How does RSM’s MBA shape your career? What’s it like to live in the Netherlands? What are the challenges and rewards of the full-time MBA? What are the assignments and modules all about?
In these podcasts, we talk to MBA students, alumni, and faculty members. They share their experience, insights, and advice on the International Full-time MBA programme and Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM).
Click one of the topics below to find a podcast episode that answers your question.
‘I did not expect the MBA to be an easy and smooth journey. I believe that it must be challenging. But at the same time I also believe that it will be a rewarding experience.’
In this podcast I spoke with Seraphine Nathania about the start of her Full-time MBA journey. Seraphine specialises in risk internal auditing and decided to do an MBA here are RSM. Even though her Full-time MBA journey just started in January 2024, we asked her about her decision making process and her journey so far. We also asked her if she had any prior expectations of doing an MBA. ‘I did not expect the MBA to be an easy and smooth journey. I believe that it must be challenging. But at the same time I also believe that it will be a rewarding experience,’ Seraphine shared. Listen to the podcast, to learn more about her decision making process and how her journey has been so far.
When asked about his expectations, Juan says: ‘You have your expectations, but at the same time you want to be surprised at how the programme can change any paradigm you had before coming here. Personally, I was looking to learn more about other fields I had not been involved in.’
What is it like to move from Peru to the Netherlands? And to meet with about a hundred people who will be your peers during your MBA journey? And what are some expectations you have of doing an MBA? Juan Jose Castillo (Full-time MBA, class of ’24) shares his experiences during the first module of his MBA here at Rotterdam School of Management. To learn more about how Juan experienced the first module of his Full-time MBA, listen to the full podcast!
‘Module two was quite a bit different than module one in two main aspects I would say. Firstly, there was a significant number of assignments in module two, while module one was more based on quizzes,' Juan Jose Castillo (FTMBA ’24) says.
In this episode, Juan shares how this module revolved more around assignments and teamwork. He shares some of the learnings and highlights of this second module. He also shares how he attended the graduation ceremony in March, when one of his friends and our alums graduated and how he experienced that.
To learn more about Juan’s experiences during the second module of his FTMBA journey and what he looks forward to in the next modules, listen to the full podcast!
‘(…) Even though we have been together as a cohort through our main core courses, you can choose in which area you would like to develop in your professional career. Or in which area you would like to learn more.’
The ability to choose advanced courses based on career aspirations is one of the remarkable features of our Full-time MBA program. In this podcast Juan shares his module three and four highlights, providing an inside look into these enriching learning phases, the advanced courses, the Living Management Project and an incredible study trip to Estonia. Hit play, sit back and listen to the full podcast episode about Juan’s journey!
“I want to be part of the energy transition that is happening right now in the oil and gas industry. To make this happen, there will be a lot of acquisitions in the sustainability space. So I wanted to learn about sustainability, but also how these deals work. If I were to look at a renewables company and their financials, I need to understand how their business works, how they make money, and how we can make energy cheaper and accessible to our clients.”
Choosing the right combination of MBA electives allows you to do a deep dive in one particular subject, or perhaps even pivot your career! In our latest Programme Podcast we met up with Asimwe Ruganyoisa (FT MBA’21) to discuss her reason for choosing electives around Finance and Sustainability.
Topics covered in this podcast:
After her first week on campus, we invited Tanzanian Full-time MBA student Asimwe Ruganyoisa to our podcast studio to give us the real story about doing an MBA at RSM.
She didn’t hold back and told us all about the soul-searching she was asked to do from day one in the Personal Leadership Development programme, the challenges of meeting 150 new people from different cultures, and of course: how to cope with Dutch winter! We will check back with her throughout the year to hear more about her Rotterdam experience.
‘Worth mentioning are the lecturers as well. So far, it’s been really good. You look at our Finance Lecturer and they had 25 years of experience at PWC, really quality staff.’ – Matt Gledhill, Full-time MBA Class of ’23.
Matt moved from the UK to the Netherlands for his MBA. In this podcast he shares what his decision making process looked like, why he chose RSM and how he has been experiencing his MBA so far. The topics covered in this podcast are:
‘I spoke to a few alumni here at RSM and also staff from the MBA office, so that also really helped. And I attended some really interesting online talks from the Erasmus Center for Women and Organisations and really loved talking to them. I really liked the approach that they had.’ - Ana Miarnau, Full-time MBA Class of ’23.
Ana moved from Spain to the Netherlands to join this years’ cohort and shares what her decision making process to do an MBA was like, why she decided to join RSM and what her expectations of her MBA journey are.
The topics that are covered in this podcast:
'And I guess that's what makes the MBA journey extraordinary. Against all odds I managed to have a meaningful journey with an MBA. With the academic knowledge I gained, the friendships and also the MBA Marketing club that I had a chance to lead throughout the whole year.' - Minh Nguyen Duc, Full-time MBA Class of '22.
Minh moved from Singapore to the Netherlands for his MBA. In this podcast we discuss why he chose to do his MBA at RSM, what his MBA journey was like, how he experienced moving to the Netherlands and how he overcame challenges during his journey. The topics that are covered in this podcast:
'So I packed my bags and I left to the UK and as I was taking my luggage off the carrousel at the airport in Heathrow, I looked at my e-mail. And there was an e-mail from RSM saying that I'd gotten in. And it was a no-brainer for me,' says Bharat Kumaraswami.
Bharat Kumaraswami graduated from our Full-time MBA class of 2018 and joined RSM as the Data manager. In this episode we discuss why he chose the Rotterdam school of Management for his MBA? Why did he decide to pursue a career here in the Netherlands? And what advice can he give to those considering moving to the Netherlands for their MBA?
The topics that are covered in this podcast:
Moving abroad for your MBA, what’s that like?
Juan Maldonado Alcazar moved from Mexico to the Netherlands five years ago, for his MBA. He graduated from RSM's Full-time MBA, class of 2017 and joined our Alumni office as the Corporate and Alumni Relations Manager. But, why did he choose the Rotterdam school of Management? Why did he decide to pursue a career here in the Netherlands? And what advice can he give to those considering moving to the Netherlands for their MBA?
The topics that are covered:
‘Everything you do more than once is a process, even making your coffee in the morning. And everything you do more than once you can improve,' says Merieke Stevens, Associate Professor of Technology and Operations Management.
In this podcast we explore the core course Operations Management and its role within the Full-time MBA programme. When it comes to Operations Management, 'sometimes there's a bit of a misunderstanding that this is quite a quantitative course that's focused on logistics and we do lots of mathematical modeling, but actually we do none of that. What you need is a keen eye for development around you. You need a keen eye on how 'a' gets to 'b' and 'b' gets to 'c',' says Merieke. Listen to the full episode, to learn more about how and why the core course Operations Management is an important course within the Full-time MBA programme.
It’s a transformational experience (…). I really recognize that there’s some magic in the curriculum and in the journey. That is why people do an MBA. So you want to change as a person, you want to develop yourself, you want to discover new opportunities(…) You need to find out, what is the little magic in this programme, and is that the kind of magic that I’m looking for?’
Jochem Kroezen, the Academic Director of the Full-time MBA, shares what the Full-time actually has to offer. Why should you consider doing an MBA at RSM? What is it that you are looking for and could an MBA at RSM possibly be the next right move?
The topics in this podcast are:
‘The amount of graduates that decided to stay in Europe, including the Netherlands is about 80%. So you can see that a lot of our graduates eventually decide to stay in the country and have the opportunity to do so. And that’s for many reasons. One of the main reasons I would say, is because of the very flexible visa policy that the Netherlands has as a country. Especially for highly skilled individuals.’
In this podcast our Recruitment & Admissions Manager, Maria Tsachli, answers some of the frequently asked questions she get in Admissions interviews.
The questions that are covered in this podcast are:
How does our admissions process for the full-time MBA work and how can you best prepare for it? Marketing & Admissions Manager Carrie Fok explains what you need to know about the required documents, the essay, professional references and the online Kira assessment.
Here are her seven tips to make your application as smooth as possible:
‘You need to be self aware. What separates you from the herd? What separates you from your classmates? I believe it's not knowledge that sets us apart. It's a couple of things. It's pride. It's your social skills. And social skills are not something that you stumble across. It's something that you can educate yourself on,' Hans shares.
In this podcast we spoke to Hans Koolen. Hans has over 30 years of experience in business and IT and is now the owner of NUB3S. Hans has been collaborating with RSM and the careers team since 2014 in sharing his knowledge with our MBA participants.
In this episode we discuss the subject of career growth after completing an MBA, some valuable insights into what MBA students should consider when evaluating potential employers and we dive into the future of AI in the workplace.
Listen to the full podcast to hear Hans's great advice for all MBA students.
‘In general when you are at work and working with colleagues, etc. It has less to do with what you know and it has more to do with who you are and how you are when you are with other people in particular. So the PLD experience invites you to really drill down into, or explore more about yourself. So that you can be more skilled, in general in life (…) and also more skilled in when you are with other people.’ Björn Atterstam.
The Personal Leadership Development (PLD) course is integrated throughout the whole MBA programme, both Full-time MBA as well as Executive MBA. Why is that? And what is the added value of this course and of becoming more self-aware? And how does this affect your leadership style? In this episode Björn Atterstam, Lecturer and PHD candidate at Rotterdam School of Management, answers these questions and more, about the PLD course.
Listen to the full episode, to learn more about this amazing course, that truly distinguished this Full-time MBA programme from others.
‘As you graduate, well you can still be a mentee, you can still get advice. But if you graduate you’re also eligible to be a mentor yourself. So maybe you want to give advice for that new MBA student who just arrived. Or perhaps you want to help someone who’s even a little bit earlier in their career path, and help a Bachelor or Master student as well from RSM. This is all possible, so that you can be both a mentor and a mentee(...)’
Joe Farthing, the Communications Manager at the Corporate & Alumni Relations Teams here at RSM shared how their team helps both students as well as alumni navigate the alumni network of over 45.000 change-makers. We spoke about the various ways you can connect with the team and the network, such as through the MentorMe Platform.
Listen to the full podcast to learn more about how the alumni team responds to the needs of current student, early graduates and graduates that are further into their post-graduate experience. The topics in this podcast are:
You can always reach the alumni team via e-mail: alumni@rsm.nl
'The interviewer has done a lot of interviews. Maybe even a lot on the same day. So to really make yourself stand out, I think having that honest conversation is really important.' Caroline Angle, Recruitment and Admissions Manager at RSM.
In this podcast Caroline Angle shares tips on how to prepare for your admissions interview, what pitfalls to avoid and mostly how to be your authentic self to stand out in the application process.
The topics that are covered are:
'It might be the best according to the world, but is it the best for you? Will you be fulfilled being an engineer? And what happens actually is that many people, when they get five to ten to fifteen years into their careers they suddenly realize, no this is not what I really want. I want something else, but what?' Hetty Brand-Boswijk, Director of Coaching and Lead Coach at RSM.
In this podcast we discuss individual leadership coaching, personal development and the importance of knowing who you are and what you want, before going into career coaching.
The topics that are covered are:
Before you graduate, our career center will prepare you for your career after the MBA. Our Career Centre guides and coaches students and organizes speed dating bootcamps, to prepare our graduates for job interviews. Diana Diniz, Career Development Manager at RSM, shares how the Career Center prepares our students and what you need to know when starting your MBA journey at RSM.
‘After graduation it’s not goodbye. That network is forever there for them and that’s a lifelong connection with the school.’ Sue says.
What does it mean to be part of the RSM Alumni network of over 40.000 trail-blazers? And how can you make good use of this network?
Sue Martin, Director of Corporate and Alumni Relations, shares what the alumni office can do for our graduates, but most importantly, how our graduates can utilize this global network.
In this latest MBA Programme Podcast we discuss the importance of staying connected to the network, what the alumni office offers our graduates, keeping your information up to date and leaving a legacy behind.
The topics that are covered:
Moving to the Netherlands, whether it's for your MBA or a job opportunity, can be a big decision.
In the Netherlands 80% to 90% of the population speaks English. After moving here eleven years ago, Carolina Ospina, the Event Project Manager at RSM, still decided to learn Dutch and has been with RSM since 2017. Why did she decide to move to the Netherlands? How did she find out about RSM? And what advice can she give to people that are thinking about moving here?
The topics that are covered:
In this podcast we take our crystal ball to Brandon Kirby, Director of Marketing and Admissions, to discuss what he sees as the biggest trends in MBA for 2020.
Here is what to expect: