INSEAD to expand EMBA, introduce Singapore-designed test

Tuesday, 24 January 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

INSEAD, the leading international business school, last week announced plans to develop the INSEAD EMBA Test as an alternative to the GMAT and to launch a new Asia section of the Global Executive MBA (GEMBA) programme.

In order to maintain and build participant quality and diversity, INSEAD is developing the INSEAD EMBA Test for applicants worldwide, as an alternative to the GMAT. This is being undertaken in partnership with Prep Zone, a test-prep company founded by two INSEAD alumni in Singapore.

The move will align INSEAD more closely with other top business schools, whose EMBA programmes are moving away from GMAT as the only mode of assessment to include in-house tests. While the GMAT will still be accepted, the new test option will be tailored specifically to the seniority and global nature of INSEAD’s applicant pool.

“The INSEAD test allows us to maintain our long-standing commitment to testing as part of the EMBA admissions process while expanding the pool of high-quality applicants,” said Peter Zemsky, Deputy Dean of Degree Programmes and Curriculum. “Our test will provide a more well-rounded way to assess our applicants and reduce the bias against some cultural and education backgrounds.”

Prep Zone co-founder Mícheál Collins said the inspiration behind the new test was the approach of efficient thinking and delivery he had to adopt, to cope with the intense nature of INSEAD’s EMBA programme.

“This inspired us to propose a new format that zeroes in on what you really need to deliver in a business school academic environment. Additionally, we realised that to properly gauge the preparedness of a candidate, their sense of business should be tested as well as their cognitive strengths. Hence we added the case presentation to the test, and removed the essay writing part. We felt the evolved test format was a great example of Value Innovation that we learned at INSEAD,” he explained.

Collins set up the company with another fellow alumnus, Nagitha Kumarasinghe, in 2006, two years after graduating from INSEAD’s Asia Campus in Singapore.

INSEAD is retaining the most relevant GMAT elements from the multiple-choice quantitative and verbal sections while eliminating elements such as knowledge of mathematical rules from trigonometry and permutation, esoteric vocabulary not relevant for conducting global business, and rules of English grammar typically studied in middle school in the Anglo-Saxon education system.

INSEAD’s test will also include new material to test the effective use of varied data to reach conclusions as well as a mini-case analysis presented orally in order to gauge oral communication - a skill deemed especially important for senior leaders. The INSEAD EMBA test will be administered regularly on each campus and will be combined with a panel interview.

More information about the INSEAD EMBA test is available from the following link:

http://global.emba.insead.edu/home/