation of a new scholarship to help support MBA students from the technology sector, made possible thanks to a generous gift from a global telecommunications firm. Zamir Telecom will give Saïd £15,000 (approximately $24,500) per year for three years, which will fund one scholarship each year. The Zamir Telecom MBA Scholarship is open to applicants from an emerging economy (in Africa, Asia or the Middle East) or to those from other countries who have an interest in technological advancement in emerging economies. Read more

Social entrepreneurship is becoming a more prevalent facet within the graduate management curriculum at several leading business schools, driven in great part by growing student demand, according to a recent New York Times article.   “We are putting down the tracks as the train is coming,” Pamela Hartigan, director of the Skoll Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, told the Times regarding that school’s social entrepreneurship offerings. Hartigan estimates that about half of the students at Saïd are interested in issues of long-term social and ethical sustainability, although experts say that students interested in social business still make up only a minority of MBA applicants, according to the Times report. Read more

Derek Walker has been leading the Oxford MBA Careers Services for the last four and a half years. He came on board a few weeks after the financial crisis, which he says can be viewed as either a terrible or a fantastic time to start. (He views it as the latter.) Before coming to Oxford, Walker worked in financial services campus recruiting. “It was really a buy-side to a sell-side move,” he explains. His favorite part of his job is working directly with students, particularly when they follow his advice, he shares. Read on to learn how he feels about open versus closed interview schedules, to hear the stories of recent Oxford MBA graduates who landed great jobs (and how they did it) and more. Read more

A new online module at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford is bringing together students in the school’s MBA and executive MBA programs with Oxford alumni and leading academic researchers to address some of the most challenging global business and policy issues. In its first year, the program has focused on global ageing. Called GOTO (Global Opportunities, Threats: Oxford), the interactive, multimedia web platform is designed to blend curated content with in-person learning through tutorial groups and events to create plans to address the world’s biggest problems. This year, an action-oriented community of Oxford students, academics and alumni took a hard look at the changing demographics, global pinch points, patterns of consumption, environmental impact and healthcare system strain created by the long-term trend toward global ageing. GOTO will focus on a different global issue each year. Read more