MISB Bocconi Aims to Dispel Outdated Thinking

SDA Bocconi’s presence in India, MISB Bocconi, has launched an MBA scholarship aimed at attracting high potential female students to study at the school. It also aims to break gender stereotypes associated with the reasons why women in India might want to pursue an MBA qualification.

MISB Bocconi’s Women In Leadership Scholarship is for the Mumbai-based school’s 22-month PGPB program (an MBA-level program in India for those with up to five years’ prior work experience) and each will be worth two lakhs (200,000 INR/rupees or c.US$3,000). Total fees for the program, which includes a four-month semester spent at SDA Bocconi’s main campus in Milan, currently stand at around 20 lakhs (c. US$30,000). As well as fulfilling MISB Bocconi’s usual admissions requirements, the school is looking for candidates who can demonstrate leadership skills in one or more of the following areas: Academic leadership; team leadership; community leadership; creative leadership.

MBA scholarship initiative to offer a platform for female leaders 

“Today, a lot of women leaders in India have made a mark for themselves. However, there is a lot more to be done to develop the next generation of women leaders. The female workforce is still facing gender disparity in terms of opportunities available to them,” said MISB Bocconi’s managing director, Alessandro Giuliani, adding that the aim of its MBA scholarship initiative is to provide female students with a platform from which they can help narrow the country’s gender gap.

Alongside the launch of the new MBA scholarship, MISB Bocconi has created a video designed to end misguided preconceptions about why a woman in India might wish to pursue an MBA. After decrying some of these ‘presumed’ reasons, students at the school then list their actual reasons for taking the degree and - surprise, surprise – these are much the same as they are for men. For example, there are female students looking to advance a career in consulting to a more senior level, start a new business or build a career that shows a strong commitment to social and/or environmental concerns. Check out the video in full below!