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.
