Francisco Veloso speaking at the Americas Conference in San Francisco on November 10. Courtesy photo
Poets&Quants: INSEAD’s last MBA class was only 38% women. Is it a priority to increase the number of women? And do you think that it’s on the horizon? And could your commitment to sustainability help make that happen, by appealing to more women applicants?
Francisco Veloso: It is absolutely an important priority for the school. We feel that of course, in society, women are 50% and therefore that should be what we want to aspire to. And so it is quite important that we continue to do that and to create the conditions for outstanding women to come and join our MBA and to be part of that journey. If they feel that our commitment to sustainability is going to help on that, then of course we would be doubly happy because we are very committed to this evolution. And we’re also very committed to have an even more balanced class in terms of gender. So if we can put the two together, it’s going to be even better.
At INSEAD, we are solving a very multidimensional problem because of our commitment is to have diversity in all its dimensions, and the international dimension is a very important part. And in that sense, I think we play with a different setting than the U.S. schools that typically have a different demographic profile in terms of diversity. I was reading actually recently the work that the Poets&Quants published about the international presence in the U.S. schools. And through that it was very clear that they approached the demographics by and large in quite a different way than we do. And so in that sense, it is trying to find the balance in all its dimensions of the diversity of the class. But certainly, gender is something that we’ve been on a journey and that we will continue to definitely press forward.
Have you had an opportunity to meet the MBAs in the new class yet? What are they like? How’s the new class?
Yes, they’re excited. It is always very exciting and very rewarding to talk to them and to precisely see the nature of the diversity. I mean, I was talking with one of these students, he’s originally from Belgium, had worked in several European countries, but then moved to China and had been working in China for about three or four years before he applied to the MBA; he started in the Singapore cohort and is planning to be somewhere else in Asia in a different country. And this woman from Latin America who was a government official and benefiting from a full scholarship, decided to come to INSEAD because she felt that our commitment to the global dimension, to sustainability, really made it very appealing to her, and she got a generous scholarship because of the fact that she had been a public official, so did not have the resources to come, and how much she’s committed to then go back and make a difference in her country.
And so this combination of these elements that come through the amazing diversity of our community is very rewarding. And you feel that precisely when you meet the students and just ask them, “Tell me your story. What do you want to do after you graduate, empowered with the skills and capabilities that INSEAD gives and the whole transformational journey that we prepare for the students?” And it is very rewarding. And I think they reflect the current society in terms of the aspirations and the change that they want to drive.
At the same time, you also hear from time to time a little bit of apprehension because the market is more complicated, with the wave of layoffs in the tech sector, some markets being of course very much in a much slower pace because of high interest rates and all that. So you also feel that apprehension through the students, and especially in the context of INSEAD. They’re immediately in the job market almost. So you also feel that. Which is normal, it’s part of their journey. And so I think you feel the whole thing by talking to them, which is part of the value of learning.
Every year we ask deans and others at the top schools to look into their crystal ball and predict what 2024 will have in store for graduate business education or for your particular school. What are some of the things that you think will come to fruition in 2024?
So I think two or three aspects related to that. One is, in my view, an emerging reflection about what all of these AI developments means for business education. I think, of course, it will take time to have a complete understanding of that. It’s not going to be in the first year. But this is something that gained a different visibility over the last six, seven months of this year. And so it takes time for all of us as institutions to really reflect on that. And I think the next year is going to be quite an important year in that regard to really think about, “Okay, what does that mean for us? What are going to be the strategic initiatives that we’re going to put in place to leverage these in one way or another?” So I think that that’s going to be an important part of this coming year.
Probably an important year for sustainability as well.
Yes, I was going to get there. For us in particular, because it’s the first year that we’re going to have this curriculum, it’s going to be very, very important because, of course, it’s a very significant commitment and a very significant investment. And so we’re going to be following this with particular attention. But it’s not just about us, it’s about COP, it’s about all the things that are happening around. And therefore, in general, it’s going to be another year where there are going to be important developments in general in business education, and I think in particular for us.
It’s also going to be a year where there’s going to be a lot of reflection about how all the changes in political landscapes around the world are going to impact some of the dynamics, because in 2024 we have U.S. elections, UK elections, and so potentially changes. I mean also, it’s not so much elections but changes in the leadership in Singapore, a variety of important changes around the world. And of course, we train people for business, but business operates in this broader environment. And so what’s going to happen around the world in all these constituencies is going to have an impact because it may affect student visas, it may impact job market prospects.
And then of course, the movement on inflation as well. I mean, are we going to continue with high interest rates, which slows down, in very important ways, the financial sector, creates a variety of extra challenges to that sector? Is that going to be going back to lower levels at a faster pace? And then what is the impact that it has on the job market? But that’s the interesting thing about the cycles of the MBA, which is, a slow market typically means that there’s more people thinking that’s a good idea to enter an MBA. But then the counter is a little bit of an extra challenge on the placement side.
So those are, I think, some of the developments that I see going. I think the other aspect that’s going to be interesting to follow in general — though of course, as always, this is mediated a little bit by the economic cycle — is the continuing evolution in terms of the interest in the MBA as a class, right? Because we’ve been seeing some signs of pressure over the last few years. That got muddled with Covid, that got muddled with some of the big shocks that we’ve been having in the system: war, inflation, and all that. So some of that hopefully dissipates — or maybe not. But we will be trying to understand what that means for that market into the current and future environments.
How do you feel about the strength of the MBA as a degree?
I think the MBA is and will continue to be an amazing transformational journey, especially in places like INSEAD. I don’t think that that’s going to change. I understand that a variety of people now are looking at perhaps different journeys that they go through, which may have meant that there’s been some softness in some of the MBA market. The question is, where’s that going to land? But I think that the attractiveness of the offering that we have has not changed, and will not change. In fact, I think in this, especially for the case of INSEAD, I think in this more, let’s put it this way, fractured world that we are seeing emerge — unfortunately, in my view — I think that the global nature of our school and the experiences that it provides and the notion of bringing people, cultures, and ideas together in a safe learning space, that they can learn from each other, that they can experiment in terms of entrepreneurial spirit and an innovation spirit — that’s very much part of the essence of our MBA, and it is as contemporary as ever.
And so I feel that that will continue to be quite meaningful and that we’ll continue to have a lot of interest in our transformational journey. And now at the same time, we’ll need to keep innovating just as we did with sustainability. Now we have to reflect on what some other changes like the digital AI means for us, and continue to push that forward. And that’s both, I would say, the joy and the pressure of these dynamic markets.
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