Thanx Duncan , Maubia & Ezra ,

I am planning to apply to Offenburg & HHL , Berlin School of Economics & Law Full Time MBA.

Can you pls advise how is the job opportunity from these schools post MBA provided I achieve good German language skill.

Is there any Loan facility for Non EU candidates at these schools.

Arit

I am pretty sure you can find answers to this from the schools and by reading through this discussion board. When you've done some research, come back with some more specific questions.

HHL has great outcomes. Offenburg looks okay. BSEL seems very weak.

Can someone tell me about the full time MBA program at GISMA. What are the job opportunities for non-German speaking students??
Also what kind of reputation does GISMA have in Germany?
Can someone can tell about the current reputation of GISMA after the management and campus change?

I visited GISMA before the move. The programme and the students really impressed me. The content is great, and really well taught. The Purdue MBA is a very solid, and it's half price there.
When I last saw stats, the average salary from there was 64k EUR, so mid-way between the top tier (WHU, HHL, Mannheim) and other accredited programmes like Pforzheim and Esslingen. It's a small school, and that's its major weakness.
Looking on LinkedIn, it seems that 40% of the alumni are in Germany but many of them are not Germans. Xing would be a better guide, of course, for Germany.
The good thing about the campus change is that GISMA has survived. Originally it was a ten year project initiative by Gerhard Schroeder, and the fact that Purdue has continued to be involved and that it at last has a home in a larger organisation is good news.

PS I think the later closure and reopening of GISMA clearly changes things. Search the board for other discussions on GISMA.

Thanks Duncan for views about GISMA.

Hi Pritam!
I am in a similar state of mind at the moment, I have been considering Germany due to its stable economy and really affordable courses at the various HS. This thread has been really helpful! I am an Electrical Engineer with 2 years of experience in the Energy Conservation sector.
Which course are you pursuing from the States? Can you tell me about the fee structures and job opportunities?

Thanks & Regards,
Shubha

It would be great if someone from the current GISMA batch or an alumnus could shed some light on the situation (teaching quality? job prospects for non-EU participants?).

Yes, but Goethe doesn't offer an MBA program anymore, unfortunately.

Last I heard GISMA went bankrupt and then was bought by a for-profit institute in London. Given the changes, I'm not sure that an alumnus would be able to add any relevant insight on the current state of affairs at the school.

They recently rebooted the MBA as a joint offering with Maastricht School of Management. That offering just started in May, so any input from the current cohort about the degree would be too fresh, I would think.

Oh, that's bad news! I searched for more information on the web. According to the website of the insolvency administrator, GISMA was bought by a company called Global University Systems B.V., which also runs London School of Business and Finance:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rae-eckert.de%2Fde%2Finsolvenzverwaltung-3%2Faktuelles%2F563-pressemitteilung-neustart-fuer-die-gisma-business-school-global-university-sys-tems-b-v-amsterdam-uebernimmt-managementschmiede.html ("B.V." is obvously a Dutch company).

According to their website, GISMA now offers an AMBA acredited MBA awarded by Maastricht School of Management (MsM):

http://www.gisma.com/courses/mba/
Let's see what kind of reputation they can build up.

I'm not so sure whether LSBF is a prestigous business school as the new release of the insolvency administrator suggests.

There have been some negative reports about this school in the British press:
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/may/30/lecturers-claim-private-college-profits-first
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jul/08/foreign-students-high-court-complete-uk-courses

However, this doesn't mean that GISMA is affected by this.

I think these reports are relevant. GISMA won't have its own faculty, but will use teachers sourced by MSM and GUS. If those teachers are complaining about what happens now, then that is relevant.

It's probably a good idea to stay away from GISMA for the time being, given the chaos that's surrounded it recently. It's a good thing that there are so many other good options for MBA programs in Germany.

GISMA aside, how would you compare ESMT and Mannheim? Especially in terms of career opportunities for international students?

ESMT vs. Mannheim is a tough one. Both are ranked in the Financial Times. Mannheim probably has more post-MBA job opportunities, since that city has got stronger, more diverse industries than Berlin.

How is Germany job market for people from the software industry. I have an admit from ESMT, I'm looking to make a switch from hardcore software technical work to a more business related profile, something in IT pre-sales/Business Development or IT consulting. Would the MBA help me in making the transition or will I have to go back to the similar profile post mba? Would anyone please throw some light on it?

That sounds like a reasonable transition to make with an MBA. And ESMT seems like a good choice for this kind of career path, especially if you wanted to work in one of the larger tech companies. I know that ESMT grads have gone into Amazon, for instance, into operations roles, and into Nokia, into program management and business planning roles as well.

What about ESMT or Mannheim for jobs in logistics? I'm fluent in German but would be transitioning from sales.

MBA degree is commonly known as Management courses and a post graduate diploma in finance are often confused to be one and the same courses but they are almost completely different in their course curriculum, duration, teaching objectives and goals.I can share one link that very helps to you.

Definitely the IMB Berlin (Berlin School of Economics and Law), AMBA accreticated, one of the biggest business schools in Germany, decent reputation and very, very international.