Welcome new MBA students!
On October 5 and 6 2022, we were excited to welcome the new cohorts of our Digital Transformation Management and Pharma Business Administration MBA programs. We asked Amanguli Yasheng, Senior Program Manager for the Digital Transformation Management MBA, what she thinks about this year's Orientation.
Amanguli, what makes this year’s orientation so special?
I feel that every Orientation we have is special. This is mostly because it is the week that our MBA students meet each other and the GBS team for the first time and form their study groups and build friendship that would last a lifetime. It is really an exciting time for us all.
What do you think is the most challenging part for our students in their first semester?
I would say the most challenging part is for them to get used to the new phase of life, where they have to juggle between job, family AND their MBA studies, as a lot of weekends are spent on campus instead of at home with families. Of course, those finance courses make it even more challenging and require them to work really, really hard for their exams.
How did our new students experience the day?
We don't want to deprive you of how our students experienced their first days back on campus. We asked them how they felt and what their expectations are for the next two years!
Meron Maricos - Pharma MBA
“I expect mingling with like-minded people, people of knowledge in the industry, people of different views who are able to see the current trends and developments of the Pharma world from another angle – and, of course, truly having a great time together with my fellow students while getting out of my own day-to-day bubble ”
Diederik Sluijs - Digital Transformation MBA
“My expectation is to get to know a really interesting group of people. We are all working on digital transformation in different industries, have different backgrounds, are from different age groups. My expectation is to really kind of learn from them how to apply that in my own organization. In addition to that, there is of course also the theoretical body, which is also quiet exciting for me in order to refresh my learning.”
“I have a full time job, there is also a family to take care of – that’s something you need to consider before starting the program and you need to make good arrangements. But I think I have been able to do that and also my employer is quite accommodating. It is all about juggling the different agendas and priorities.”
Kai-Uwe Richter - Digital Transformation MBA
„Orientation was a great experience which exceeded my expectations. At the end of the day, I felt like I connected to most of the other students. It already feels like a community.”