Portuguese MBA students gain consulting experience in Brazil & Mexico

International business experience and cross-cultural opportunities are among the most enticing factors when students are applying for an MBA program. As part of the The Lisbon MBA courses International Labs, students can engage in international work experience in Brazil, China or Mexico. The program gives students the opportunity to work with consulting companies and get hands on experience.

The global nature of the consulting industry has created a necessity for prospective young professionals entering the workforce to have international work experience. This exposure demonstrates that young talent has intercultural awareness as well as a developed global mentality. Entry requirements for the program stipulate that candidates must have a global vision with additional travel experience. In an interconnected world, it’s a necessity.

An International Lab is part of the course's goal to provide students with a global environment. The labs are situated in São Paulo, Mexico D.F. and Shanghai, where the students are required to work on consulting projects with local businesses. Candidates work with local counterparts, Insper in Brazil, Fudan University in China or EGADE in Mexico and complete projects that have an international outlook.

Bruno Oliveira, who currently works as the Head of Commercial & Marketing at multidisciplinary consulting firm TECNOPLANO, graduated from the course in 2016. Oliveira International Lab led him to Brazil where he worked with a small contract packaging firm who were attempting to enter the Brazilian market. “The challenge was to develop a business model to open up the Brazilian market based on a strategy that would allow the company to successfully and profitably reach this goal,” said Oliveira.

During his two months with the firm, Sumol + Compa, Oliveira gained valuable international business experience, confidence and expertise. He learned that “every market is different, and because of that it should be faced as a whole new venture—a new beginning.”

The Lisbon MBA is a partnership between Católica-Lisbon and Nova SBE, which is the leading business school in Portugal. According to the Financial Times, the course itself was considered to be in the top 20 MBA courses in Europe in 2017.

“The International Lab provides you with a set of tools to overcome every barrier, and it covers almost all aspects of doing business abroad.”