Autorenprofil
In the early stages of my career, I was mainly looking at full-time MBA programmes, which are usually a better fit for less experienced candidates. However, I was quite happy with my job back then, and with the opportunities, it could bring, that the idea of interrupting my career for one or more years did not seem ideal to me. Therefore, I decided to put my MBA plans on hold for some time and focus on my job and personal development. I had the chance to live and work in different countries around the world and to experience various roles and projects mainly in the quality management field for medical devices. During that time, I was lucky enough to be involved in initiatives of strategic and operational relevance for the business which taught me a lot.
Eventually, when around two years ago I changed role within my company, Fresenius Medical Care, working on the integration of newly acquired organizations and departments into our Quality Management System, I realized that developing a more holistic and cross-functional view on the business could be of great benefit for me in my role and could open interesting opportunities for the future.
Thus, I started my MBA research again, getting advice from my supervisor, colleagues, current students and alumni, and being aware that now, thanks to the experience acquired, I could aim at more senior programmes too. I tried to identify and prioritize the most important aspects for me in an MBA, and I eventually narrowed them down to the top two: internationality and healthcare.
I was indeed interested in a truly global programme where multiculturalism and diversity are key elements. Also, as a biomedical engineer who always worked in the healthcare industry, and plans to keep doing so in future too, I thought that attending an MBA where the typical curriculum in general management is tailored to the specificities of the healthcare world would be a great added value. Additionally, I was looking for a part-time programme which could be managed in parallel with my job.
Once identified these requirements, finding the most fitting solution became quite straightforward. There is indeed a relatively limited number of MBAs out there which mix these elements together. So, after carefully assessing the available options, my choice naturally fell on the MBA in International Healthcare Management at FS and, so far, I am very happy with my decision.
The MBA contains indeed all the ingredients I was looking for: an innovative curriculum in general management focused on healthcare, a global structure over several locations worldwide, as well as international and diverse faculty and student body made of highly experienced leaders and professionals in the healthcare sector. To give an idea of the degree of internationality of the programme, in my intake, one in two students has a different nationality and I am the only Italian.
The COVID-19 pandemic certainly had an impact on the global experience, but it ended up being a great learning opportunity at the same time. A global health crisis of such magnitude and its socioeconomic consequences create indeed interesting topics for discussion, especially in an international healthcare MBA. The hybrid approach was adopted in most of the modules so far, with some students participating on campus and others remotely due to the travel restrictions. Personally, I had the possibility to attend all hybrid classes on campus, as these were delivered in Frankfurt, where I live. Though the networking component is affected to a certain degree by this format, the learning experience is fully preserved. Furthermore, this method reflects the current (and potentially future) way of doing business in several companies.
In addition, a few weeks ago we have completed an interesting module on Quality, Process and Value Chain Management, and I am now looking forward to the last three sessions in London, Dubai and again Frankfurt, while preparing the MBA thesis!
Frankfurt School gGmbH
Adickesallee 32-34
60322 Frankfurt am Main
