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Almost 1,300 master students graduated from 11 full-time MSc programmes at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) on Saturday 1 October 2016. About half of them attended the spectacular combined graduation event in Rotterdam, which included a procession in the city centre, a speech from the mayor and the diploma ceremony.

The 673 graduates who attended the graduation ceremony were cheered on by family members, friends and passers-by at they walked in caps and gowns from World Trade Center Rotterdam to convention centre De Doelen. The Coolsingel, one of Rotterdam’s best-known streets, was decorated with RSM flags and temporarily closed for traffic during the procession.

The journey ahead

The graduation ceremony took place in two theatres at convention centre De Doelen in Rotterdam. Students from RSM’s MSc in Business Information Management (BIM), MSc in Supply Chain Management (SCM) and MSc in Management of Innovation (MI) graduated in the Willem Burgerzaal.

After an inspiring speech about ‘the journey ahead’ by Marco van Kalleveen, chief operations officer at Leaseplan and member of RSM’s Advisory Board, the student speakers took the stage. Lizan Bakker (BIM), Tom Marshall (MI) and Anna Nikulina (SCM) told the audience about their highlights at RSM and their take-aways from their master programmes.

Thesis awards

In addition, the Jo van Nunen Awards were handed out, named after this late professor who is considered as one of RSM’s founding fathers. The awards recognise and honour the outstanding quality of master theses. This year’s winners are Lizan Bakker (BIM) for her thesis on personalised product recommendations, Emma Schootstra (MI) for her thesis which investigates the effect of mindfulness on creativity, and Pascal Kolb (SCM) for his thesis on tackling demand fluctuations in supply chains with lean management.

Award winners were selected by academic committees consisting of the academic directors and thesis co-ordinators of the master programmes.

Prof. Eric van Heck then handed the graduates their diplomas, making them part of RSM’s valuable alumni network of more than 30,000 members who work and live all over the world.

Mayor of Rotterdam

At the same time, graduates from the MSc in Accounting & Financial Management (AFM), MSc in Finance & Investments (FI), MSc in Global Business & Sustainability (GBS), MSc in Human Resource Management (HRM), MSc in Marketing Management (MM), MSc in Organisational Change & Consulting (OCC), MSc in Strategic Entrepreneurship (SE) and MSc in Strategic Management (SM) programmes attended their ceremony in the Grote Zaal at De Doelen.

Ahmed Aboutaleb, mayor of Rotterdam and also member of RSM’s Advisory Board, spoke to the graduates about the grand challenges for/of the world and invited the graduates to take an active part to help solve them. Graduate Peji Kanani from the MSc in Strategic Management held the student address, followed by the official presentation of diplomas by the research department chairs.

The event concluded with a festive cocktail reception in De Doelen’s grand foyer and was attended by proud family members, alumni, friends and RSM faculty and staff members.

More information

Graduate placement report

MSc students from RSM’s MSc in International Management/CEMS and MScBA Master in Management programmes will have separate ceremonies later in the year as these programmes are respectively 18 and 16 months in duration.

RSM’s recently published Master Graduate Placement Report shows that RSM’s MSc graduates quickly land their first jobs – many even before graduation.

RSM alumni network

All 1,289 MSc graduates are now members of RSM’s active alumni network, consisting of more than 30,000 members worldwide. They can benefit from lifelong learning opportunities and networking events all over the world.

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, Media & Public Relations Manager for RSM, on +31 10 408 2877 or by email at harriford@rsm.nl.

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