Cyprus International Institute of Management (CIIM)

Age: 21

History: Founded in 1990 by a group of visionary business leaders, under the leadership of The Cyprus Development Bank.

Address: In Aglandjia, in the business sector of Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus.

Ambience: CIIM employs a flexible modular system, which enables students to take courses in the daytime or in the evenings and weekends.

Vital statistics: The CIIM MBA and the Masters in public sector management are recognised and fully accredited by the Cyprus Ministry of Education as well as by AMBA and EPAS. Around 200 MBA and MPSM students are admitted each year, while 120 students take Masters of Science courses in education leadership and management, shipping management, human resource management, marketing management, and finance and banking.

Added value: The modular system pioneered by CIIM enables students to put classroom concepts and theories into practice, using team exercises, role plays, case studies, simulation games and "live" projects. Classroom instruction is directly applied to realistic business situations.

Easy to get into? Applicants must have an undergraduate degree or equivalent professional qualification, good knowledge of English and a minimum three years' work experience. Students with GMAT scores above 760 qualify to apply for a full tuition scholarship.

International connections: CIIM has long-lasting associations with more than 50 academics from business schools around the world. Students have the opportunity to study in partner institutions through exchange programmes, or an internship with one of the Institute's partner companies. Around 30 nationalities are represented each year.

Glittering alumni: Themis Themistocleous, European Commission representative of the Republic of Cyprus; and John Spronk, CFO, Circle Energy Inc, Calgary, Canada.

Gurus: Professors Costas Markides, one of the top strategy gurus in the world; George Costantinides, ex-president of the American Finance Association and a world authority on financial asset pricing.

Student profile: The average age of full-time MBA students is 27, part-time 31. The male to female ratio is equal on the full-time course and 3:2 on the part-time courses.

Cost: Both the full-time and part-time MBA is €15,000. The MSc Educational Leadership & Management is €8,600.

Return on investment: The total cost of the course is recovered, on average, in three to four years.

Who's the boss? Dr Theodore Panayotou has been director of CIIM since 2000.

Prospectus: +35 722 462 246; www.ciim.ac.cy; mba@ciim.ac.cy