The Open University

Distance learning courses taught in English leading to British Bachelor (BA/BSc) and Masters (MA/MSc/MEd/MBA) degrees. Study an individual course or combine courses to obtain a qualification. Please contact us for details of Information Events or to obtain a prospectus.

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The Open University Business School

Study for an MBA with the leaders in distance learning.  The Open University Business School has triple international accreditation (AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA)


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Kalaiodos University

Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences, one of only eight such universities accredited by the Swiss Federal Council. Our students and corporate partners benefit from our hybrid role as the only UAS organized according to private law, which allows us to award nationally and internationally recognized and protected degrees while maintaining a high degree of flexibility and customer focus. With currently three undergraduate and twelve graduate degree programs in the field of business and management, we are one of Switzerland's most successful business schools.

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University of London - Study in Switzerland for a University of London Degree

Invest in yourself, Realise your ambitions, Immerse yourself in a subject you love. Find out how you can do all the above, and at the same time, achieve an internationally-recognized qualification by distance learning.
A wide range of courses are available at undergraduate and postgraduate levels including Health, International management, law, English literature, Philosophy and European literature, Sustainable Development, Environmental Management and Poverty Reduction.

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Webster University - Geneva

Established in 1915 in St.Louis, Missouri, and active in Geneva since 1978, Webster is a non-profit, American-accredited university, with campuses in Europe, USA & Asia. The Geneva campus has 600 students from over 90 nationalities and offers Graduate & Undergraduate degrees:
* Undergraduate:
 o Business & Management
 o Computer Science
 o International Relations
 o Media Communications
 o Psychology
* Graduate:
 o MBA
 o Management & Leadership
 o HR Management
 o International Relations
 o International NGOs
 o Counseling
 o Media Communications
 o Domaine de la santi

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International EMBA Program by ZHAW School of Management and Law

The International Executive MBA is an intensive, generalist, two-year, part-time leadership and management program. It builds on a foundation of advanced general management skills and emphasizes three core competencies: global leadership and relationship management, international business, and business ethics and corporate responsibility.
Foundations
Participants are expected to bring a basic knowledge of general management and law to the program. Participants who fail to meet the expectations will obtain a preparation package to acquire the basic knowledge in self-study.
Building on the basic knowledge, the participants will practice during the advanced general management module how to systematically and effectively apply general management and law tools and concepts.

Based on the firm foundation of advanced general management skills the participants will acquire key competences in three main areas.

Core competence 1:

• Leadership and Decision Making
  The innovative organizational leadership methodology combines the tried and tested approach used by the Swiss Army, many cantonal police forces and civilian crisis management groups with established business concepts and tools.
• Organizational Behavior and Global Relationship Management
  This module teaches the participants to understand why individuals and groups within an organization behave in a certain way, to assess the influence of cultural and demographic diversity in groups and solve associated problems, to understand the Customer Relationship Process and proactively build and maintain customer relationships and how to network effectively across borders.

Core competence 2:

• International Business Environment
  The participants will receive an introduction to certain aspects of international trade and investment, of competitiveness and business systems, and of cultures and civilizations, with a particular focus on emerging markets.
• Strategy and Internationalization
  The students will learn how to analyse the strategic position and recognize international opportunities and threats of a firm, how to develop international strategies and design the necessary organizational structures and processes, how to access and select target markets in line with the firm’s overall international strategy and how to recognize international drivers.
• Value Chain Internationalization and Risk Management
  The participants will analyse the effect of international operations on the value chain of a firm before planning and implementing functional strategies and measures.

Core competence 3:
Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility
In this module the introduction to the Winterthur Model of Corporate Responsibility will take place. This is a coherent, holistic framework that will enable the operator to recognize and evaluate questions of business ethics and corporate responsibility, encompassing more than just social responsibility.
Integration
Various integration events, such as the kick-off seminar in the beginning, study trips, case studies and group studies during the program as much as the week-long international Business Simulation at the end of the course ensure, that the participants are forced to apply the knowledge and practice their skills which they have acquired during the various stages of the program.

The culmination of the academic part of the program is the writing of the EMBA Thesis. The author of the thesis must solve complex real-world business problems, understand scientific and academic thought and work and apply this to business issues.

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Doing an MBA in Switzerland

 

Over the past decade, Switzerland has attracted an impressive roll call of European corporate headquarters: Yahoo, Procter & Gamble, McDonald’s, Nissan and Starbucks, to name but a few. In 2010, Switzerland also benefited from the UK’s decision to impose a bonus tax on finance professionals, with hedge funds such as Brevan Howard Asset Management and BlueCrest Capital Management responding by opening large offices in Geneva. So, what does this influx of international headquarters mean for someone contemplating an MBA course in Switzerland? David Williams of QS TopMBA.com investigates.

By David Williams

“Any professional who is good and who has very good experience or skills, has great opportunities in Switzerland at the moment,” says Alessandro Fonzi, an MBA graduate of the IMD in Lausanne. Originally from Italy, Fonzi is now a senior vice-president with private bank Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch in Zurich. 

Call of the Alps

But what is the attraction of the small mountainous country to companies from all over the world?

It comes down to a confluence of positive factors, but fundamentally, it is Switzerland’s liberal taxation policies, which – despite the country’s location at the heart of Europe – are not constrained by EU membership. The transport infrastructure is superb and the quality of life extremely high, with Geneva and Zurich consistently ranking as some of the best cities in the world in which to live. Its education system is very well regarded, plus a long tradition of language learning means any company wishing to set up its headquarters in the country can expect to find a skilled, multilingual workforce. 

What’s more, the economy and the banking sector in particular, have weathered the downturn very well. A conservative, save-before-you-spend culture means Switzerland is less indebted than other nations, while the country’s banking sector was less exposed to toxic assets than many elsewhere.

“Switzerland has traditionally had a very resilient labour market and economy,” says Dr. Rob Straw, MBA director at the University of St. Gallen. “It is smaller, so there is more stability, and the economy has not been hit as hard here as it has been in other countries.”

The MBA jobs market

Not all the companies who have relocated to Switzerland are necessarily MBA recruiters, of course; and it seems that international MBA candidates are still more interested in the quality of the business schools in the country than in working in the country itself. “We ask our students why they choose IMD,” says Katty Ooms Suter, director of MBA Admissions and Career Services at IMD. “Switzerland as a factor doesn’t even make it in to the top 10.”

Nevertheless, the influx of multinationals is having an effect on the opportunities available to Swiss MBA-holders, if simply in terms of the quality of the networking available. Having so many corporate headquarters on your doorstep creates opportunities – whether in Switzerland or elsewhere in Europe – and facilitates both formal and informal interviewing.

“When I started my MBA at the International University in Geneva, my only goal was to re-orientate myself away from my philosophy degree,” says Dekin O’Sullivan, a French national who now works for the credit department of HSBC Private Bank Switzerland. “But once I went into the MBA, I discovered that finance was my favourite subject. And as it was senior local bankers giving us courses in finance, I was able to approach them and ask what the opportunities were. [Then] it was really very easy for me to get into banking here in Geneva.”

O’Sullivan attributes another factor to his success. He argues that the country’s American-style, easy-hire-easy-fire culture means that Swiss-based employers are more prepared to take risks on someone without a banking background, like him, than they would be under the less flexible regime of an EU country, where employers use experience to avoid the costs of making expensive hiring mistakes.

“There is certainly more employee turnover here,” confirms Oliver Ernst, a Swiss national who did his MBA at the Business School Lausanne, and who now works at Lloyds TSB International Private Banking. “This helps us stay competitive. At 4.5 per cent, the unemployment rate is much lower than everywhere else I know. Employment opportunities are plentiful in the 

dynamic Swiss economy.” Since Ernst took part in this interview, unemployment has dropped yet further, to around 3.7 per cent (as of June 2010).

Other factors affecting the ability to get a job in Switzerland include a visa programme, which has recently become more flexible. Katty Ooms-Suter of the IMD reports that since January 2010, a new law has been in place, granting graduates of Swiss institutions a six-month visa extension in order to seek employment. This, she says, puts Switzerland above the UK as the easiest place for non-Europeans to find a job.

“Of course every country tends to become more nationalistic during times of economic crisis,” argues Dr. Straw, MBA director of University of St. Gallen, “yet Switzerland realises that without its dependency on highly trained expats, it is too small to be able to grow its economy. We do have a prioritisation issue with EU citizens, but we are not having any difficulty with placing non-EU candidates.”

One significant characteristic of the Swiss job-market worth noting is that multilingualism is the norm. It is taken for granted that candidates will be proficient in a number of European languages: so much so, there are anecdotal reports that the quality of an applicant’s accent can become a relevant factor.

The MBA experience

The opportunity to network doesn’t only affect job seekers. It is also changing the student experience – both educationally and socially.

“The quality of the guest speakers we can attract is amazing, simply because of all the multinational headquarters in the area,” says Dr. Katrin Muff, dean of the Business School Lausanne. “Students love this, of course, and appreciate both the networking opportunities and the practical knowledge and experience the guest speakers are able to bring in with them.”

“There is a strong international community here,” adds O’Sullivan, “and this is making it very easy to network because it is a small place. Bonds are created much more easily [in Geneva] than they would be in a big city with millions of people.

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