WHARTON DIARY:There are no bad options when choosing between Wharton and the schools with which it competes

THE ACADEMIC year is moving on and another set of prospective students are applying for entry into Wharton’s MBA programme.

The admissions committee involves some of the current second-year students in the process; as a result I have been both reading applications and interviewing candidates.

Being involved in the process gives current students some influence in shaping future classes. There is definitely some self-interest involved in this.

One of the major reasons for attending an MBA programme at a school like Wharton is the value of the brand. Future classes and their behaviour and performance will have an effect on the value of that brand and we have spent the last year-and-a-half learning how to keep value high.

Many of the candidates who are offered admission find themselves choosing between different MBA programmes. When that is the case, an admitted applicant will often ask for advice in helping to make their decision. So, in tandem with reviewing applications, you often find yourself sitting down to talk to someone who is debating whether to come to Wharton over some other school.

While recognising the bias of my opinion, I often find myself mulling over the pros and cons of a Wharton MBA versus other options. There are no bad choices when deciding between Wharton and the schools with which it competes, but everyone needs to look at what school is a good fit for them.

Some of the things that appealed to me about Wharton, such as the size of the class and the academic rigour, might not be attractive to others.

A large number of the prospective students with whom I have been speaking have expressed an interest in entrepreneurship. In many ways, the current environment is a great time to launch a new company as the downside risk and opportunity cost are lower than they were a few years ago.

Entrepreneurship has also been on my mind a lot recently, particularly given the efforts of the Irish Government in this area.

Last week saw the release of the final report from the Government’s Innovation Taskforce, which highlighted areas that are essential to Ireland positioning itself as a global player in the world economy.

I believe some tough decisions need to be made to secure the vision that the taskforce has presented.

One of the recommendations that caught my eye, given my own interest in early-stage finance and investment, was that Ireland must improve access for entrepreneurs to angel funding and venture capital.

The taskforce recommendation of getting top-tier venture capital firms involved through the proposed innovation fund makes sense but, given the current economic climate in Ireland, I wonder where the necessary funding will come from.

A related topic that caught my attention was the recent discussion of whether academic standards are declining in the Irish education system.

The Innovation Taskforce rightly highlighted human capital as one of the key resources for Ireland in the future, and it will be interesting to see how the education system responds to the needs of the economy in the future. On a purely anecdotal level, I have heard from friends involved in third-level education in Ireland that standards have dipped, particularly in technical fields.

I was a bit disappointed to find there were no Irish students in Wharton’s first-year MBA class this year.

Ireland could benefit by encouraging talented young people to go abroad and study at world-class institutions, where they can build networks that will help them foster innovation when they return home.

I’ll be doing my best to spread this message the next time I am back in Galway – a friend at a new engineering innovation course at NUIG has asked me to come and talk to the students. I’ll be telling them to get out of Ireland and learn everything they can, then bring it all home and help build the companies that will put Ireland at the forefront of the world economy.

Gareth Keane from Moycullen, Co Galway, is in the MBA class of 2010 at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.