In this interview for the Link to Leaders website, Maria José Amich, Executive Director at The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova, highlights the importance of integrating real-world business experiences into our MBA programs. This approach ensures that MBA candidates are academically prepared and equipped with practical knowledge and connections that can propel their careers forward.

 

“Our programs are distinguished by Action Learning, which means learning by doing, whether in class, with discussion of real business cases, or in group work where students have to implement analyses, simulations, and develop business projects, among others,” explains Maria José Amich, executive director of The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova.”

 

The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova has gone from strength to strength over the years. The result of a partnership between CATÓLICA-LISBON and Nova SBE, with the collaboration of the MIT Sloan School of Management, its programs have not only won over the Portuguese but have also attracted an international audience, with around 150 students from 25 nationalities and five continents.
This institution’s concern to combine the academic with the practical and business sides would be a point of honor if it weren’t for its educational proposal based on “action learning.” Maria José Amich, executive director of The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova, points out that alongside their research activity, “the professors have a professional activity, either as consultants or as members of boards of directors, which allows them to have a very accurate view of the business reality.”

 

The Lisbon MBA has strengthened its position in international rankings. How does this impact the program’s attractiveness?

 

The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova has been among the best in the world since 2013 in the prestigious Financial Times rankings, as a result of a unique partnership between two leading business schools in Europe, CATÓLICA-LISBON and Nova SBE (in the top 22 in Europe by the FT European Business Schools ranking 2024), and in collaboration with the MIT Sloan School of Management, the 6th best MBA in the world.
The Lisbon MBA programs are currently ranked 24th in Europe, with its Executive MBA (part-time) in 49th place in the world and its International MBA (full-time) in 3rd place in the world in the “International Course Experience” criterion. The Lisbon MBA is the number one MBA in Portugal, with its two programs in the Financial Times rankings.
The positive evolution of our position in the rankings, together with this strategic partnership, has a very positive impact on our ability to attract more international talent to our MBA programs. Today, we have nearly 150 students of 25 nationalities from five continents. Around 70% of the students on our International MBA are of international origin, while this percentage stands at 30% on the Executive MBA, reflecting a significant increase in the number of applications from international students.

 

What distinguishes The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova from other MBA programs available in Portugal?

 

What sets this MBA apart is its genesis, the fact that it brings together three prestigious business schools, CATÓLICA LISBON, Nova SBE, and MIT Sloan School of Management, whose partnership dates back to 2007, and which has allowed us to offer MBA programs with academic rigor and with excellence and innovation in all its components and, consequently, has placed The Lisbon MBA every year among the best in the world.
Regarding our teaching staff, more than 40% of our professors are international, with 100% having a PhD from a top international university. In addition to the excellent research component, our professors have a professional activity, either as consultants or as members of boards of directors, which gives them a very accurate view of the business reality.
In addition, our educational proposal, taught entirely in English, is based on “action learning,” which is highly valued by companies and allows students to learn through the development of business projects, simulations, internships in companies, and consultancy projects. We also offer accelerator programs to foster entrepreneurship and courses increasingly linked to technological innovation and adapted to students’ professional interests.
Our position in the rankings also highlights the successful trajectory of our alumni, with an average salary progression of +89% three years after completing the program, earning an average annual gross salary of $135,825 (€125,000) in the International (full-time MBA), and $204,000 (€188,000) in the Executive MBA, corresponding to +66% salary increase, three years after graduation.

 

The career progression rate for graduates and the salary increase stand out in the rankings. How does the program contribute to this professional success?

 

The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova is ranked 34th in the world in the “Value for Money” criterion (Financial Times Global MBA ranking 2025). This excellent position in the latest Financial Times rankings (Global MBA ranking 2025 and Executive MBA ranking 2024) results from the investment and its return, which, as I mentioned, considers the graduates’ salary and career progression. In addition, the employability rate of our students six months after graduating is 97%.
In terms of companies, like other top MBAs, the financial sector, led by private equity firms and funds, the technology sector, consultancy, energy, and health recruit the most MBAs.
The constant search for innovation and excellence in our programs in all the components of the MBA life journey contributes to these results. From the moment the student applies, through our recruitment and admissions services, to the stage when they are students, with an innovative curriculum, personalized career services, extracurricular activities that bring them closer to companies, with networking events, mentoring and coaching programs, to the final stage when they become members of the alumni communities.
In the case of The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova, our graduates become part of four alumni communities: The Lisbon MBA Alumni Club, Nova SBE and CATÓLICA LISBON Alumni Communities, and MIT Sloan Affiliate Alumni. Between CATÓLICA LISBON and Nova SBE alone, our graduates have more than 40,000 alumni working around the world at their fingertips. This valuable global alumni community allows them to expand their professional networks, and benefit from participation in events and continuing education programs that meet their constant demand for further education, what we call “lifelong learning.”
Our continued presence in prestigious rankings such as that of the Financial Times and our membership of the restricted group of less than 1% of MBAs in the world that hold Tripple Crown Accreditation (AMBA, AACSB, and EQUIS) demonstrate that our programs meet world-class standards of excellence, which include a rigorous academic curriculum, excellent teaching staff, high-quality infrastructures, and career services that enable students to achieve their professional goals.

 

Collaboration with MIT Sloan and other international schools has been a differentiating factor in the market. What new partnerships are being explored?

 

We have significantly expanded our partnerships with other top MBAs in recent years. Currently, practically all Executive MBA students, in addition to benefiting from the immersion at MIT Sloan in Boston, United States, focused on entrepreneurship and technological innovation, in which MIT Sloan is a world pioneer, have the opportunity to participate in exchange programs and take courses at renowned institutions such as St. Gallen in Switzerland, Esade in Spain, Fundação Dom Cabral in Brazil and Cape Town University in South Africa.

Recently, students have also been able to opt for a week’s immersion in Singapore, called “Mission Study Singapore”, with the St. Gallen Institute of Asia, and deepen their knowledge of how to do business in Southeast Asia and China, interacting with companies and entrepreneurs in this dynamic region of the world.
We are continually exploring new partnerships that can further enrich the student experience, providing them with a global outlook and unique learning and networking opportunities.

 

The Lisbon MBA is committed to innovative teaching methodologies. Can you highlight any recent initiatives in this direction?

 

Our programs are distinguished by “Action Learning”, which means learning by doing, whether in class, with a discussion of real business cases, or in group work where students must implement analysis, simulations, and develop business projects, among others.
The connection to the business world is an essential component of our programs. Teachers often invite executives to talk about their companies during classes. We especially highlight the extracurricular section “The Lisbon MBA Talks with CEOs,” which regularly features CEOs and C-level executives as speakers, sharing their leadership journeys, insights, and trends in their sector.
In addition, we offer mentoring programs. One of the programs is aimed at our International MBA students, with mentors who are alumni of The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova in senior positions. Another program is aimed at our Executive MBA students, where the mentors are CEOs. This mentoring program, which brought together 45 CEOs from national and international companies, was successfully launched this year. We also offer coaching with certified coaches who teach coaching methodology so that students can develop these skills by implementing them in peer-to-peer coaching sessions.
As far as “learning by doing” is concerned, we highlight the leadership skills development component. In partnership with the Portuguese Navy, we implemented the “Functional Leadership Model” at the Portuguese Marine School, providing a unique and practical leadership experience.

 

One of the program’s strengths is the students’ cultural diversity. How is this diversity used to enrich learning?

 

Class diversity is fundamental to our mission to foster students’ potential as global leaders. Diversity and inclusion are in the DNA of The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova. We look for a diverse group of candidates with high ethical standards and strong potential, who share our mission and values, who want to drive their careers forward, challenge their limits with intellectual curiosity, and are eager to drive and inspire change with purpose and want a transformative learning experience, becoming leaders with a positive impact on society and the world.
The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova has attracted many international students of different nationalities, with varied academic and professional backgrounds, and an increasing number of women. The average age of the International MBA class is 31, with an average of nine years of professional experience (although the minimum required is three years), and the average age of the Executive MBA class is 38 (although the minimum required is five years) with an average of 15 years experience.
Although there is a high percentage of engineers, we have students from a wide range of backgrounds, from economics, management, medicine, pharmacy, architecture, and law, and we have noticed an increase in students from the Humanities and Social Sciences. We value academic excellence and professional meritocracy for admission to our programs. Still, we greatly emphasize class diversity to broaden perspectives and enrich classroom discussion and collective learning.

 

In terms of gender diversity, almost 50% of International MBA students are women, while the percentage is 25% in the executive MBA…

 

To promote diversity, inclusion, and excellence, we have several scholarships available for candidates needing financial support, ensuring that all talents can thrive in our program, regardless of their financial situation. We have The Lisbon MBA Scholarship, aimed at candidates with excellent academic records and professional performance, who, due to their strong diversity component, will make an exceptional contribution to the collective enrichment of the class’s learning; the Entrepreneurship Scholarship, for candidates with solid experience as entrepreneurs; the Woman in Business Scholarship, aimed at women with outstanding careers who wish to be “role models” to inspire other professional women in society; the Social Impact Scholarship, for professionals in the tertiary sector with a relevant impact on the community; and the Merit Scholarship, for candidates with an outstanding academic record and/or a high score on the GMAT admissions test.

 

What differentiates the career development support offered by The Lisbon MBA from other programs?

 

Our career development support stands out for its personalized approach and for creating unique networking and learning opportunities. As part of “The Lisbon MBA Talks with CEOs and Careers-in” cycle, we invite CEOs and/or senior executives from various functional areas to interact with students every two weeks. These sessions are highly valued, as in addition to providing knowledge about different sectors and career options, they offer networking opportunities with top executives in an intimate and confidential setting.

The dynamics of The Lisbon MBA Alumni community are also a significant differentiator. They regularly promote face-to-face events and webinars organized in different sectoral or thematic chapters, such as sustainability, entrepreneurship, or “Women in Business”. These events facilitate the exchange of experiences and strengthen networks between alumni. In addition, our career services are focused on the “Meaningful Professional Advancement” of our students. We offer workshops and personalized career advice, helping each student to identify and achieve their professional goals in a meaningful way and aligned with their values and aspirations.

 

How is The Lisbon MBA adapting its programs to meet the demands of the global market and digital transformation?

 

Like all MBA programs, we make sure to include the essential subjects for business management, from “Marketing”; “Financial Accounting,” “Processes & Operations,” “People & Organizations,” “Strategy & Value Creation,” and “Negotiation.” In addition, we offer courses focused on topics such as “Business Ethics & Sustainability,” “Corporate Governance,” and “Building Impact Ventures,” among others, as well as courses with a “hands-on” component, such as “Business Simulation” and “Business Project.”
In addition, students can “customize” their MBA with optional courses in concentrations, which we call “tracks”, in areas such as Finance, Marketing, Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. By choosing one of these “tracks”, students can also strengthen their knowledge of geopolitics, which has become a key issue impacting business management.
With a focus on the management of technological innovation and digital business models, the program incorporates subjects such as “Big Data & Data Science for Business Analytics”, “Artificial Intelligence Impact on Business”, “Digital Transformation & Business Model Innovation”, Data-driven Decision Making and Business Analytics, using practical examples and hands-on projects.
Sustainability is a fundamental aspect for companies, and, on average, 25% of the teaching hours of all the courses in our programs deal with ESG-related topics. In addition, we have “core” courses focused on sustainability, ethics and governance in organizations, such as: “Ethics and Sustainability”, “Corporate Governance” and “Building Impact Ventures”. Students also have the opportunity to develop real consultancy projects around social impact with selected companies and organizations.
Adapting to change is not only limited to curriculum content but is also reflected in the program’s format. We offer face-to-face teaching, allowing students to experience three different campuses – the CATÓLICA-LISBON campus in Lisbon, the Nova SBE campus in Carcavelos, and the MIT Sloan campus in Boston, USA.
Online classes complement this format in the Executive MBA (part-time) program. The face-to-face classes occur once a month (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) along with four online classes per quarter, held at the end of the day and lasting 1.5 hours. This approach responds to executive students’ needs, allowing them to better reconcile their professional and personal lives with the investment in time and dedication required by an MBA program.

 

Source:  Link to Leaders