What Do Employers Seek in Graduates?

A French consulting firm, Emerging, asked thousands of executives, managers and recruiters from 20 countries to rank universities based on the desirability of their graduates as potential employees.

There are endless rankings being produced these days, measuring every conceivable facet of a university education, from research and teaching, to academic performance, admissions and cost.

Emerging's list, which was released exclusively in an IHT education report today, can basically be summed up in a question: “You're the boss - which graduate would you pay a salary to work for you?”

Emerging's top 10 looked similar to most top 10s, in that it was dominated by the Ivy League, Oxbridge and top Western schools:

Universities with the most employable students
1. Harvard
2. Yale
3. Cambridge
4. Oxford
5. Stanford
6. M.I.T.
7. Columbia
8. Princeton
9. Imperial College London
10. Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main

But as Christopher F. Schuetze reports, Asian schools have been edging their way from the bottom, to the middle, to nearly the top. In the past year, Peking University jumped from 109 to 11; the Indian Institute of Science from 134 to 35; Shanghai Jiao Tong from 139 to 44; and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology from 94 to 46.

Asia-Pacific universities with the most employable students
1. Peking University
2. Tokyo Institute of Technology
3. University of Tokyo
4. Fudan University, Shanghai
5. Monash University, Australia
6. Australian National University
7. Indian Institute of Science
8. National University of Singapore
9. Shanghai Jiao Tong University
10. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Did some schools really improve the quality of their academic offerings so much in just one year? Not necessarily, since employers look for more than just classroom performance. Some experts say that those with cultural experience, language skills and professional contacts related to growing Asia-Pacific economies may be in higher demand.

One article in the special report examines how Asian institutions have been creating more globally minded prorgrams to meet demand. Miki Tanikawa visited the business school at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, or Kaist, which is ranked No. 129 on the Emerging list. It might not be an obvious, immediate choice for international M.B.A. applicants, but its focus on engineering, English education and foreign exchange is drawing attention overseas.

Chris also looks at how Europeans are trying to play catch-up to the United States in teaching e-business. Though, for now, the birthplace of Google, Facebook and Silicon Valley is still miles ahead of everyone else.

Finally, for aspiring masters of the universe, D.D. Guttenplan checks out a one-year master of science course in proprietary trading, d eveloped in part by Futex. The best-performing recruits will be allowed to trade in real time, with the company's real money. Now that's real proof of confidence in a graduate - when you hand over the purse strings.