The University of St Gallen has an exceptional legacy of innovation in education
IN FOCUS: UNIVERSITY OF ST GALLEN In a new series of profiles that show how AMBA-accredited institutions are shaping the future of global management education, University of St Gallen dean Karolin Frankenberger emphasises the value of its community
back and recommend the school’s offerings to colleagues means more to her than St Gallen’s traditionally strong showing in business school rankings. “Our alumni are really proud that they studied here and act as ambassadors for the university. They tell their teams: ‘You should also enjoy this experience and this spark that you can only get at St Gallen.’” The testimonies of a trio of MBA-level graduates serve as an indication of the value alumni place in their business school experience at St Gallen. For example, Sameer Ismail, a graduate of the International Executive MBA, speaks of the strength of relationships formed between class participants: “Where the school really shone was the way that, coming into the programme, we started as professionals.
as an alpine journey of new horizons, teamwork and self-discovery. “Another example is our start-up summit, which is the go-to place not just for all young start-ups, but also for venture capitalists and experts in relevant fields,” Frankenberger adds, detailing how this student-founded event draws thousands of people to St Gallen each year. Frankenberger believes that initiatives formed from the ground up, such as those outlined above, are in the school’s DNA and demonstrate how it “really lives entrepreneurship”. LASTING LINKS WITH STUDENTS The ES-HSG dean also highlights the strong level of engagement the school has with its graduates, arguing that their desire to come
In this episode of the docuseries, Leading The Future , a collaborative project between AMBA & BGA and BlackRook Media, Karolin Frankenberger, dean of the University of St Gallen’s Executive School of Management, Technology and Law (ES‑HSG), points to the power of placing faith in an institution’s community to guide organisational innovation. “A lot of our successes come from bottom-up initiatives,” Frankenberger enthuses. “The innovative EMBA X programme we launched together with ETH Zürich was founded by faculty and not by the university’s leadership,” she continues, in reference to a joint programme focused on technology and leadership that has sought to reimagine the executive MBA (EMBA) experience
42 Ambition • ISSUE 4 • 2025
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