Student Profile: DBA at the International School of Management (ISM) – René Lenssen

The DBA is becoming increasingly reputable as a doctoral degree and represent a viable and more practical alternative to a PhD.  While many choose the DBA in pursuit of an academic future within a business school or university, others simply value the insights into business practices and theories the degree can offer. Most DBA students have already achieved an accomplished career and decide to study a DBA to be at the very top of their fields.

René Lensson, a DBA student from the Netherlands, studying at the International School or Management (ISM) has decided on the DBA path for exactly this reason as he explains: ˜I hope that the DBA will give me more insights in my business interests and I hope to become a leader in my area of specialisation – professionally and academically.” Currently a senior partner in a consulting firm, René has built his career primarily in education and development. With an MBA from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh as the basis for his DBA, he decided that the DBA programme at ISM, with its academic rigour and highly relevant business courses, would best meet his aims and goals within his career path. While ISM also offers a PhD programme, the DBA courses are reputable for refining the leadership and business skills of participants, focusing specifically on the challenges of senior management on an international level.

The programme can be delivered in a mixed mode and primarily offered through 3-day and / or 2-week courses and seminars conducted on various campuses in Paris, New York, Tokyo and Shanghai, as well as various online components. This structure provides not only for a greater international immersion but also the required flexibility necessary for professionals and managers at a high level, a feature that attracted René to the programme in 2008.

René opted for the DBA, rather than the PhD programme, as it offers a greater emphasis on coursework components, which are less theoretical but have greater relevance for his consulting work. The academic rigour demanded by the programme and the workload involved, however, is otherwise fully comparable to the PhD programme. And while it is a demanding task to juggle the responsibility of a senior consulting role and the academic requirements for a DBA, René finds it manageable, ˜except for the occasional peak-stress periods”.

His thesis centres on a topic that is directly relevant to his field and, still in its early stages, examines ˜investment opportunities in the for-profit education industry and the link with the growth of global demand for international education”. The topic was chosen based on personal interest and René’s strong believe that it will be an important issue in his field in the future.

The ISM DBA programme allows René to choose his own courses and components and the experience so far has been very positive, as he explains: ˜we have exciting seminars, professors and top-level students and the programme allows for enough flexibility while not compromising on academic rigor. In fact, during my studies I feel that I am already reaching the next level, thanks to my fellow students who are all top executives with 15-35 years of work experience, some even already have a PhD, as well as the access I get to exciting real-life projects”.

As a final word of advice, René recommends that it is important to be fully aware of the difference between a DBA and a PhD and carefully consider the relevance of either for your career future.