IMD – International Institute for Management Development

Age: 65

History: IMD goes back over 60 years, if you date it from the founding of IMI Geneva in 1946. IMD and IMEDE merged in 1990 to form IMD.

Address: Lausanne, Switzerland.

Ambience: Fantastic setting on the banks of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, 45 minutes from Geneva. Lausanne is pretty quiet, which is what you'll need if you're going to put in the required hours. Good facilities: study rooms, a restaurant, learning centre, library and online computers, but no accommodation.

Vital statistics: The intensive MBA lasts one year, but this is only a small part of IMD's activities, since it specialises in short executive programmes. Quintessentially international and highly selective, there are only 90 places a year and people on the course are well looked after: there's someone to help you find accommodation, get a telephone and acquire entry visas.

Added value: For the past five years the emphasis has been on global leadership development: “group leadership experiences” abound. There's a regular expedition to explore and address local business issues and make a difference in an underprivileged country.

Easy to get into? You'll need a minimum of three years' work experience, and the equivalent of an undergraduate degree, as well as a good GMAT score.

Glittering alumni: Bo Risberg, CEO, Hilti Corporation; Jurgen Fischer, president, commercial operations group, Hilton International.

International connections: Supremely international. Participants hail from 40 different countries, and the faculty from 20. Almost half are from Europe, a quarter are Asian and the rest are Latin American, North American or from the Middle East or Africa.

Student profile: The average age is 31, and women make up 20 percent of the intake.

Cost: It’s CHF 60,000 for tuition plus CHF 25,000 for all program and project related fees, including books and course materials, the discovery expedition and weekday on-campus lunches, excluding personal expenses.

Return on investment: The average starting salary of last year's graduates was around £73,000. The details of all course members are sent around the world, and companies invited to interview MBAs on campus: last year's class received an average of three job offers each, many from big multinationals.

Who's the boss? Dominique Turpin is the new president of IMD and Professor Martha Maznevski is the MBA Program Director.

Prospectus: +41 21 618 0298; www.imd.ch/mba