Wharton MBA, the school of business of the prestigious Wharton University of Pennsylvania, USA, has stepped up its awareness campaign aimed at sensitising Nigerians on the benefits of attending the school to obtain a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree for professional and personal growth.

One such awareness campaign tagged “Discover the Wharton MBA” recently took place at Intercontinental Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos. It was used to enlighten select highly mobile individuals in consulting, industries, academic and government on Wharton MBA benefits and values.

Speaking on the values that come with obtaining Wharton MBA, the Director of MBA Admission and Financial Aid of Wharton University of Pennsylvania, Ankur Kumar, said that her aim is to build awareness around the programmes in Nigeria. “My goal is to build awareness around Wharton MBA. We have a thriving alumni community here, and we have leaders in various fields such as industries, consulting and manufacturing in Nigeria,” she said, adding:

“My goals and hope are to make interested applicants learn more about Wharton MBA, understand the programmes and the values they need for their professional and personal growth.”

Kumar, who addressed the participants, said Wharton MBA is ahead of other business schools across the world because it attracts diverse students and professionals.

According to her, “Our series come to us with incredible diverse backgrounds. Our students have very diverse academic experiences in terms of the courses and topics they study; they have incredible diversity of the industries, sectors and some organisations they’ve worked for. There is also incredible diversity around the personal backgrounds, the geographic exposures and the way they think, operate, and communicate. The leadership style and diversity in their personal ambitions and aspirations are also very strong factor of the Wharton MBA.”

Speaking at the event, a second-year student of Wharton MBA, Carol Okigbo, noted that Wharton has been coming to Nigeria for many years but that this year’s awareness campaign is unique due to the coming of Ankur Kumar to the country for the first time.

In comparison to other business schools in the country, Okigbo said: “Obviously, I can’t speak about the other MBA programmes because I don’t go there but I can tell you that one of the key strengths that Wharton provides is unparalleled access to global experience. So, if you have aspiration to work in Asia, Middle East, Africa, Europe and America, Wharton provides you with the platform to be able to do that unlike any other institution.”

On the impact of the programme on the nation’s economy, Okigbo said: “You can see firsthand from the alumni base that Wharton grooms leaders and everyone who graduated from the programme has come back and he is doing very well. That is the first and true testament that this is the institution that fundamentally develops great leaders.”

Launched in 2012, the new Wharton MBA curriculum has a unique structure, offering a rigorous, flexible core and an unmatched array of electives and majors.

•Photo shows Wharton Director of MBA Admission, Ankur Kumar.

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