hat factors justify The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova’s entry into the global Top 20 of the QS Executive MBA Rankings 2026, and what role did the MIT Sloan partnership play in that result?
The entry of The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova into the global Top 20 of the QS Executive MBA Rankings 2026 is, above all, the recognition of academic excellence, a holistic approach, the relevance and constant curriculum innovation focused on practical learning, and an international vocation built over many years. This is an MBA born from the unique collaboration between two leading business schools in Portugal, among the best in Europe and the world – Católica Lisbon SBE and Nova SBE – in partnership with MIT Sloan School of Management, the world’s number one MBA, creating a program with a truly global ambition.
This result is particularly significant because it places us 20th worldwide and 9th in Europe in the Joint Programmes category of the QS Executive MBA Rankings 2026, as the only Portuguese program recognized in this category. It is a reaffirmation of The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova’s ability to compete with globally reputed programs, and confirms the consistency of a value proposition built on rigor, innovation, the attraction of diverse international talent, strong links to the business world, and the career progression of our students – all criteria valued by QS, where The Lisbon MBA ranks among the very best.
It is also important to highlight that this QS result adds to other significant international distinctions: we are the only Portuguese MBA to bring together, in the same cycle, recognition from QS, the Financial Times, and CEO Magazine, including a place in the CEO Magazine Global EMBA Rankings 2026 (40th worldwide) and a Tier One classification in the CEO Magazine Global MBA Rankings 2026.
The MIT Sloan partnership is one of the structural pillars of our value proposition and carries enormous weight in what these rankings recognize: students’ international experience, exposure to one of the world’s most pioneering entrepreneurship ecosystems in Kendall Square in Cambridge (Boston), and access to globally recognized professors in fields such as technological innovation, digital transformation, and corporate sustainability – disciplines that complement The Lisbon MBA curriculum delivered in Lisbon. As mentioned, this nearly 20-year partnership is all the more meaningful now that MIT Sloan has been ranked the world’s number one MBA by the Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2026, and holds 3rd place in the QS Global MBA Rankings. Bringing that global benchmark into our programs is a distinctive advantage that is difficult to replicate.
Upon graduation, our students not only receive The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova diploma but also the MIT Sloan certificate, granting them MIT Sloan Affiliate Alumni status and access to an extraordinarily valuable global alumni network.
But our international dimension does not end with MIT Sloan. We also have partnerships with other leading MBAs and business schools that deepen our students’ international experience and develop the management, interpersonal, and multicultural skills so important in an ever-more globally connected world.
In a context of fierce international competition, what sets The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova apart from other global executive programs?
What sets us apart is our ability to offer, from Lisbon, a truly international MBA at a human scale – one that results in a transformative and personalized experience.
The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova combines dimensions that are rare to find in a single program: the academic and research strength of two internationally prestigious Portuguese business schools, Católica Lisbon SBE and Nova SBE; a strategic collaboration with MIT Sloan School of Management; and a holistic methodology in which interpersonal skills and leadership development complement technical business management, with a focus on action learning and purpose-driven leadership aimed at positive, sustainable impact beyond business, within the communities where our graduates operate.
Our offering is unique in the Portuguese market. We are a joint venture between two leading business schools, in collaboration with one of the world’s most recognized management schools, and we offer an experience that connects Lisbon to Boston and to a very broad international network. Added to this is Triple Crown Accreditation – AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS – a distinction shared by fewer than 1% of management schools worldwide. This combination provides us with a foundation of credibility and international prestige that few MBA programs can match.
The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova continues to be recognized by the Financial Times as the 4th best in the world for International Course Experience, which reflects the global vocation of our programs. Additionally, with the MIT Sloan immersion, the Executive MBA also includes an international leadership module developed in partnership with Vlerick Business School, taking students to Brussels for a week of immersion, alongside exchange opportunities with leading schools such as ESADE, St. Gallen, Fundação Dom Cabral, and Cape Town University, where students can take optional courses tailored to their professional interests. This is further enriched by classes with a strong international composition: 80% of full-time International MBA students and 35% of Executive MBA students come from other countries, representing 25 different nationalities. In addition, 40% of our faculty are international.
Our DNA is built on collaboration between three business schools, and that collaboration continues to expand our offering across many dimensions. We believe in the power of alliances to create value – through the exchange programs already mentioned, partnerships with the Portuguese Navy and its Fuzileiros leadership program, Unicorn Factory and its start-up acceleration program, and numerous companies that collaborate with us to offer internships and consulting projects to our students. This commitment to building real-world connections extends to the one-to-one career advisory services we offer in partnership with executive search firms. We have also launched the second edition of our CEO mentoring program, with around 45 national and international CEOs supporting Executive MBA students in their professional and personal development throughout the program.
Today, managers who aspire to become leaders with impact must, beyond technical and digital business skills, develop a strategic business vision, critical thinking, and leadership competencies grounded in human values – qualities that enable them to inspire and mobilize teams with resilience, agility, and adaptability, focused on problem-solving and with an entrepreneurial and innovative mindset.
It is this combination of academic excellence, the practical approach to teaching, business engagement, and the development of both technical and leadership skills in an entrepreneurial and international context that distinguishes our programs and prepares our students to lead organizations with a focus on the benefit of all stakeholders.
If you had a young professional in front of you trying to decide between programs like this, what would you say to help them choose The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova?
I would start by saying that choosing an MBA is not something done on impulse, or based solely on a ranking, a location, or a name. An MBA is a decision about personal and professional transformation, and so the first question to ask is an honest one: What kind of leader do I want to become, what ambition do I have for my career, and what impact do I want to have on the world, on organizations, and on society? When those answers are clear, the choice of program becomes much simpler.
If that professional is looking for a demanding, international, transformative experience deeply connected to the real world, then The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova is a very strong choice. It is not merely a program to acquire management tools: it is an experience to discover your own leadership style, develop strategic vision and confidence, build critical thinking, learn to make decisions in complex contexts, and build a network of contacts that will stay with you throughout your life.
Over the years, we have witnessed profound and diverse transformations: engineers who became strategic consultants, doctors who launched digital health companies, technical professionals who moved on to lead international teams, executives who changed sectors or geography, and entrepreneurs who gained the confidence to launch their own projects. These are stories and career progressions that reflect what this MBA offers to those with the ambition to grow as a person, a professional, and a leader.
I would also encourage them to look at the concrete return on this decision. The results show that The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova has a very significant impact on career progression. For the International MBA, Financial Times data point to an average salary increase of 77% three years after completing the program, alongside strong post-graduation employability. For the Executive MBA, participants experience significant salary progression (as reflected in the Financial Times Executive MBA Ranking 2025, with an average annual salary of $208,060 and an average salary increase of 63% three years after the MBA), and accelerate their path to more senior roles and positions of greater responsibility.
Beyond these figures comes the network. Upon completing the program, graduates join a very broad community, bringing together alumni of The Lisbon MBA, Católica-Lisbon, and Nova SBE – more than 40,000 alumni worldwide – as well as MIT Sloan Affiliate Alumni status. These networks are a long-term asset that opens doors, creates opportunities, and enables professional and personal connections that remain meaningful throughout life.
This is also an MBA that opens horizons in very concrete ways: through the MIT Sloan immersion in Boston, the international leadership module in Brussels, exchange opportunities with partner business schools, and frequent interaction with companies and business leaders. We have alumni and graduates valued by leading national and international organizations across consulting, technology, energy, financial services, and healthcare, with companies including Accenture, Google, McKinsey, Microsoft, OutSystems, EDP, and Galp recruiting professionals through this program.
But perhaps the most important reason is this: choose a program that genuinely challenges you. A good MBA must take us out of our comfort zone. It must push us to think better, decide better, lead better, and better understand the impact of our decisions. That is what we seek to do at The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova: to develop leaders with ambition, principles, a sense of purpose, and a real capacity for transformation.
How does this distinction translate, in practice, into the career progression and employability of students and alumni?
Rankings matter because they provide international visibility and validate program quality, but their true value is measured by the concrete impact they have on students’ and alumni’s professional lives. On that point, the results of The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova are very clear.
The external validation from rankings strengthens the program’s reputation among companies, recruiters, and international markets. For students and alumni, this translates into greater recognition of The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova brand, greater credibility for their academic and professional journey, and a stronger network of opportunities. In a global talent market, an MBA’s reputation matters – and it matters even more when it is associated with proven career progression, employability, salary growth, and professional mobility.
In the Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2026, our International MBA (full-time) ranks 34th in the world and 12th in Europe for Career Progress Rank, reflecting a very significant rise from the previous year and real professional advancement among our alumni. The program also records an average salary increase of 77% three years after completing the MBA, with an average annual gross salary of approximately $138,232. These are indicators that demonstrate, in concrete numbers, the impact of the MBA on professional trajectories.
On the employability front, the results are equally strong. In the International MBA, we record a 94% employability rate six months after graduation, reflecting genuine market demand for our graduates. The sectors that recruit most heavily from our alumni include areas of significant transformation, such as financial services, private equity and funds, technology, consulting, energy, and healthcare – highly competitive sectors where leadership, analytical, innovation, and adaptability skills are particularly valued.
This progression does not happen by chance. The Career Management Center of The Lisbon MBA plays a central role here, supporting students in defining and achieving their professional goals through career advisory services, coaching, mentoring, workshops, meetings with business leaders, networking, and a dynamic alumni community that frequently serves as mentor, advisor, and facilitator of opportunities.
This distinction, therefore, is not merely symbolic – it reinforces a journey that already translates into real professional advancement. Many of our students pursue the MBA to accelerate their careers, change roles, change sectors, take them international, or prepare for more demanding leadership positions. International recognition helps to open doors, but it is the experience lived within the program that prepares students to walk through them with confidence.
Lisbon has been gaining visibility as a talent and executive education hub. To what extent does this recognition contribute to that international standing? And what percentage of international students does the program currently attract?
This recognition contributes in a very meaningful way to Lisbon’s international positioning as a hub for talent, innovation, entrepreneurship, and executive education. For many years, the main international references in management education were concentrated in a limited number of geographies. Today, Lisbon has been establishing itself as a city capable of attracting global talent, international companies, entrepreneurs, investors, scale-ups, technology centers, and highly qualified professionals. The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova is part of that story.
Being in the global Top 20 of the QS Executive MBA Rankings 2026 – Joint Programmes – as the only Portuguese program in this category, shows that Portugal can compete at the highest level in executive education. More importantly, it shows that Lisbon can be a launching point for a global career, not just an attractive place to live or work. This is an important message for the country: we are capable of creating, from Portugal, programs with international relevance that can attract talent and develop leaders for global contexts.
Lisbon today offers a very strong combination: academic excellence, quality of life, safety, international openness, business dynamism, connections to European and Atlantic markets, and growing capacity to attract talent. This combination makes the city a very appealing place to study, work, build a business, and develop an international professional career. The recognition of The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova helps to convert that attractiveness into academic and professional reputation, positioning Lisbon as an increasingly relevant destination for international executive education.
We have been sensing growing interest from international candidates, including Americans, who see Lisbon not only as an attractive place to study but also to live and raise a family. This is a clear signal that Portugal has become a highly appealing destination for those seeking a world-class postgraduate education, and that Lisbon can compete at a different level, attracting highly qualified talent to programs of global standing.
Is The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova’s goal to reach the top position in global rankings? What challenges and ambitions do you identify for the end of the decade?
Rankings are an important benchmark because they allow us to measure program quality in a highly competitive international context. Naturally, we want to continue to progress, climb the rankings, and compete with the best programs in the world. But our primary objective is not to work toward a ranking: it is to be consistent with the mission that defines us. Our mission is to develop Principled Global Leaders, and that demands excellence in everything that truly matters – academic quality, the holistic development of our students, and their career progression with purpose and positive impact on organizations and society.
More than a collection of distinctions, these results confirm the consistency of that vision. When that vision is executed with rigor and continuity, rankings tend to recognize that work naturally.
So, rather than setting a specific position as an objective, our ambition is to consolidate The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova as one of the world’s leading programs in executive management education, reinforcing what already sets us apart and anticipating the needs of future leaders. International recognition also reinforces our responsibility to continue innovating, update the curriculum, attract diverse talent, and maintain a close connection to the business world.
By the end of the decade, we identify several challenges, which are, in reality, opportunities. We want to continue to be regarded as the best MBA in Portugal and among the best in Europe and the world, and to achieve that, we will continue to invest in the internationalization of our programs, attract the best talent from diverse geographies, and reinforce Lisbon’s presence in global executive education circuits. We will continue to strengthen the diversity of our classes – across all dimensions: nationalities, sectors, gender, academic backgrounds, and professional experience – bringing different perspectives and horizons to enrich discussion and the resolution of complex problems.
Continuous curriculum innovation remains a key priority. Artificial intelligence, sustainability, technological innovation, the energy transition, new ways of working, and leadership in contexts of uncertainty are profoundly transforming organizations. Our role is to prepare our students to lead these transformations, making responsible decisions and creating value for all stakeholders. We are therefore strengthening the integration of AI and ESG into the curriculum, deepening the practical, hands-on dimensions of the programs through the consolidation and extension of partnerships with companies, organizations, and innovation ecosystems.
We also want to continue strengthening our alumni community, which is one of the most powerful sources of impact of any MBA. A program of this nature does not end on graduation day – it accompanies students throughout their lives, through the network, the opportunities, continuous learning, and the sense of belonging to a global community.
In short, we want to continue growing with ambition and responsibility. Our vision is to develop Principled Global Leaders prepared to make better decisions, create sustainable value, and have a positive impact on companies and society. If we do that consistently, we will naturally find ourselves closer to the top of the international rankings.
Maria José Amich
Executive Director, The Lisbon MBA
Source: Sapo news 05 Junho INTERVIEW TRANSLATION (SAPO / Journalist: Joana Petiz)
