Getting Your MBA in London: A Case for the Capital

Simon Stockley, programme director of the Imperial MBA explains why London is the premier choice for post graduate business study.

For anyone seriously considering a future in business, London is the only choice. There's abundance of tempting marketing copy and stylish photos on the websites and brochures promoting London's academic institutions.  Whilst these things are interesting, what's more relevant to potential students - and presently, employers - are the benefits and impact studying in London can have on a future career. 

A capital is a country's most important city.  Perhaps that explains why so many associate London with success.  A capital city represents a nation's greatest concentration of wealth, ideas, people, knowledge and cultural resources.  It is also typically a place that has the greatest connectivity with the rest of the country and other cities around the world.

As the business capital of Europe, London stands at the confluence of many great streams:  international finance, political influence, creative industries and the arts.  Each of these streams creates and enriches a multiplicity of opportunities.

The financial district of London (formerly the "square mile" though now covering a larger area) controls, interacts and responds to the international markets in Asia, the North America and Europe. 

Because it is able to operate in each of these markets, London's geographical position gives it a distinct global advantage and role. It also has many years' collective experience and expertise that informs the many decisions and deals made and brokered each day. 

By studying in London, close proximity to this great centre of finance translates into opportunities for students.  There's no better place to develop professional relationships, research networks and naturally, employment in the financial sector. 

One of the spill-over effects of being on the City's doorstep is that there is, for more entrepreneurial students, a concentration of funding and guidance for anyone with a viable new business or service idea. Of course developing an entrepreneurial opportunity is about so much more than simply finding funding. Innovators and entrepreneurs increasingly need to collaborate with third parties and experts in other, sometimes unrelated fields, in order to progress and develop in the most effective way.

London offers not only resources, but also the vital skills to do this. Living, moving and working in London requires one to negotiate and coordinate with a range of people from a great number of backgrounds. In fact there are over 300 languages spoken in London, making it one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world.  History, sociology and political studies show us that when people and ideas blend, great things have a tendency to occur. Business studies show us that when these same conditions exist, great opportunities for creating value emerge and businesses prosper - for those on the ground at the right time with the perception and skills to understand the opening in the market.

Being immersed in this culture and understanding how to collaborate with others is what gives a London student a real advantage. There's no need to arrive, become acclimatised and then find a business idea or job opportunity if you're already living in the city. It's a subtle difference but one that has significant consequences for those who aim to get ahead early in their career.

Jumping back to the second element of collaboration, namely the ability to interact with people from a range of disciplines, again London offers a lot. In South Kensington alone there's Imperial College, a world-class University doing pioneering work in engineering, medicine and the natural sciences, located next to the Royal College of Arts, the premier post-graduate art and design institution in London.  These are side by side with the Royal College of Music, Royal Albert Hall, Victoria and Albert Museum, Natural History Museum and Science Museum.

In just one area of London you have a concentration of ideas and expertise that rivals almost any other part of the world. Never mind Silicon Valley, Exhibition Road has been turning innovation into business for over 100 years and continues to do so today.
In fact, Imperial College has produced more successful spin-out companies than any other in Europe.  It shows the world how to take ideas from a wide range of research fields and create businesses.

Building on this tradition is Design London. This is a collaborative programme which brings Imperial College's MBA students together with the best engineers from Imperial's Faculty of Engineering and designers from the Royal College of Art. It is developing new businesses in its Incubator, helping companies develop new products and services using its rapid prototyping and simulation equipment and carrying out research on how to maximise effective collaboration between the fields of design, business and engineering.

You simply have to be in London to even attempt a project of this scale.  Why?  Because, like commerce itself, to find the leaders in each of these fields, you have to be in London.

So, where will you be next year?