The programme kicked off on Erasmus University’s campus with a masterclass about branding, led by Prof. Stefano Puntoni, on Friday 10 June. In the second session, the alumni explored disruptive innovation with Dr Murat Tarakci. Afterwards, the group transferred to restaurant Zalmhuis voor a networking reception, dinner, and TED Talk introductions with a view of Rotterdam’s Nieuwe Maas river.
“Mind-challenging lectures”
The balanced and compact two-day programme was initiated by Karel Boere and Ralph van Houdt, two alumni volunteers from the class, and was organised in collaboration with the RSM Alumni Office.
“It felt good to be back on the academic premises of RSM,” said Van Houdt, director of MareVisie Projectmanagement. “It’s a good foundation to build a stimulating programme where time for personal updates in the context of mind-challenging lectures creates energy for business as well. I got some new ideas and improved my network.”
Transforming business with modern sales
Saturday’s programme all took place on campus. Arno Nienhuis, senior director alliances and channels Benelux at Oracle, spoke to the alumni about modern sales and the ways Oracle transforms business. He discussed the impact of elements such as the cloud, big data, social selling, and the changing roles of sales professionals. In a workshop, the former RSM students deliberated how their organisations can benefit from the opportunities that ‘modern sales’ brings.
In the last session, the alumni explored leadership in the strategic business domain and the relation with the responsibility in society in a masterclass by Prof. Lucas Meijs.
Sharing ideas and opportunities
“With these people from my MBA year I had the opportunity to talk, exchange ideas, get insights, check assumptions, look ahead and find the next steps in my life for the coming years,” said Mario Nobre Ghiggino. “This interaction was rich, dense and challenging. Our reunion was very special to me, actually it has crowned a self-assessment process.”
The part-time MBA Class of 2001’s first reunion was held in Barcelona in 2011, to celebrate the class’ 10th graduation anniversary. The two-day event, which took place at the University of Barcelona, was a combination of business updates and social events. The alumni plan on organising reunion events for their class every five years.
RSM MBA Alumni Reunion 2016
There is more reunion fun to come! All RSM MBA alumni who graduated in 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006 or 2011 are invited for the RSM MBA Alumni Reunion in October 2016. The event will start on Friday 7 October with high-profile corporate speakers and academics at the RSM Leadership Summit, and will continue through the weekend with social activities in Rotterdam.
