Hi,
where are you from? do you know Italian?

<blockquote>Hi,
where are you from? do you know Italian?</blockquote>

I am from Iran originally, yes I know some and It will improve during my stay there

In my opinion, if you want to stay and work in Italy, the SDA Bocconi is your best choice. It has a great program and superb networking all over Italy.

You can also check the MIP.

<blockquote>In my opinion, if you want to stay and work in Italy, the SDA Bocconi is your best choice. It has a great program and superb networking all over Italy.

You can also check the MIP.</blockquote>

thanx a lot but some people have doubts about SDA, they say it is not accepted as a master degree in Italy according to the law. have you heard that?

Hi,

I cannot fully answer to this since I am not Italian or familiarized with Italian national accreditation system nor a specialist in other master degrees but in terms of MBAs, I have done some research by my own when looking for my MBA and I can share some thoughts.

So, as I've seen from your original post, you are definitely interested in doing an MBA and you want to work and live in Italy, right?

In terms of MBAs, there are three important (that counts) accreditation bodies in the world: AACSB (USA), EQUIS (European) and AMBA (UK). There are many debates about which one is the most important but this is not the scope of this post.

the idea is that if you have at least one, you can claim you are an accredited scool (or program in case of AMBA).

Now, looking at SDA, it has all the 3 so, from this point of view, your MBA will be recognized all over the world.

Having a quick look at SDA's web page, I've noticed the accreditation page (below)

http://www.sdabocconi.it/en/about/quality-accreditation-and-benchmarking

As long as its director's email address is available, I suppose you have a big chance of getting a feedback if you express your worries about their accreditation. Check also the new Italian degrees (prior and after Bologna declaration) .

http://www.study-in-italy.it/study/new-degrees.html

Moreover, as a guaranty of their quality, if you check their exchange program, you can see prestigious universities / business schools like LBS, UCLA, HEC Paris, Tuck and Wharton just to name few of them which considered SDA (which is the business school tied to Bocconi University). Note that these schools are quite selective when choosing their partners for MBA education. Please find the entire list below:

http://www.sdabocconi.it/en/mba-executive-mba/full-time-mba/program/international-exchange-program#content

On the other hand, if you look at the rankings (for me the FT and Forbes are the most relevant), you can see that the SDA is the only Italian school ranked in Top100. The one from "The Economist" is also useful to collect important information about the program.

http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-ranking-2013

http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/sda-bocconi/global-mba-ranking-2013#profile

http://www.economist.com/whichmba/sda-bocconi-school-management/2012

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eidm45edgd/4-sda-bocconi/

Finally, if you have an MBA from SDA, you don't have to be worry about what some people say because the prestige and value of the MBA can open some important doors for you in Italy and this is what it counts. The right people are aware of what a MBA from SDA mean, you can bet on it.

Personally, if I would have the same goals as you, I will seriously consider SDA, even compared to other top business schools of the world.

Regards,

There is a lot of discussion on this board about Italy. I suggest you search the board and read through it.

In a nutshell, if you don't already speak good Italian I cannot imagine why SDA Bocconi's full-time MBA is the right choice for you.

PS The idea that SDA degrees are not accepted is crazy. There is an archane discussion about Italy's different forms of masters degrees. The Bocconi name is immensely impressive. If you need to study in Italy, then SDA is the most powerful choice. However, you must not under-estimate the difficulties. Italy is a struggling economy beset with nationalism and xenophobia. If you can possibly choose a country that is more open to foreign talent and with a stronger economy, then go there. But if Italy is your only choice then first take a year to perfect your Italian before you take your masters.

Thank you very much for all the good info, I really appreciate the time you spent to answer my questions, what a relief! although I have read the SDA site thoroughly and I almost knew some of the facts you mentioned but some posts here in this site regarding SDA, worried me a bit. by the way I will continue searching and I will post any new findings here.

Thank you Duncan
Are you sure about xenophobia? I haven't heard that before about Italians!! so I must take this point into account. I can choose other countries but I don't know which one! do you have any suggestions? which countries are more open to foreign talent in your idea?
I like Spain as well but they are confronting serious problems now and the economic condition is risky,what do you think?
regarding languages, I enjoy trying new languages and I don't think it will trouble me.

Well, I'll leave it to Google to update you on Racism in Italy. If you are white and speak fluent Italian then you would simply face the same issues as a Spaniard who had moved to another province.

Countries with high economic growth are the most attractive. How about Asia?

like which ones?
no I am not interested in living in Asia. I have tried it before

Why not ask directly to Iranian students living in Italy? You will find a lot (I read an interesting report some months ago and quite surprised by the number of them studying in Venice and Milan)

For example, you can start from here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Polimi-University-Iranian-Students-Association/226214304076132

Italy is the first Iran-EU commercial partner.. if you learn Italian you might have a chance :-)

My feeling is that if you're in Milan, you may encounter xenophobia but I doubt it will substantially affect your day-to-day life while you're in b-school.

It may manifest itself if you're looking for work and don't have good command of Italian.

I'd encourage you to do the research and take maubia's advice about reaching out to international students, and better yet, reaching out to international alumni who are currently of the SDA program who are currently living and working in Italy. They'll probably have valuable insight.