France/Switzerland

"How many times do you get to see one of the most advanced car manufacturing plants in action? Or watch a watchmaker making some of the world’s finest timepieces? Or hear how a global consumer products company enters developing markets? Or meet the Chairman of one of Europe’s largest retailers? The France Switzerland trip provided a unique opportunity to learn about corporate leaders across many industries. Each corporate visit with organizations such as Nestle, Procter & Gamble, Cartier, and L’Oreal offered glimpses of the company as well as presentation topics ranging from the stages of product development and manufacturing to the challenges of operating in a global environment."

-Liz Shupe, FT 2 year student

Chile

"The Chile experience was amazing on several fronts. First, from a cultural perspective, we had time to experience both Santiago and the major port town of Valparaiso. In addition, interacting with Chileans and integrating into the language was a terrific exposure to life in South America. Second, the classroom and learning opportunity was beyond expectations. Our speakers were part of the driving force behind the opening of the Chilean economy. Lastly, the opportunity to share the Chilean experience with classmates was my favorite part. We bonded over terrific food, nights out on the town, and through discussions of Chile that extended beyond the classroom. Overall, the experience was one which I will never forget and I could not give the trip a high enough recommendation."

-Michael Steiner, FT 2 year student

Spain

"As a One Year MBA Student, I went to the offshore elective in Spain last January because I wanted to learn more about the business environment in Europe and how Spanish companies compete globally. During almost two weeks we had the opportunity to learn not only about Spanish companies that are successfully competing overseas but also about American companies that compete in Spain, like HP or IBM.

Spanish companies have been quite successful abroad, especially in Latin America, where the investments in the banking and services industries have increased at a fast pace since the last decade, due to the liberalization of the different Latin American economies, deregulation and cultural links between Spain and Latin America.

The offshore elective was a great experience, not only from a business perspective but also from a cultural one. In fact, we had the opportunity to know about the country, its history and its heritage. We mingled with students from ESADE Business School (Babson’s partner school in Spain) and we learned a lot about the differences between the business culture in Europe and the U.S.

In sum, I think the course was definitely valuable. I would recommend it to any student that wants to have a more global perspective while pursuing his or her MBA at Babson."

-Claudio Stefanelli, One Year Student/UDD

India

"The India elective was a great learning experience. In fact, it was one of the best courses I took at Babson and I would highly recommend to Babson students who are interested in International Business. I would even suggest making the course part of the core curriculum, we live in a globalized world and Babson students needs an exposure to dynamics of international business. India IE gave me an opportunity to learn about people, culture, rich history, tradition, politics, economics, politics and most of diversity of India."

Satish Kumar. Evening Student.