IMD business school for management and leadership courses
Measuring the impact of our programs
Our unique positioning allows us to define organizational impact and return on investment (ROI) for learning interventions facilitated by IMD and the methodologies employed for measuring them.
Our comprehensive impact assessment process serves the dual purpose of showcasing the impact and business ROI to our clients and evaluating and enhancing our performance. In 2024, our Impact Office used the industry standard ROI Methodology® to measure impact and ROI in our programs.
The Impact Office executed 665 immediate impact assessments, 471 post-program assessments, and approximately 12 customized program business impact and ROI assessments. In our ROI studies, the results varied from 66% ROI in online Sprint programs to an impressive ROI of 1,150% in longer learning journeys with enterprise projects.
Further, to gauge our programs’ societal and environmental impact on participants, we conduct a follow-up assessment after 12 months. We inquire whether participants have applied what they learned to make a difference in society and the environment and ask for specific examples of their use of what they learned and the observed impact.
In 2024, we gathered 546 responses, with 53% of Open and Custom program participant survey respondents ‘agreeing’ or ‘strongly agreeing’ that they have applied their learnings to make a difference in society.
Pedagogical innovation
Real learning and real impact are at the core of our pedagogical approach and our investments in innovation are delivering impact beyond the classroom.
Real learning and real impact are at the core of our pedagogical approach, and our investments in innovation deliver impact beyond the classroom. When it comes to learning innovation, IMD continues to be at the cutting edge. We have always led on pedagogy and crafting highly impactful learning journeys, but technology now gives us amazing new opportunities.
Since the pandemic, we have mastered how to teach virtually and how to blend different learning modes. We are now pioneering the use of artificial intelligence, specifically GenAI, to deepen learning and impact. We have also continued our incorporation of virtual reality, the metaverse, and even hologram projections into our programs. Our investments in artificial intelligence are evidenced through our Orchestrating Winning Performance program, where participants are given access to OWP+GPT, an innovation developed by IMD that makes sense of hours of classroom sessions and adds further depth to the classroom topics through additional IMD research, articles, podcasts, and webinars.
Further, our investments in technology and innovation give us the ability to extend our reach and meet the growing need for leadership and business learning. To meet this need, we launched the award-winning online Sprint training program in 2023, which offers accelerated learning opportunities through fast-paced faculty-led sessions on pertinent topics. In 2024, IMD was named the 2024 Learning in Practice winner for our transformative custom Sprint program. Our collaboration with pharmaceutical and biotech multinational Bayer won Gold in the Excellence in Executive Education category.
Further, our investments in technology and innovation give us the ability to extend our reach and meet the growing need for leadership and business learning. To meet this need, we launched the award-winning online Sprint training program in 2023, which offers accelerated learning opportunities through fast-paced faculty-led sessions on pertinent topics. In 2024, IMD was named the 2024 Learning in Practice winner for our transformative custom Sprint program. Our collaboration with pharmaceutical and biotech multinational Bayer won Gold in the Excellence in Executive Education category.
Recognition for our work
In 2024, we received various accolades for our programs, innovations, and collaborations.
overall in the Corporate Knights 2024 Better World MBA Top 40 Ranking (and the top Swiss business school)
award (Immersive Experiential Learning) for IMD’s XR 360 Leadership Game, SpheriCO2, QS Reimagine Education Conference
award (Diversity, equity, and inclusion: Best leadership development for women) for the HEINEKEN-IMD Women Interactive Network, Brandon Hall Excellence in Human Capital Management
award (Best Advance in Education Delivered Through Technology) for We@IMD program, Brandon Hall Excellence in Technology Awards
startups and nine of the top 25 scale-ups collaborated with IMD, Top 100 Swiss Startup Awards
award (Excellence in Executive Education category) for our transformative custom Sprint program, 2024 Learning in Practice