INSEAD, a contraction of "Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires" (), is a non-profit graduate business school that maintains campuses in France, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and the United States. Its degree programmes are taught in English and include a full-time Master of Business Administration (MBA), an Executive MBA (EMBA), and executive education programmes.
INSEAD admits no more than 12% of students of the same nationality. It frequently appears on rankings of the best business schools such as QS World and the Financial Times. Its MBA has produced the second-most number of CEOs of the world's 500 largest companies, behind Harvard Business School, and the sixth most billionaires. INSEAD is among the top 20 universities globally that produced most of the world's ultra high-net-worth individuals.
The school has a strong reputation in entrepreneurship. Notable companies founded by INSEAD alumni include Admiral Group, Wise, Nubank, MongoDB Inc., Asklepios Kliniken, L'Occitane, Gorillas, Blablacar, Tudou, Ecovadis, Light Chaser Animation Studios and Business Insider.
History
INSEAD was founded in 1957 by venture capitalist Georges Doriot, Claude Janssen, and Olivier Giscard d'Estaing. Original seed money was provided by the Paris Chamber of Commerce. The school was originally based in the Château de Fontainebleau, before moving to its current Europe Campus in 1967.
Georges Doriot, a professor at Harvard Business School and a General in US Army during World War II, wanted an institution that would introduce business education to Europe and bring European businessmen together post-war. In 1955, he presented his idea of creating a new school of management and business administration to the Paris Chamber of Commerce, whose presidents, Jean Marcou and Philippe Dennis, not only funded the venture but also became first presidents of the school. The welcoming ceremony of the first promotion for the Master of Business Administration at the Château de Fontainebleau was held on 12 September 1959. Almost 110 candidates had applied, 62 were admitted and 57 attended the first course. The official inauguration took place on 9 October 1959, at the Château de Fontainebleau 5.
INSEAD emphasises international collaboration from day one. Therefore, the school imposes a quota on percentage of students with the same nationality. Proficiency in multiple languages is also considered a critical enabler for its objectives. Initial classes were taught in three languages: English, French and German, interchangeably. Until the 1990s, classes could still be taught in any of the three languages. As of now, all classes are taught in English, but the school still requires students to know any three languages for graduation.
In 2000, the school opened another campus in Singapore. In 2012, INSEAD became a founding member of the Sorbonne University Alliance, moving toward a merger with leading specialist institutions in other fields to create a top-tier multidisciplinary university.
History
1957: INSEAD founded
1959: First MBA intake in Fontainebleau and first business school to offer a one-year MBA programme 1967: Opening of the school's first campus on the edge of the Forest of Fontainebleau (now called the 'Europe Campus') 1968: First Executive Education programme 1976: Launch of the INSEAD Alumni Fund 1989: Launch of the PhD programme 1995: Launch of the first INSEAD Development Campaign, which raised funds for permanently endowed chairs and research 2000: First business school with full campuses on multiple continents, with the Asia Campus opening in Singapore 2001: Announcement of the INSEAD-Wharton Alliance and first MBA participant exchanges 2003: Launch of the Executive MBA programme 2007: INSEAD Centre opened in Abu Dhabi, primarily for research and executive education; launch of a dual degree Executive MBA with Tsinghua University in China 2013: MBA participant exchange agreement with CEIBS launched 2015: Inauguration of the Leadership Development Center in Singapore 2016: First and only business school to achieve a ‘triple first’ in rankings – MBA, Executive MBA (Tsinghua-INSEAD EMBA) and Single School Executive MBA (INSEAD GEMBA) in the Financial Times 2016 rankings 2018: Launch of the Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society 2020: Opening of the INSEAD San Francisco Hub for Business Innovation and launch of the Master in Management Programme 2023: Launch of the INSEAD Learning Hub 2023: Europe Campus Re-imagining
