Alumni and Students

However, during the course of my university program, I realized that the role of the government in the economic and social environments is appealing to me. That is the reason why I decided to join the MPM 6 program – a life changing step for me.
Being only 23 years old, fresh-out of university boy, I decided to undergo this adventure at SDA Bocconi School of Management mainly because of the positive feedback I received from my colleagues and instructors at my undergraduate university as well as the quickly responsive and supportive SDA Bocconi administration. During the master program, I conducted numerous group works, participated in a great number of public sector case study simulations as well as drafted several reports, all that in a close cooperation with my master peers coming from all over the world. The MPM program covers a broad range of courses from Financial Accounting and Quantitative Methods to Strategic and Human Resource Management. Nevertheless, the most interesting course for me came in the third term of study – Microeconomics of Competitiveness (in affiliation with Harvard Business School). The course explored the determinants of competitiveness and successful economic development viewed from a bottom-up, microeconomic perspective.
Despite the importance of the academic theory and practical experiences provided to me by the MPM, the friendships I made during the course of the program, I recognize as the most important asset that I acquired in Milan. We (the MPM-ers) discovered the city as one, supported and helped each other in crucial moments and last but not the least, had lots of fun and crazy moments together. I believe, throughout this year, I made life-long friendships that I can trust and rely on for all of my future endeavors.
Ultimately, the MPM program helped me realize that the public management is fascinating because of the broad range of competences that one should have, in order to manage well in practice. In my opinion, the beauty and the complexity of the public sector are doubtless. I believe that the multidisciplinary academic background provided by SDA Bocconi perfectly suits the required dimensions of knowledge for all public sector related career paths. I truly believe, with that knowledge, all together, we can make the difference!

my professional experience has been predominately in private sector business. In sum, I saw the MPM-IOMBA degree as a perfect program that would unite the two and enable me to pursue my long term goals of facilitating public-private partnerships.
MPM prepares students for professional life with its challenging academics and written deliverables with competing deadlines. Furthermore, the group work structure puts MPM students at an advantage in a work environment with ever increasing importance on Team skills. Not only does the group structure prove helpful for life outside the classroom, but it is instrumental in building strong bonds between classmates. Furthermore, the small classroom size means that MPM students are more than just classmates - they become family.
MPM's career services and professors have far-reaching contacts in the international community and public sector. These great resources and strong networks prove incredibly useful for students as they offer internships that allow students to start a career in a field that allows them to apply their theoretical knowledge on the job. Additionally, the MPM Team works closely with students throughout the year to identify short and long term career goals. When trying to complete assignments on time, prepare case studies for the following day's lecture, and stay on top of study material, this partnership between the MPM staff and students really helps ease students' stress with regards to the application process.
All in all, my experience at SDA Bocconi marks an important chapter in my life as it has furnished me with a superior education in management, as well as life-long friends and an extended family.

I have always seen myself as working in the development field and when I saw the MPM structure I thought it would be perfect for me, to make me ready to work in the international public sector in the field of development.
The MPM program is challenging and at times, quite intense with many deadlines and stress levels can get pretty high. This is actually pretty useful as it will help us be prepared later on. I liked that the program starts out with a course in Public sector basics which really gave us a good framework that really helped us through the rest of the courses.
I actually began my internship only 3 weeks after the end of the course. I had received several offers and could actually choose the internship opportunity that most suited me. This was truly fantastic. It is not unlikely to receive multiple offers, but only if you are pro-active and collaborate closely with MPM staff and help them know what is of interest to you and keep them updated on your ideas. Really use this resource!
I carried out my internship at the UN Millennium Campaign- Europe Regional Office in Rome. I was exposed to all sorts of work from policy to communications. I learned alot, both on a technical as well as managerial level.
I found a consultancy position immediately after my internship, at the FAO headquarters in Rome in the Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division. My academic qualifications and my previous experience at the UN Millennium Campaign were key to obtaining this appointment.
I highly recommed the MPM from an academic, professional and personal point of view.

After completing my Bachelor of Arts in anthropology and political science, I felt the need to work in a sector that would involve a number of the social systems I had focused on during my undergraduate tenure at UCLA. My primary professional interests included international development and cooperation, especially those areas related to state-society relations, social and economic inclusion, and public sector reform. After spending a short time abroad, both traveling and working, I was interested in furthering my education and acquiring an advanced degree that could combine the theoretical and interdisciplinary background of my previous studies with the practical skills necessary for professional success.
As I researched various graduate programs, I came across the promotional materials provided by the Master of Public Management (MPM) at SDA Bocconi. My decision to attend, however, came after speaking to a number of MPM alumni, all of whom had mentioned the different advantages they received from the Bocconi experience. It seemed odd to enroll and commence my courses in public administration, especially at a university most recognized for its programs in international business and management. As I studied in Milan though and applied my skills after completing the curriculum, it became apparent that SDA Bocconi was able to provide the managerial training that is often found lacking in similar programs of study.
Currently, I am working for a private research institute in Cambodia, evaluating the effectiveness of international development projects and conducting studies for various donor organizations. While completing my internship and beginning my career, I realized the advantages mentioned by those MPM alumni I had spoken to before beginning my own Bocconi experience.
The university’s international faculty and student body – together with the skills attained during innumerable hours of in-class instruction, group work, case studies and presentations, and a final internship component – prepared me for the great expectations placed upon those working in the public sector. The countless hours spent studying in the halls of SDA Bocconi not only prepared me for work in the public sector, but provided me with the countless advantages to succeed, which can often only be attained from a graduate program that truly understands its students and the motivations that drive them to make a positive impact in this world. The MPM program mentions “managing public interests locally and globally”, and I feel that I can now do so as a solid education and managerial training was imparted upon me. However, looking back upon my Bocconi experience, I acquired much more than an acute knowledge to handle the boundless challenges ahead; I inherited the necessary understanding that one can make a difference.

Challenges, knowledge, opportunities, network. That’s what MPM meant to me. Coming from a very specific background studying the languages and cultures of Asia, I had clear in mind that I had to integrate the knowledge that I had with topics more specifically related to project planning and management, in order to achieve a more unique and competitive profile. And that is why I applied to MPM.
From the very beginning of the master it was extremely challenging for me. I had to deal, not only with subjects that were completely new to me, but also with a totally different approach to study. At the beginning I was overwhelmed with group work, report writing, and presentations; at times, I got to the point where I questioned myself, wondering if I was really able to make it through the whole programme. Throughout my life I have never given up on a challenge and neither did I this time. At the end of the master, all the efforts and struggles totally paid off.
Another crucial part of the master was the internship. It was an enormous challenge from the beginning to the end. I went through the struggle of finding the right one, the stress of performing well during the interview, the anxiety of waiting for a response, and finally the adrenaline of achieving my objective. I had my first experience in the United Nations system, with a 6 month internship at the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in Bonn, Germany. I had always been interested in the United Nations, and the internship gave me the chance to concretely see how it works, also enabling me to put in practice all that I had learnt during the master. It was an amazing and enriching experience that helped me understand what I wanted to do with my life.
And that is how I got here in Bangkok, Thailand. I applied to a programme funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, implemented in cooperation with UNDESA and UNV open to young people willing to have an experience with the United Nations. After several interviews and tests, I was selected for a position at UNESCO Bangkok, as coordinator for the Mobile Training Team Project developed within the Asia-Pacific Programme in Educational Innovation for Development. I arrived in Thailand only a couple of weeks ago, but I can already say that it is an overwhelming country full of opportunities and new exciting challenges, and I am definitely ready for them!

Watch messages from the MPM Alumni about their choice of MPM, the experience during the Master program and their tips for perspective students.