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INSEAD Dean Mihov on Sustainability, STEM & School’s Future

By Lainie Blum Cogan
Last updated: April 10, 2025
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Yaron Dahan, Expert Consultant and our Director of Business Development, had the chance to visit INSEAD’s Dean, Ilian Mihov, at the Fontainebleau campus to hear about INSEAD’s recent changes and plans for the future.

This interview includes

Jump to Related Articles for more video content on INSEAD, including additional videos from Dean Mihov.

INSEAD’s Investment into Career Development

Since Ilian Mihov took the helm in 2013, INSEAD’s Career Development Center (CDC) has strengthened significantly. In addition to each student having a personal career advisor, the MBA curriculum was revamped as of 2018, putting a focus on business and society.  Additionally, the Personal Leadership Development Program was introduced to help promote “personal and interpersonal awareness, as well as communication effectiveness”. 

In the Executive MBA Education sphere, INSEAD is opening a facility in San Francisco, has grown its sections in Asia and Abu Dhabi, and introduced executive Master’s programs in Consulting and Coaching for Change.

Most impressive is the school’s biggest intellectual investment: The Hoffman Global Institute for Business and Society.

The Hoffman Global Institute for Business & Society

To mitigate the sometimes ugly truth that business can cause negative effects on society or the environment, the Hoffman Institute aims to bring awareness about the impact companies impart on society and the environment. INSEAD recognizes that the world is heading towards more conscious, environmentally- and social-impact-friendly behavior; they want to give students, faculty and the broader business community the tools to think about different business models and operations, in order to be a positive contributor to society. 

As Dean Mihov explains, companies feel pressure from citizens and employees to act in a more mindful way. An increased number of business leaders are focusing on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how to implement them into their strategy and operations.

“We want to change the mindset, not only of our students, we want to change what management education is all about.” 

–Ilian Mihov, INSEAD Dean

A bold statement. But how is INSEAD taking this to heart?

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INSEAD Leads by Example on Sustainable Development Goals

Although much large-scale environmental and societal change begins with regulators, INSEAD has upheld its motto, “business as a force for good” in different ways.

  • Executive Education Center, Singapore. While designing this building in 2015, INSEAD had two objectives in mind: create a first-class professional space for executives, and focus on sustainability. From solar panels on the rooftop to a chilled-water air conditioning system, it’s not surprising that this building earned the Platinum Green Mark from the Buildings and Construction Project, Singapore. The expenses saved in electricity costs are also a positive aspect of this project.
  • A passionate community. Despite its fairly recent opening, the Hoffman Institute has thousands of alumni who are engaged already. Additionally, 40–60 faculty members are enthusiastically involved, and students are eager to experience what the program has to offer. 

Dean Mihov explains that in order to accompany these types of business trends and uphold the exceptional INSEAD MBA value, the program must continually change and improve its curriculum. One way they have risen to this occasion is thorough teaching the right skills that are relevant to digital technologies.

STEM-Oriented Programs at INSEAD

To keep up with the rate that programs are evolving, INSEAD has several courses that promote a more agile MBA for the future. In addition to a required Digital Marketing course, the school runs a Data Science elective course, which draws in more than a third of students. This course is structured in three parts:

  • Analytics techniques. This gives students an introduction to artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics in general.
  • Basic coding/programming. This element of the course teaches students how to actually connect with the data and run simple programs. The idea is not to make expert programmers, but rather, ensure that students understand the capabilities of this technology.
  • Business applications. The hands-on part of the course allows students to evaluate a problem using the dataset, and approach the path to finding a solution in an informed way.

In addition to future-oriented courses in its MBA program, INSEAD recently launched its Master in Management (MiM) program. The MiM program helps individuals bridge the gap with their past academic path—whatever they may be—and business.