With more than 300 locations worldwide and constant growth through brown- and/or greenfields, Magna International is one of the leading global suppliers to the automotive industry. My position requires a substantial amount of travelling and the ability to work with employees from very diverse backgrounds. The IMBA program at CLU has equipped me with the necessary skills, competencies and crosscultural abilities to do so. Thinking out of the box, being proactive and highly reactive to new business challenges makes up my daily work day. Being part of a global community I work following the sun. At CLU the combination of professional and highly qualified faculty, paired with an interesting and challenging curriculum has prepared me well for my career at a multinational corporation.

For small and large corporations alike, current and future challenges can only be mastered with a strong educational background and the willingness to never stop learning. Cal Lutheran’s combination of weekend and online courses is the perfect combination which allowed me to pursue a management degree while having comprehensive business obligations. Professors use relevant cases, and the exchange with students from many different industries have helped me to broaden my horizon and find new solutions in managing my company. As someone who heads a medium-sized company, I chose this program particularly to help me explore new ideas, strategies and philosophies and acquire new skills to become a better leader. Cal Lutheran’s MBA program has helped me to do exactly that.

After working more than ten years in different positions, I really aspired to refresh and deepen my business knowledge with a comprehensive and international program. Having the opportunity to study at an US university in a blended learning format in Austria really looked promising to me and totally met my expectations. Learning from professors with academic excellence and a track record in business, who really care about you as a student, is one of the real benefits of this program. Eventually not only the program itself, but in particular the mix of students with different backgrounds from different countries was very inspirational for me.

Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning’ – Benjamin Franklin.
Having a technical education in mechanical and civil engineering, CLU´s MBA at IBSA in Austria offered a perfect complement in economic and management theory. The flexible program with its experienced professors delivered a fundamental economic knowledge and improved my managerial skills, competencies and cross-cultural abilities. The community and my fellow MBA colleagues, the exchange of ideas, know-how and my personal development made this program to an invaluable experience.

Having to do a lot of international travel in my job as a business development executive for Central-Eastern-Europe, I found CLU’s Blended-Learning MBA program at IBSA in Austria to be a perfect fit for my busy lifestyle and unpredictable schedule. The content of my coursework was immediately beneficial and relevant to my work. My professors were extremely knowledgeable in their fields, always accessible, and most helpful in working with me to achieve success in the program.

You do not need an MBA for anything, but it is a sustainable learning experience and it is a valuable way to develop a set of skills. As a Project Management executive with Geodata Group working in an international environment, California Lutheran University´s MBA at IBSA in Austria provides interesting courses and the learning content that adds an asset to your skill set.  California Lutheran University´s MBA program is the perfect add-on to get ready for the next career step and to be able to manage the challenges of an international working environment.

After a careful selection process I came to the conclusion that the Master of Business Administration program offered by the Californian Lutheran University in cooperation with IBSA Graz is perfectly suited for my personal requirements, and for those of my international acting company. The program featured all I would expect, namely: international setting, tutors from the business world and a broad mix of courses covering all relevant business issues. Moreover, courses are taught in English and can be attended while working full time. I am very impressed by the combination of flexibility and excellence offered by the CLU, the diversity of tutors with their wealth of experience and the carefully composed curriculum. An international working environment requires a sound understanding of international management tasks and challenges for which the program is building a great base. I have dedicated a lot of time and efforts to learn from the best and I am very satisfied with the ‘return of investment’.

Education is surly one of the most important investments people have to make. Studying International Development at the University of Vienna gave me a good understanding of trade, economic theories and business development around the world. However I strongly believe that an entrepreneurial mindset and applied business skills are critical and fundamental success factors for an international career in those days. CLU’s MBA program gave me the perfect tools for working in an international environment, in an organization which I was part of from its start up. The flexible schedule enabled me to pursue a degree from an American University and experience this great multi-cultural environment.

A major USP of this MBA program is that you study at an American university while being here in Austria for most of the time. Thus you experience all advantages of the American approach regarding education. Excellent international instructors with comprehensive practical experience respond individually to students and promote the widest possible growth of each. The whole program is conducted in English in a blended learning format which utilizes all advantages of e-learning. Being in California at the campus of CLU during the final study trip to complete the MBA is an absolute highlight.

Who are the most sought after leaders and managers today? I strongly believe that they are the highly motivated, international educated self-starters. It appears to me that studying in, and graduating from MBA degree from a US university in just 15 months as a busy working professional is a good testimony of all these qualities. Cal Lutheran’s MBA program, delivered in partnership with IBSA was the perfect program, and I am convinced that this highly interesting and intensive program provides the best base for future career steps. Even while studying in the program, multiple opportunities for career changes opened up for me, and – ultimately – I seized one of them.

With my technical background and after having been in various management positions over the past years I eventually decided to do an MBA. I have chosen the MBA program of CLU in co-operation with IBSA because of the perfect fit with the daily business. The mix of weekend courses, online sessions and time in California is very balanced and this program is maybe one of the few programs where business, family and further education can be easily handled, even if you are not from Graz.  I also enjoyed the high quality of the instructors and the fact that nearly all of them came from the US.

Intensifying and expanding my knowledge and experience with an international business education was my primary intention and incentive for CLU’s MBA program at IBSA. Moreover the possibility and opportunity to learn from internationally experienced professors and students and to exchange strategies, business ideas or just life experience with them were my very concrete expectations for this program. Eventually the 16 months at IBSA and CLU have exceeded all my expectations and have provided me with essential skills and new perspectives for my daily business as an entrepreneur. Additionally the highly valuable business network to professors and students at CLU has resulted in a continuous benefit for my business and private life. This program is the perfect decision for everyone who wants to elevate his own business career to the next level.