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More than 200 alumni from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) returned to campus for the RSM Alumni Reunion 2015 in early October. The two-day event started with the RSM Leadership Summit, followed by a day packed with knowledge building and reuniting back on campus, which was the base of their careers and new friendships.

Alumni travelled from Indonesia, Singapore, Brazil, Venezuela, China and the USA to attend the RSM Alumni Reunion, which started on Friday 2 October. The alumni represented the International Full-time MBA, Executive MBA and Global Executive OneMBA classes of 2010, 2005, 2000, 1995 and 1990 to celebrate their 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th and 25th anniversary of graduation. The reunion was also attended by several alumni from other RSM programmes and graduation years.

 

Leadership survival kits

The weekend started off with the RSM Leadership Summit, which explored the leadership survival kits of Marijn Dekkers, CEO of Bayer; Merel van Vroonhoven, chairman of the executive board at the Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets (AFM); and Dorothee van Vredenburch, member of the management board at NN Group. Many alumni spent the evening reconnecting and revisiting their favourite places from during their studies in Rotterdam.

 

Impact of culture on leadership

On Saturday 3 October, the RSM Alumni Reunion continued at Erasmus Paviljoen on campus. Business culture expert Prof. Fons Trompenaars spoke to alumni about what impact cultural differences have on leadership, followed by a presentation by RSM alumnus Victor van Tol, co-founder of SnappCar about how to expand organisations internationally. The morning sessions concluded with a panel with Prof. Fons Trompenaars, Victor van Tol and Prof. Slawomir Magala.

The alumni also had the opportunity to have their I WILL photo taken, to express their willpower and how they can contribute to the future.

 

Building exceptional organisations

After lunch, the alumni were able to choose between workshops, a campus tour or networking in Maria’s Cantina on campus. The workshops were: building exceptional organisations, led by alumnus Ronald Eberhard (Full-time MBA1994), founder of The Lean Initiative; entrepreneurship and business models, led by Dr Ferdinand Jaspers, programme director of Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship; and optimising your LinkedIn profile, led by RSM career services manager Irene Kroon.

The event concluded with the class dinners in nostalgic Hotel New York, which was attended by more than 180 MBA alumni.

 

RSM alumni

RSM maintains a strong alumni network of 29,000+ members, who have opportunities for lifelong learning, professional development and networking events. RSM alumni come back to Rotterdam to attend workshops and seminars, get updates from RSM, reunite with their classmates and re-live experiences from their study time at RSM.

The next RSM Alumni Reunion will take place on 7 and 8 October 2016 for the MBA Classes of 2011, 2006, 2001, 1996 and 1991.

More information

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) is one of Europe’s top-ranked business schools. RSM provides ground-breaking research and education furthering excellence in all aspects of management and is based in the international port city of Rotterdam – a vital nexus of business, logistics and trade. RSM’s primary focus is on developing business leaders with international careers who can become a force for positive change by carrying their innovative mindset into a sustainable future. Our first-class range of bachelor, master, MBA, PhD and executive programmes encourage them to become critical, creative, caring and collaborative thinkers and doers. www.rsm.nl

For more information about RSM or this release, please contact Erika Harriford-McLaren, communications manager for RSM, on +31 10 408 2877 or by email at harriford@rsm.nl.

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Alumni , Bachelor / Bedrijfskunde , Bachelor / IBA , Executive education , Homepage , International , Newsroom , Master , MBA