Entrepreneurship at the executive education level is alive and well at Hult

Experience during the program

Hult’s Executive MBA Class of 2014, which was based in London, produced a number of entrepreneurs. And even though I was among them, I was surprised—as business school graduates (especially executive education students) have traditionally focused on big, corporate jobs

Entrepreneurship has only recently become a popular area of focus for business schools, according to Forbes contributor Nathan Furr, who wrote: “Entrepreneurship wasn’t a serious topic in mainstream economics and sociology until the last few years.” Its emergence as a prominent topic within business schools has been due to innovations in technology, which in turn has renewed a thirst for it. Hult even offers a Master of Social Entrepreneurship.

I was curious about the synergies that my fellow entrepreneurs shared, so I performed an analysis of those who made the leap. The two most common traits I found were creativity and the ability to generate ideas. As I got to know my fellow entrepreneurs during our two years of study, it became apparent that they were all extremely creative, full of ideas—and knew how to create solutions for the business problems they wanted to solve.

One of Hult’s unique strengths is the ability to attract a diverse group of students, from culture to industry experience. This is the reason why alumni startups represent such a wide mix of traditional and emerging industries.

What all of us took from Hult was the confidence to apply broad business acumen to entrepreneurship and business execution, as well as a strong, supportive and diverse alumni network. Our mindsets clearly changed during the business school journey. A number of us transformed ourselves from intrapreneurs within organizations to entrepreneurs, bringing our passions to life with a firm belief and determination that we will succeed.

About professors, classes and curriculum

On the whole, our Professors were excellent, and - as they were largely still in the business world - they were able to blend real world business examples & experience with the academic approach you would expect from a University.

There were two or three Professors who did not meet the desired level of executive education, often not appreciating the wealth of business experience in the classroom, but the business school quickly took feedback on board and looked to make improvements in faculty.

The curriculum was flexible and diverse, allowing students to take two electives during the summer period, during which time we could 'rotate' to a different campus, selecting from 1 of 6 alternative international destinations. This was a major attraction to many students and an opportunity to experience education in an entirely different culture & setting. As alumni, we can also benefit from attending one elective per year for life with a small fee.

About job placement process

Prior to starting my own business, I was leaning a little on the career team to assist me but I strongly believe this is an area of the school that requires improvement as I found follow up was slow and I didn't see much benefit. This was during my final year in 2014, so things may have changed.

Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
Schools contribution (2.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)

Strengths of the program:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Student body, diversity
Location

Best fit at this program:

I wouldn't pigeion hole as there's a dverse range

Can be improved:

Alumni Network