Business Networking with an Online MBA

This article is sponsored by European University.

Learn more about its MBA programs in Munich, Barcelona and Geneva.

Contrary to popular thinking, an online MBA program can give you access to a range of networking opportunities— provided you know where to look, and how to go about looking for the right people with whom to network.

Online MBA Programs with a Presence

Candidates who apply for online MBA courses may be anxious about how many opportunities they will get to meet their fellow classmates. The good news is that that this fear is largely unfounded. 

Sascha Liebhardt (pictured), dean of the European University in Munich says that online MBA programs vary in structure and the choice of a remote or a blended, hands-on course lies with the candidate. “Combination courses are a mixture of distance learning coupled with classroom learning. Various courses can be completed entirely online, while other courses must be taken in a campus-based classroom,” he says.

Many online MBA programs offer opportunities for candidates to get to know members of their class, either through seminars, workshops or short day-courses held over the course of their online MBA program.

Social Media Networking

Building your network of contacts through social media networking can allow candidates to connect with classmates without the necessity of meeting them in person.

Choosing an online MBA program doesn’t mean that there’s no room for candidates to get to know their fellow classmates. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter pages all abound with information about people’s interests and hobbies, and candidates who chose reputable online MBA programs can find ways in which their classmates’ online portfolios can help them up the professional ladder.

This is especially relevant for online MBA students because, as Liebhardt puts it, the chances that “someone is doing an online MBA and is working at the same time” are very high. This means there is nothing stopping your professional network from growing if you ask your classmates the right questions—and this can be done pretty well from a chat window or a Facebook message.

Add to this an alumni network that is equally accessible to online MBA students, and candidates have their pick of who they want to target with emails, Facebook messages and perhaps even Skype calls where they can discuss their professional requirements.

With more universities offering alumni mentorship programs and with alumni being located the world over, networking skills are more relevant than ever and social media networking skills even more so.

Business Networking Outside the Classroom

Liebhardt believes that despite the apprehensions candidates have about networking options in online MBA programs, choosing your B-school based on the possibility of joining a network seems rather outdated. “First of all, those people you’re studying with must graduate in order for them to be able to use the network and second of all, what about the existing networks, educational or professional, you have access to? How much are you making use of them? Well, if you are not, it is questionable that the MBA network will make the difference,” he says.

While networking within the classroom is important for any candidate, online MBA students can benefit equally from tapping their existing sources – those outside of the classroom. This is as important for candidates, perhaps even more so for those who have enrolled in online MBA programs since they have intermittent contact with the other members of their classroom.

Liebhardt adds that although online MBA programs are independent of location, they are nothing like the ‘eremite, entirely self-study based long distance learning of the analog world of the past.’

“Online education and especially online MBA programs, deliver a broad and interactive learning experience that can be considered a viable alternative to location based traditional education.”

This article is sponsored by European University.

Learn more about its MBA programs in Munich, Barcelona and Geneva.