CITY College, Thessaloniki, Greece

Age: 22

History: City College was founded in Thessalonki in 1989 by the Strategakis Organisation. In 1993 CITY signed an official agreement with the University of Sheffield and assumed responsibility for running a series of undergraduate courses in Thessalonki. In 1997 it became one of Sheffield’s affiliated colleges. Since June 2009 City College became International Faculty of the University of Sheffield.

Address: Stein Site, Kalapothaki St, Thessalonkiki

Ambience: Located in the historical centre of the city, while the Centre for Executive Education which runs the Executive MBA program is based in the historic Stein building which dates back to 1906.

Vital statistics: The college has three departments: business, administration and economics: computer science; and psychology, and two centres. The first is the Executive Education Centre (EXED) runs the Executive MBA programme. It’s international, attracting managers from 13 different countries within Europe, and currently has 340 managers on its books. Every year around 150 managers are admitted to the programme in the three cities in which it is offered (Thessaloniki, Belgrade and Bucharest.) More than 50 lectures from Greece, the UK, USA and Canada teach on the MBA programme. The second centre is SEERC – South East European Research Centre.

Added Value: Particular focus on strategy entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership. The MBA programme was accredited by AMBA in 2008, and is also recognised by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). Students completing the Executive MBA also meet the requirements of the CMI’s executive diploma in strategic management and gain an NQF level seven diploma, allowing them to proceed towards chartered manager status. Students have two study weeks abroad during their studies, one at Sheffield UK and another one at Thessaloniki Greece.

Easy to get into? Access to the MBA programme requires a good undergraduate degree and at least three (or preferably five) years’ experience. The current average work experience of students is nine years. Candidates whose first language is not English need a minimum IELTS score of 6.5.

Glittering Alumni: Vladimir Pesevski, Vice Prime Minister, FYR Macedonia; Vladimir Afenliev, Country Manager, Abbott Laoratories, Bulgaria; Yuriy Stanchev, Managing Director, Eurobank, Bulgaria.

Gurus: Professor Chris Brewster, human resource management and leadership.

International connections: Good links with senior scholars at institutions all over South East Europe, the UK and further a field.

Teaching: The college focuses on case driven research and teaching, so only the most up to date information is presented in class. Within each four-person teaching team, at least one member will be actively involved in research.

Student profile: The average age of MBA student is 33, and around 40 per cent are female.

Cost: The Executive MBA is around €14500. The full-time MSc is €10,290. Part-time MSc or MBA is €1,1750.

Return on investment: A recent survey showed that students who graduated from the Executive MBA gained a 93 per cent salary increase three to five years after leaving.

Who’s the boss? Executive MBA programme director is Dr Leslie Szamosi, George Efstathiadis is director of the centre for executive education.

Prospectus: +30 2310 224026; www.city.academic.gr; acareg@city.academic.gr