Hello to all,

I am new to this forum and though I joined it just recently, I think it is a great source of info. I am applying for MBA programs in Germany and seeking some help and assistance from the experts here.

Before my inquiry, here is a brief about me:

- 29 years male from Middle East.
- First degree in Mechanical Engineering.
- Work experience: 4 years 10 months.
- Current work: related to marketing in an international firm.
- Medium GPA from not internationally known university.
- No GMAT score yet. (Test scheduled next week)
- Limited budget.

Tanking all the above into consideration, I am totally aware that my profile does not entitle me for the top B-schools. According to that I applied for some schools of which I can meet their requirements.
I have been admitted at these two schools:

- IMB Institute of Management Berlin at Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin (HWR).
- Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft (HTW) Berlin.

I know that both schools are accredited only by German bodies and they don't belong to the top tier in Germany (Mannheim, WHU, HHL, and EBS), but I am looking for some assistance in comparing theses schools in terms of recognition, future employment opportunities, and partner companies.

Kindly advise.
Thanks in advance to all
Rony

Do you specifically want to work in Berlin? Is your German good enough for work? If not, read more carefully the posts abou MBAs in Germany.

Hi Duncan,
I thank you for the reply. Well, there is no specific reason for choosing Berlin. My German is ok (B1 level) and should be improved significantly after living in Germany. After having my GMAT score, I am applying to Esslingen & Pforzheim as well.

I know that Hochschule Pforzheim would be the best among the above mentioned with AACSB Accreditations. HS Esslingen will follow.

I don?t know, I am even more confused. IMB (local FIBAA Accredited) looks good and they claim to be pioneers in providing MBA with 20 years experience. From the other hand, HTW (local ACQUIN Accredited) provides a combined program MBA& Engineering and they are supported by big German firms such as BASF & Daimler AG.

Certainly I am considering working in Germany (not in Berlin specifically) for a while after obtaining the MBA, and then I might move back to the Middle East or go to China!

I don?t know what will happen with Pforzheim & Esslingen, but if I had to choose between IMB & HTW what would be the choice? From your reply, I can feel that not going for an MBA at all would be better that going with one of these two schools.
If I wanted to put it backwards, what German schools do you recommend for my case?

While browsing this forum, I could see your reply to nearly every post. I do respect your advice and experience and I believe you?re enriching the content of this forum through your contribution.

Thanks & best regards,

yes, I think that in your position I would be looking either at strong MBAs, where the other students would be at a similar level to you, or at a well respected MSc in marketing (since that is your goal). At Esslingen & Pforzheim you would have a stronger cohort and there are solid work opportunities in those regions. Finding work is much harder in Berlin.

Since your budget is limited who not look at other options? The I would look at France, Austria, Netherlands and Copenhagen for MSc in marketing.

Hi Duncan,
I thank you for the feedback. My apologies for the delayed response.

Hi Duncan ,

I have got admission to HTW Berlin MBA&E program. But before joining , i want to be sure about the employment prospects & university status. Since you studied at the HTW , could you please help me with some info on university rank, how is the mba&e program .

I have 4 yrs work exp with Bosch India in Automotive Aftermarket

I studies at the HHL, not in Berlin. I assume that employment outcomes are similar for their MBA as for undergraduate programmes. Only an internationally accredited mBA wi produce a major uplift.

I see that HTW gets highly rated in the CHE ranking:
http://www.find-mba.com/board/27248/last/#last

Sir I have pursued B.tech in Electrical Engineering and want to go towards Engineering Management. I have selected few courses, want your help for the review
1) Master of Business Administration and Engineering- HTW Berlin
2 )Global Production Engineering- TU Berlin
3) International Industrial Management- Esslingen applied science
4) Project management- Dortmund applied science
5) International management global MBA- FH Koln.
I would be obliged if you can suggest any new course ..I have 2 year of work experience in engineering design and research centre in one of the most reputed companies of india...

The TU Berlin is the best of these. Focus on the traditional universities rather than the Fachhochschule/ applies science schools.

PS The Koeln dual degree MBA is a great programme, but it's not a route into engineering.

Sir,can you suggest other course as reputed as -global production engineering Tu Berlin,

I'm not an expert in engineering. Here's how to find it out:
- https://www.daad.de/en/ lists English language programmes in Germany
- You must understand the difference between a traditional university and a Fachhochschule (university of applied science). The traditional universities are better.
- The CHE rankings are very reliable http://ranking.zeit.de/che2012/en/

Hi Duncan,

I am new to this forum. I have received an offer letter from HTW Berlin for MBA&E for 2013 Fall. Also i have applied for MBA in IM in Phforziem and MBA in IBC in Offenburg. I guess i will receive the decision in first week of June. So i am really confused here as to which option i need to choose based on curriculum , job prospects and University Ranking. It would be helpful if you can give me some insight for the year 2013.

Use the CHE ranking. That's why I posted it. The 2013 ranking is now out: http://ranking.zeit.de/che2013/en/

Thanks for taking you time off to reply to my post.
I see that HTW Berlin is mentioned only in the below post which was posted. Basically i just wanted to know your insights among the three Universities which i had mentioned since I have not taken GMAT and have applied only for those three out of which i have already received ofer from HTW Berlin. My TOEFL score is 101/120 and GRE is 296/340. And HTW Berlin is just ACQUIN accredited which I think is just at National Level.


You can also see the individual elements in the study. The top schools for "Employability rating for Masters" are:

HTW Berlin 31,1 / 45
HS Biberach 33,6 / 45
HS Bochum 33,5 / 45
HS Bremen 31,7 / 45
ISM Dortmund (priv.) 34,4 / 45
HS Harz/Wernigerode 30 / 45
FH Jena 31 / 45
FH Ludwigshafen 34,7 / 45
FH Mainz 35,3 / 45
HS Osnabrück 31,5 / 45
HS Reutlingen 33,1 / 45
HS RheinMain/Wiesbaden 31,7 / 45

These schools are already discussed on this discussion board, and I really have nothing much to add to the voluminous discussion you can search through. Provided you have fluent professional German, these are good programmes by Fachhochschulen standards. Pforzheim is clearly a very strong MBA with international quality (much like Esslingen and Reutlingen) and Offenburg is not so strong: more at the level of an MSc from a university. HTW Berlin is a rather different programme, since there are very few Germans on that programme. If your plan is to return home, then it's almost as good as those other two.

Sir, You told if we have plan to return home, then HTW is as good as pforzheim and offenburg. But the employ ability rating shows 31/45 for the HTW berlin, sir if we have only option of HTW Berlin should we opt for it or not?
One more thing I wanted to ask.
Considering the course with a view point of being engineer, the course of MBA&E is step ahead as the course content includes subjects like information technology, system engineering etc. , while the pforzheim has course content very focused on globalization and business dynamics.

What is your suggestion on this point of view.?

If you only have one option, the HTW, then you should take another year to get more options. If you want to work in Germany, then it would be much better to attend a university or a prestigious private business school. During that year you could come to Germany to learn the language, or stay in your own country and prepare for the GMAT exam.

If you want to be an engineer, rather than a business manager, then take a degree in engineering rather than a degree in business.

If you just wanted to go to Germany for the educational experience and then return home, then you probably don't want to do a program like HTW, since it's mainly aimed at domestic students or students who want to work in Germany.

It's substantially better to do an internationally-accredited program. ESMT is in Berlin, why not go there?

HHL in Leipzig isn't that far away from Berlin either.

And also: MBAs are usually for people who want to leverage their past work experience into more managerial- and strategically-oriented roles. They're not really intended for people who want to stay in technical positions.

Duncan Sir, thank you for your reply.
I have financial constraint.that is why i am not applying in colleges like HHL, ESMT...
I have applied in
1)MBA&E HTW Berlin- Admit
2) Industrial management- HS Esslingen- result awaiting
3) IM- Hs Pforzheim- result awaiting

this all courses are having less fees. I am planning to work in germany after completion of my studies.
Sir can you suggest any other better option for low cost mangaement in Germany?