Backpack-Excellence Scholarship for Women
Opening doors to leadership
The BackPack-Excellence Scholarship for Women exists to create a fairer playing field for talented and driven women who have faced obstacles that made an MBA feel out of reach, whether financial constraints, family responsibilities, or past disruptions in their professional path.
By supporting women with leadership potential but limited access to opportunities, this scholarship provides the skills, network, and confidence to lead with impact in business, public life, and beyond.
This scholarship is about empowering women to step forward as leaders, opening doors to new possibilities, and creating a ripple effect for others.
Learn more about the BackPack Foundation.
Scholarship Overview
| Amount | Full scholarship of CHF 133,500 (tuition, fees & living expenses) |
| Number of scholarships | 1 |
| Deadline to apply | Throughout 2025 (available until allocated) |
| Essay Required | “What pressing challenge, whether in your community or more broadly, are you most passionate about addressing? How do you think a BackPack-supported MBA at IMD will enable you to contribute to addressing that challenge?” (500 words) |
| Video Required | “Share, Care, Dare: In a 90-120 second video, describe a moment when you embodied one or more of these fundamental values of the BackPack Foundation. Please provide context on the circumstances, explain how you cared, dared, or shared, and tell us what the outcome was. How did this experience shape your leadership journey and influence your commitment to making a difference?” |
Who is eligible to apply?
- Women who meet all criteria of admission to the IMD MBA program.
- Priority will be given to talented and driven women who may have believed that an MBA was out of reach due to limitations in their professional journey, such as financial constraints, family responsibilities, or past disruptions in education or career progression.
How to apply?
- Please complete the Scholarships and Bursaries form found under the Financial Planning section of your MBA application form.
- Submit a 500-word essay: “What pressing challenge, whether in your community or more broadly, are you most passionate about addressing? How do you think a BackPack-supported MBA at IMD will enable you to contribute to addressing that challenge?”
- Submit a 90-120 second video: Share, Care, Dare – describe a moment when you embodied one or more of these fundamental values of the BackPack Foundation. Please provide context on the circumstances, explain how you cared, dared, or shared, and tell us what the outcome was. How did this experience shape your leadership journey and influence your commitment to making a difference? (In case of difficulty submitting a video please contact [email protected])
- Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a BackPack assessment.
- Please note that you may apply for multiple scholarships, however scholarships are non-cumulative, therefore you will not be selected for more than one. In addition. scholarships are reserved for those who are not sponsored by their company.
Please contact [email protected] to find out more information about the scholarship.
The IMD MBA BackPack-Excellence for Women will be managed and administered by the IMD Scholarship Foundation, established in accordance with Articles 80 of the Swiss Civil Code, with a registered office in Lausanne. The scholarship will be paid directly to IMD to cover the fees.
For more scholarship information, kindly refer to the scholarship section on our webpage.