Salut all,

I have French citizenship but have not lived in the country since I was little due to family moving around. I'm currently based in Hong Kong and would like to do my MBA in French speaking Europe as a way to go back to there and get a job, start my own family, etc.

My question is, where should I go? I know that the French economy is not great and frankly the recent news about the Charlie Hebdo shootings make me a bit worried. I would consider HEC Paris or another top business school there but I am a bit concerned. Unless of course I could use an MBA from HEC to go to another part of the continent...

So I wonder if there are other MBA programs in other parts of French speaking Europe that I might consider. But I understand that many of the good MBA programs in Switzerland like St. Gallen are in the country's German region. And Luxembourg doesn't seem to have any great business schools. Belgium could be interesting, there has been reactionary politics there but they aren't as bad as in France, at least looking at it from far away. Are Solvay Brussels and Vlerick Business School considered good?

I am at the very beginning of this process so I would appreciate any guidance. Thanks!

I think you need to decide which country you want to settle in. Solvay and Vlerick are not comparable to the top French schools. The FT rankings are good tools for you.

Thanks for that. Would it be fair to say that an MBA from a ranked business school in France like HEC or Insead would not be as valuable if I ended up looking for work in Switzerland or Belgium?

Remember that Vlerick is situated in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium, although this shouldn't have any consequences when looking for a job as most jobs are found in the region of Brussels. The brand recognition of Insead is worldwide, but HEC will have less impact. It's not well known in Belgium and I assume that alumni from local business schools will have an edge in getting a job in Belgium.

Good to know. What I'm going to do is do is put in some research and see what jobs are available in these countries and then think about the best path to them. I appreciate the advice.

Yes, HEC will have less impact in Belgium. A quick search on LinkedIn shows that of those who have MBAs in Belgium, the most by far went to school at either Vlerick or KU Leuven, with strong representation by Ghent University, Solvay Brussels, and Antwerp University. French schools like HEC Paris and ESSEC are way down the list.

Hi Isabel,
I am responsible for the MBA with Internship offered by Sacred Heart University Luxembourg. We are the European branch of the College of Business of an American University. The program takes 16 months and includes a 6-9 internship at a top company in Luxembourg. Our teaching language is English but you can certainly make sure that
you do your internship at a French company. If this might be of interest to you just contact me directly. Anemone Thomas