Backpack-Excellence Scholarship for Women

Supporting women leaders of the future

Apply via the admissions application form

Application deadline 15 September

Scholarship amount Full scholarship and living expenses

How to apply Through your admissions application form

Scholarship introduction

Through the BackPack-Excellence Scholarship for Women, the Swiss foundation intends to help women to obtain the leadership skills they need to advance in business or public life and fulfil their leadership ambitions.

The scholarship aims to provide a transformational experience to talented and driven women who have been forced to flee conflict, natural disaster or persecution at some point in their lives, and may have believed that an MBA program was out of reach.

Amount	Full scholarship of CHF 133,500 (tuition, fees & living expenses)
Number of scholarships	1
Deadline to apply	15 September
Essay Required	“Tell us how an MBA at IMD will be truly transformative for you and indirectly for other women in your community, and what are your main learning objectives.” (500 words)

Criteria

Demonstrate excellence in previous academic and/or professional endeavors, including GPA (or equivalent) and GMAT/GRE
Convince us of your ambition and ability to use your education to pursue a leadership role
Career progression and international exposure
Ability to contribute to the overall learning experience of the class
Performance during the Assessment Day
Essay: “Tell us how an MBA at IMD will be truly transformative for you and indirectly for other women in your community, and what are your main learning objectives.” (500 words)
Priority will be given to talented and driven women who may have believed that an MBA program was out of reach due to limitations and disruptions in their professional path. These may include family obligations, forced migration and financial constraints.

How to apply for this scholarship:

Please complete the Scholarships and Bursaries form found under the Financial Planning section of your MBA application form.
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.

BackPack Foundation Board Statement

“The successful applicant should be committed to pursuing a meaningful career in leadership, and upon graduation will be expected to draw upon her skills to catalyze positive change,” said the Board’s statement.

“Beyond contributing to the fulfilment of one purposeful leadership career at a time, Backpack’s aspires to attract women who can become pivotal leaders in their field, acting as role models for others to advance in business or in public life.”

Read the full story behind the scholarship

Backpack scholarship video intro

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“This scholarship has the potential to transform the recipient’s life and help them develop the leadership abilities which will allow them to have an impact in the future,” Professor Omar Toulan, Dean of the IMD MBA Program.”

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.