With the dollar still weak to the pound, studying at some of the world’s best business schools Stateside has never been nearer. So how does an intensive business course push you? Our writer reports back from the front line

AS THE GROUP of us attending an intensive executive programme at the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago take our seats for the welcome lecture, the professor asks how many of us are not from the States. A significant 62% of us raise our arms. Either the marketing department is running an unstoppable campaign abroad or the US dollar to sterling rate is still a godsend to Brits. So, however good their marketing team, I suspect it’s the latter that’s behind the allure. Nearly 50 of us (a mixture from Europe, Asia and the Middle East) had made the long-distance trip to study at one of the top North American business schools.

My company had enrolled me at Kellogg for a one-week improved performance course. Just entering the prestigious college, which is set on the lake in beautifully manicured grounds, makes one feel more intelligent. Joking aside, it made me feel more valued by my business. For a $7,000 (about £3,700) investment on their part, you get to participate in a learning experience that stretches you and has huge rewards. It also helps to meet people doing similar jobs to yours, who are having the same difficulties in an environment where many challenging issues are dealt with. As you would expect here, the tutors are first class. They have not only educational experience but real-life commercial acumen, which overcomes the response you want to give fresh-faced consultants: “Hmm, but you’ve never had to deal with these sort of problems, have you?”

Each day starts at 7am for breakfast, with lectures starting at 8am and running through to 9pm. Cap that with copious amounts of reading, studying and working together in groups to solve the various case studies and the result is an extremely intense course. So it helps that the accommodation and food (all meals are included in the costs) are excellent. Generous sustenance helps you get through the gruelling schedule.

An executive education course is a great refresher for best practice or a previous MBA. Otherwise, it offers a good overview of corporate strategies and is a highly recommended way of taking your problems from the office and sharing them with liked-minded individuals. You return to the office with new energies and fresh outlook on your business, even your life – and hopefully some new contacts from around the world.

A word of caution: it’s important with this kind of course that you research the backgrounds of the professors to ensure that they have the commercial wherewithal to deal with the subject. Writing books is great, but without the day-to-day experience of working in – if not actually running – a business, it’s like firing blanks.
The five-day course cost $7,300 (including board and food) and was based at Kellogg School of Management, 2001 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA, +1 (847) 491 3300; www.kellogg.northwestern.edu