Yun-Tzu Chao

1. Why did you choose to go back to school for an MBA? 

“I wanted a gap year to jump out of my comfort zone and look for analyst opportunities on the worldwide stage. There are lots of multinationals in the Netherlands and RSM is a top MBA school here, and it has many resources like a strong alumni network and high-quality education.”

2. How is the MBA preparing you to do business in a world in motion?

“We learn a lot about sustainability development. I want to enter in a multinational company with more knowledge about this. One of our courses is a real impact experience, and we learn how you can contribute to an SDGs in a business setting.”

3. How would you describe your RSM MBA experience so far? 

“People are very international, and everyone is open to try new things. We bring in our own cultures and experiences. We have debates about different subjects. People are proactive to share their thoughts. The discussions continue when we go to a bar after class. It’s interesting to learn about these new perspectives. People in Rotterdam are generally really friendly and inclusive.”

4. What has been the most challenging assignment or course during the MBA?

“For the Impact Entrepreneurship Honours Course, we had to find a solution for a problem in Rotterdam. We had just arrived here four months earlier and we only had three days to find a problem. The career coach from the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship challenged us to our limit. We came up with an exciting green rooftop idea to contribute to SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities).”

5. In what way has the Personal Leadership Development programme (PLD) affected you?

“It was abstract to me in the beginning. It’s not easy to reflect on your own behaviour. I spoke to an Executive MBA alumnus at a networking event, who said he was chasing a C-level career path, and PLD helped him learn different leadership styles. This made me think about what I want. I want to be an inclusive leader. I do experiments in my MBA study team and observe how I interact with people. The programme is helpful for me to be the leader I want to become.”

6. How are you planning to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals through business?  

“One of the reasons why I chose RSM is because I want to join a company that focuses on sustainable progress, for example reducing CO₂ emissions. I can help business teams to stimulate sustainability with new financial models and structures, so we can extract strategies to evaluate profitability versus sustainability.”

7. How have you utilised RSM’s alumni network and the RSM career centre so far?

“The ‘self-marketing course’ is helpful. The course structure helps us prepare our CV and interview questions. The career coach uses a systematic way to help us prepare for job hunting. In one assignment, we were asked to send messages to alumni. From this practice, I got an alumna mentor. She’s working at TSMC in the Netherlands’ branch, so she’s giving me advice in the finance and technology industry, because she knows the differences between Taiwanese and Dutch approaches and work environments. That’s really valuable too.”

8. What advice could you give to people who are considering doing an MBA?

“The most important question is to know the meaning of the MBA for you. It can be a laboratory for your leadership development, and a place to try things you otherwise never get to do. To put the investment and time into it, you need to know what you want out of it to make sure it gives you the value you are looking for.”

9. Has your MBA journey changed your outlook on your future? 

“I was planning on staying in the pharmaceutical industry and only changing locations because I like the lifestyle here. But during coffee chats with alumni, I found out the technology industry is booming here with many opportunities. I want to continue my finance career – either in pharma or towards the technology industry – and relate it to sustainability. This is the best place to do that!”