Online business education programs are continuing to grow in popularity, despite a fall in demand for campus-based MBA courses due to a thriving job market and a high inflationary pay environment.
By Daniel Kahn
The world is changing, and with it, so are the demands of the job market. As we move towards a more digital future, the need for individuals with technological expertise has skyrocketed. In light of this, online learning has become an increasingly popular alternative to traditional education. Online business education programs are continuing to grow in popularity.
This trend has been reflected in the latest QS Online MBA rankings. The rankings have been compiled after analysing factors such as academic reputation, employment outcomes, and student engagement.

Average number of applications per online MBA program per business school
The pandemic forced business schools to shift to online learning to ensure continuity. Online learning has several advantages; it is flexible, affordable, and convenient, making it accessible to people all over the world. It has allowed working professionals to upgrade their skills while continuing to work, and it has also made education accessible to people who were previously unable to attend traditional business schools due to geographical or financial constraints.

"Pursuing an online MBA has allowed women to continue their education and advance their careers while managing their caregiving responsibilities."
According to the QS rankings, the best online MBA program in Europe is offered by IE Business School in Spain and Warwick Business School in the UK. IE Business School has consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and is known for its innovative teaching methods. The school's online MBA program has a curriculum that focuses on digital transformation, entrepreneurship, and innovation, preparing students for the rapidly changing job market. Warwick’s program is known for its excellent faculty and personalized support. The program is designed to be flexible, allowing students to tailor it to their needs and interests. It also offers a range of specializations, including entrepreneurship, finance, and marketing. Other schools that made it to the top ten include the University of Bath School of Management, the University of Birmingham Business School, and the University of Edinburgh Business School. These schools have all made significant investments in their online MBA programs in recent years and are now reaping the benefits.
The pandemic has created several challenges for women in the workplace, including an increase in unpaid care work. However, online MBA programs have provided women with greater flexibility to balance their work and personal responsibilities. Pursuing an online MBA has allowed women to continue their education and advance their careers while managing their caregiving responsibilities. This has enabled many women to maintain their work hours or even pursue new job opportunities that were not previously available to them.

Increase in female enrolment in online MBA
International student proportion in some online MBA programs
In terms of international students, the ranking reveals that Europe has the highest percentage of international students in its online MBA programs, with some programs having 100 percent of international students. The online MBA programs' global reach and flexible delivery format make them a popular choice for international students looking to advance their business education while managing other responsibilities. Additionally, the diverse student body in these programs can provide a valuable cross-cultural learning experience for students. The United States also has a mixed distribution, with some programs having a high percentage of international students and others having none.
The rankings also highlight the importance of student engagement and support. Online learning can be isolating, and students need to feel supported to succeed. Schools that offer personalized support and engagement, such as Warwick Business School, have performed well in the rankings.
Online learning has become an increasingly popular alternative to traditional education, and the latest QS rankings highlight the growing importance of digital skills in the job market. The rankings also demonstrate that schools that invest in their online MBA programs are seeing significant returns. However, it is important to consider the rankings in conjunction with other factors when choosing an online MBA program.
Faraway Home
As the world drops all COVID-19 restrictions, the online realm still provides the ability to travel almost anywhere virtually.
By Anton John Crace

“We really believe that the capability to work in a diverse team or to collaborate with different cultures, with people in different time zones, is an additional soft skill that is fundamental."
A high appetite for online education, which, according to the ongoing QS International Student Survey (ISS), continues to increase year-on-year regardless of the current global situation means there is potential for universities to reach more students unable to travel overseas.
MBA programs are a distinct example of where the online world could reach students with lowered capacity to travel. Typically attracting those aged in their late 20s and onwards, with full-time work in middle to senior management positions, student profiles within MBA courses present unique challenges in achieving an in-person overseas experience.
Many, for example, are unable to take time off from work to travel to a different country, while others have young families which can be difficult to relocate. These student profiles present an almost ideal demographic for which an online course could solve mobility barriers.
As much as online could solve those problems, however, the 2020 QS Online MBA Rankings, released in April, reveal diverse international student ratios within business schools around the world, ranging from entirely international to entirely domestic.
According to educators, the reasons behind the high levels of variance in international and domestic ratios are just as diverse.
Creating diversity
“The online MBA for us and, as I understand, for all universities, is basically to reach that student body anywhere in the world,” observes Izabela Karanfiloska, Head of Master Programs at the SBS Swiss Business School (SBS). “That’s why we do tend to allocate more funds for marketing to international students.”
Marketing alone, however, is unlikely the driving factor behind why Karanfiloska’s institution, which came 27th in the 2020 Online MBA Rankings, attracts a predominantly international cohort into its program. “The main reason why we have such a high international body I think it is that the students that can come to onsite classes, they tend to choose that option,” she says.
Associate Dean Open Programs, Antonella Moretto, meanwhile, says Politecnico di Milano (MIP) School of Management is meticulous in its curation of diversity within its MBA programs.
Ranked fifth and 137th in the MBA and 2021 World University Rankings (WUR), respectively, Italian-based MIP has achieved a more or less even split between domestic and international students in its online MBA program.
“We really believe that for an MBA program, one of the values is the diversity that you have in the class in order to brainstorm, to bring different backgrounds, to bring different points of view,” she says.
Moretto tells QS diversity does not start and end with nationality, and her university actively enrolls those from diverse work and sector backgrounds, but adds having international students creates a different dimension to the learning experience.
“We really believe that the capability to work in a diverse team or to collaborate with different cultures, with people in different time zones, is an additional soft skill that is fundamental in the current management approach,” she says.
“In the business world, that is something that you can learn much more if you try this, if you live this rather than if you just listen to a class explaining to you the value and the importance of the elements.”
Consequently, Moretto says, MIP’s marketing department pays close attention not just to the proportion of international students overall, but the mix of nationalities.
“If the recruitment is done well and we investigate that very carefully… [students] really see a value in that.”
Bringing the university to students
Marketing and cohort curation, however, are not the only factors that influence the make up of international students in an online MBA program. The top 15 largest proportions of international students among the almost 50 universities within the 2020 Online MBA Rankings are all within Europe, enjoying close proximity to international students in a comparable time zone.
India’s Amity Directorate of Distance & Online Education, ranked 34th, has the largest proportion of international students outside of Europe. Only one other non-European university, the Indiana University (Kelley Direct Programs) in the US, which came sixth in the ranking, entered the top 20 by student ratio.
Geography, coupled with mode of delivery appears to be one of the biggest determining factors for international students, observes Ian Lafferty, Director of Executive Programmes at the University of Otago, located in Dunedin on the South Island of New Zealand.
Otago, which ranked third in Online MBAs and 184th in the 2021 World University Rankings, delivers a synchronous program, requiring students to actively participate in class. “That recording is not to watch if you missed a meeting. It’s for revision only,” Lafferty tells QS.
“The idea is that you will show up for the meeting. Attendance is 92, 93 percent, even though a recording is there.”
Delivering a synchronous program, observes Lafferty, also means ensuring a work-life balance in addition to studies is an important consideration.
“What we do is we have three hours every two evenings a week from 7 pm to 10 pm,” he says.
“But that’s split into two seventy-five minute sessions intentionally to give people time to put kids to bed.
“There was a lot of debate when we first set up the program. If we’re going to do it synchronously, what’s the timing going to be?”
Synchronous delivery, student profiles and time zones substantially impacted Otago’s number of online MBA students, and, being 12 hours ahead of London, attracts predominantly domestic students, many of whom are unable to travel to Dunedin to study.
To overcome the challenges recruiting international students to an online program, Lafferty says universities must instead go to the students. To achieve this, Otago chose to deliver a Chinese-language online MBA course in China, the first international university to launch such a program in a foreign language other than English.
The course, which began in June 2020, follows the same model as Otago’s original online MBA program, including commencement time.
Ignacio Gafo, Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean, Global & Executive MBA Programs at IE Business School in Spain, adds in-country support services for students overseas are also important.
“Coaching services or career services… only when you implement those services, that’s when you can really deliver the right learning and journey for the students,” he says.
“They might want to move [overseas later in life]; it’s not just a question of knowing people, but also we need to support.”
IE Business School, which has maintained its position at the top of the Online MBA Rankings since their first release in 2018, has a predominantly international cohort of students and provide services by utilizing its more than 30 offices around the world for students to access.
“Being able to build a community in a real sense so that students get support... I think also can make a very big difference here,” says Gafo.
Maturing diversity
The ratio of domestic and international students within an online MBA program more or less determines the amount of proactive effort and focus a university puts into recruiting further international students.
All say they would like to enroll more overseas students to some degree, and acknowledge Moretto’s observation that one of the purposes of an online MBA course is to increase choice for students around the world.
“The online experience gives you the opportunity to select the school that you like, the school that you believe is more consistent with your unique DNA,” she says.
But all also acknowledge the need for MBA programs to have meaningful diversity within their classes to ensure all students get the most not only of the course, but also from each other.
“Obviously, we want to have a good balance. About this balance, it’s more important for us the quality of the class rather than just the percentage of the international students,” Moretto concludes.
Developing global leadership capabilities
Business schools have immense potential to prepare students for excelling in defence and space careers.
By Lan Snell, Dean of Programs, University of South Australia

"The defence and space sectors are a prime example of industries that require leaders who can navigate complex geopolitical relationships and work across different cultural and institutional contexts."
Business schools have a vital role to play in developing leadership capabilities for professionals with sector experience. This is particularly important in sectors such as defence and space, where technical competence is essential, but leadership skills such as teamwork, communication, and adaptability are equally critical.
Geopolitical partnerships between Australia, the US, and the UK, including the recently announced AUKUS security pact, have led to the need for greater collaboration, as well as a shared understanding of global supply chains, geopolitical dynamics, and localised defence requirements.
Business schools are uniquely positioned to develop leaders and upskill experienced professionals who can excel in these environments. They have access to cutting-edge research on leadership, project management, organizational behaviour, and cross-cultural management, and they have experience teaching these skills to a diverse range of professionals and cultures. Business schools can leverage their partners and alumni to develop learners with exposure to real-world challenges and opportunities, including internships, case material, and executive education programs.
The defence and space sectors are a prime example of industries that require leaders who can navigate complex geopolitical relationships and work across different cultural and institutional contexts. Defence and space projects are complex and often international in scope, involving partnerships between governments, private companies, and academic institutions over multiple decades across the globe. In this context, leaders must be able to build and maintain productive relationships, communicate effectively, and work collaboratively.
Development of enterprising, globally connected leaders will be key to the success of security pacts such as AUKUS, and as Australia’s University of Enterprise, the University of South Australia is leading by example.
The University of South Australia is collaborating with American and British partners to deliver a Global Executive Master of Business Administration in Defence and Space. The Global Executive MBA: Defence and Space draws on a unique global model, presenting learners with a leadership program like no other. The program aims to future-proof leaders in a dynamic, unpredictable, and evolving geo-political world.
South Australia is at the centre of Australia’s defence and space ecosystems, and has attracted many internationally recognised defence companies to establish a presence in the state. This makes the University of South Australia well positioned to deliver a tailored executive MBA program with a curriculum informed by world-leading industry experts in the defence and space sectors.
Teaching will occur through three in-country residentials in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, interspersed with high quality online teaching delivery. A cohort delivery model will lead to strong networks amongst learners, who will be global leaders in the defence and space.
Learners will benefit from the University of South Australia’s diverse industry partnerships which will bring real-world scenarios to classroom learning. Program content has been developed in consultation with industry partners, ensuring the curriculum is tailored to the defence and space sectors and addresses current and emerging industry challenges. Courses will include internationally recognised industry speakers and case studies from world-leading defence policy institutes and thinktanks.
The UniSA Global Executive MBA: Defence and Space is designed for public or civil servants, defence industry professionals, and senior defence officers looking to develop their industry skills and sector leadership capabilities. This will be an experienced and driven cohort, with senior leaders ranging from CEOs, directors, senior consultants, and specialists from within the defence and space sectors and those servicing the sector.