The A-Z of Business Schools: NIMBAS Graduate School of Management at Utrecht

Age: 10

History: Originally the Netherlands Institute for MBA Studies, it was created to emphasise its international bent. From day one it entered into a remarkable alliance with Bradford University's management centre, offering the Bradford MBA in various formats in Holland and Germany.

Address: Utrecht, in the middle of Holland. Two additional institutes offering part-time courses are located in Bonn and Mainz in Germany.

Ambience: Housed in an elegant 18th century building in a university town, the Cambridge of the Netherlands (though you skate rather than punt on the canals). No campus - as is the case with most Dutch institutes - but students are free to use the library and sports facilities at the University of Utrecht. Accommodation is difficult to come by but NIMBAS has some study-bedrooms in the suburb of Bilthoven and IJsselstein.

Vital Statistics: The special relationship with Bradford defines the place. Staff fly in daily from Britain - one-half from Bradford, others from Warwick, Cambridge and City University business school. (Some also fly in from the USA and Canada). It has grown fast.You can choose between a one year full-time programme or a two-year, part-time MBA. Or there is a modular Executive programme involving seven, nine-day sessions, two in the Netherlands, two in the UK, two in Germany, and one in France. All courses are taught in English. All lead to the Bradford MBA, validated by that university.

Added value: Strong international flavour, enhanced by the chance to spend time abroad. The school also offers specialised MBAs in environmental management, international marketing management and financial management, which involve adding extra courses to the basic MBA.

Easy to get into? Good degree, excellent English, three years work experience (but no minimum requirement), plus own entrance exam or high GMAT and TOEFL scores.

Association of MBA's accreditation: Yes.

Glittering alumni: Dr Robert Latenstein van Voorst, controlling director, SNS Reaal Group; Willem Pijper, vice president, Hermans Group; Mr Maarten van Gool, treasurer, Hewlett-Packard, Europe; Mr Oktay Erciyaz, head, international finance and accounting, Preussag-Noell GmbH.

International connections: With York University in Ontario; Canegie-Mellon in the USA; University of Bradford management centre; University College Dublin.

Gurus: Prof. John Chong Juchoi, expert in product innovation director designate of the MBA at Cambridge; Stuart Sanderson, strategy expert from Bradford; Richard Welford, expert in environmental management from Huddersfield University.

Student profile: Average age on full-time MBA is 29; on part-time 34; on Executive 38. Overwhelmingly male - only 20 to 30 per cent are women.

Cost: Next year's fees are pounds 12,500 for the one year programme; pounds 8,000 a year for the two-year part-time programme; pounds 10,300 a year for the two- year Executive.

Return on investment: It gives you an edge in the global executive market and an international Rolodex.

Who's the boss? Former geographer Dr Josephine B.P.M. Borchert-Ansinger who created the school and came into the MBA world via economic geography.