Recent studies have shown that an increasing number of European senior executives are opting to take time to sharpen the saw via executive education; their primary motive being the expeditious ability to guarantee themselves better positions in a growingly competitive business world, and to a certain extent, as a way of shaping the downturn into an opportunity to seek new leadership skills, refresh their strategic vision, and to acquire new frameworks that can be applied to their business today.

The last few months have undoubtedly been a difficult time for many people as the economic downturn takes a firm hold.  However, it’s important to remember that there are constructive lessons to be learned as the hard times descend. When the good times roll, there’s little point in contemplating change - as the old maxim says ‘if ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.  But once the chips are down – as they are now, in spades - the motive is there for people to get creative, be proactive, and think long-term. 

The current wave of dramatic changes is driving many people to plan for the future and take direct action to improve their surroundings.  Perhaps this is best evidenced by the number of business professionals who’ve been exploring their options, namely applying to study for MBA degrees.

IE Business School shapes leaders that promote innovation and change in organisations, equipping directors with an entrepreneurial mindset that generates employment, wealth and social well-being. Founded in 1973, the school has undergone a rapid process of growth and internationalisation and is now recognised as one of the world's leading business schools. The School has an urban campus in Madrid and a faculty of more than 300 professors, 100 of them full-time, who teach students from 83 countries on its master, PhD and executive education programs. IE students use innovative online and presential learning formats, including the IE Communities platform where they exchange knowledge and experiences with 37,000 IE graduates that currently hold management positions in over 100 countries.  IE Business School is regularly ranked among the top 20 business schools by media like BusinessWeek, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Economist, who consider IE's flagship International MBA and Executive MBA programs as among the best in the world.

For those who are still employed but who may be facing an uncertain future, taking the MBA part-time or by distance learning also makes sense as insurance against what might be ahead.

In the context of a global economic downturn, job cuts and higher prices, the recent increase in applications for MBA programmes throughout the world might seem surprising. MBA study is not cheap and everyone knows that, when times are hard, it is often the company training budget that gets cut.  But, despite the current climate, interest in the MBA is booming. The Association of MBAs’ Autumn Accredited MBA Fair, held in London in October last year, was visited by more people than we have seen for the last three years, and many business schools are reporting an increase in the take up of their MBA programmes this year. This reaction to the recession is not unusual, a similar pattern emerged during the last downturn in the UK in 2001-2.