The students were congratulated first by Dean of RSM, Prof. Aukje Hassoldt; then Dr René Olie, Associate Professor of International and Strategic Management and the programme’s outgoing Academic Director; and by Dr Giuseppe Criaco, the new Academic Director. Finally Erica Wark, of RSM’s Alumni Relations team, welcomed them to RSM’s 50,000-strong global alumni community.
Keynote speaker was global sustainability and public affairs advisor Alba Tiley, who described her focus on long term thinking – about engaging people, thinking deeply about complex issues, and connecting the past, present, and future so that she was able to make ‘better choices today’. Alba is an independent advisor on sustainability and public affairs, with over 12 years' experience in corporate sustainability (ESG) and public affairs at leading companies like Centrient Pharmaceuticals and DSM.
She advised students to influence businesses to stop focusing on the short term and adopt long-term thinking. This is ‘cathedral thinking’, referring back to the architects and stonemasons of the 13th and 14th centuries who drew plans and carved stones for cathedrals that would take several generations to complete. They worked on buildings that they would never see completed in their lifetimes. The work of the MSc International Management graduates would be similar, she said, planning and building for a future we will never live to see.
She urged them to lay the foundations for sustainable businesses, and trust that others will carry the work forward.
“Continuous learning is a powerful foundation. This is what’s needed to take on long term complex issues. What cathedrals will you start building?” she asked, and told them that it needed courage to challenge outdated business models and to redefine leadership. “This is exactly the right group to do that. Seek out organisations that are aligned with your values., teach collaboration. You are not just graduating into a new world – you are here to create it.”
The graduation ceremony concluded with a reception for the graduates and their families and friends.
MSc International Management/CEMS
The ceremony at RSM marks the successful completion of the MSc International Management programme for the graduating students – these students have lived and studied in three different countries in 18 months. The CEMS Master in Management (CEMS MIM) is a joint programme, open to a select group of students who are enrolled in one of the leading universities in the CEMS Alliance and delivered by CEMS academic members. RSM’s 18-month MSc in International Management/CEMS programme aims to advance high-quality graduates with a well-developed global mindset, to better prepare them for an international career in business. Since its launch, CEMS has grown into a global alliance of 33 leading business schools across six continents with more than 70 multinational partners and 8 social partners that together offer the CEMS MIM.
Upon graduation, alumni become members of RSM’s alumni network as well as the CEMS Alumni Association.
The international IM/CEMS Graduation Ceremony takes place each year during the CEMS Annual Events (usually at the end of December) which is hosted by one of the CEMS member schools. Graduates attend the Graduation Ceremony in the year of their graduation, and become part of a committed, active and rewarding CEMS world-wide alumni network. This year’s ceremony takes place on 6 December 2025 at Fundação Getulio Vargas’s Sao Paulo School of Business Administration (EAESP-FGV) in Rio de Janeiro - Brazil.
