‘Why it can pay to study abroad’ by Philip Delves Broughton, Management Today, June 2010

I chose this article because I much enjoyed the author’s book on his year at Harvard, which did not do too much for the image of Harvard or his fellow participants. The article was interesting but also disappointing, perhaps because of Management Today’s reluctance to give more than two pages to such an important topic.

The article starts with some surprising statistics; that 35% of Harvard students are from outside the USA and that most top business schools are trying to increase the proportion of overseas students. It then moves on to show the contrasting experiences of the non-USA students who attended Harvard – it was either ‘rave or despair’. For those in the rave category it was life-changing, developing language skills and sharing experiences that would never have been possible from a school in their own country. And the cachet of it being a school with Harvard’s reputation increased their status substantially.

The despair was from those who returned to find that the networks they had developed were of no use to them at home and they became estranged from local business contacts. I would like Broughton to have developed this point further with some analysis of why these contrasts were so marked. Was it to do with the country, the calibre of participants or their career ambitions?

The author rightly points out that the key factor is the perspective of employers. The fact that you have attended an overseas school will impress those looking for broader horizons and provide some evidence that the candidate is prepared to understand other cultures and work abroad. One powerful example is quoted, a USA student who studied at a UK school and found his experience of the NHS invaluable when later working within and providing challenges to the USA healthcare system.

Overall, an article that does no more than whet the appetite for the issue to be developed further. I hope he writes a second book on his post-MBA career.

To read this article go to:
http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/search/article/1004504/mba-business-education-guide-why-pay-study-abroad/