You’ll learn many skills over the course of your MBA, but could this soft skill be the most valuable? We spoke to a recent Vlerick MBA graduate to find out more.
What makes Brussels such a unique MBA study destination?
Often referred to as the capital of Europe, it’s one of the most diverse cities on the planet, home to more than 180 different nationalities. It’s also home to the European Union and other major international organizations, which brings a host of job opportunities to the city’s graduates.
To find out what it’s like to study an MBA in such a prime location, we spoke to a graduate of the leading business school in Brussels: Vlerick Business School.
The Vlerick Full-time MBA is every bit as diverse as Brussels itself. Alongside the program’s core content, students can study a range of different electives including digital strategy, artificial intelligence and corporate sustainability. It was the sheer range of topics available that first struck Vlerick MBA student Sofia Leposavic.
“The scope of academic learning wasn’t just marketing and human resources,” she tells MBAGRADSCHOOLS. “You also got to go in-depth on corporate crises and restructuring and other very specific, very tangible business aspects.” (00:47)
Vlerick’s position in the heart of Europe has a big influence on its curriculum. The program’s electives include several European-centered modules, where students will learn the global economic context of Europe and the EU. There’s probably no better place to study these topics than in the continent’s de facto capital.
Vlerick helps its students to understand these subjects in a practical setting through its international study tours and extended consulting projects. Sofia says that her two-month consulting project was a standout feature of the program.
“For eight weeks we worked within a company and got to apply all of these learnings that we’ve had in the last months to that. So that was probably my favorite component.” (00:28)
Sofia’s biggest takeaways from the program didn’t come from the “hard” business skills that you’ll learn during the program. Instead, she says her biggest learning came through her own personal development.
“I expected, of course, that there was going to be a heavy academic element, but I didn’t anticipate that I would learn so much in terms of communication, negotiation, confidence and presentation skills, and a lot of the other soft skills that you need in business,” she explains. (01:07)
Confidence has turned out to be the most valuable skill of all the soft skills she gained during the Vlerick MBA. She is already reaping the rewards of it in both her professional and personal life.
“If I were to compare myself from when I arrived to where I am now, I would say I’ve seen the most development in my confidence,” she says. “That’s primarily in pursuing opportunities that I thought were too far-reaching for myself, but in fact, that’s where I should be looking and that’s what I should be striving for.” (01:25)
The personal development that Sofia experienced during her MBA didn’t come easily to her, however. And simply studying an MBA won’t turn you into a more confident person overnight. Sofia says that to get the most out of an MBA you’ll have to do “a lot of studying, a lot of long hours, late nights and difficult conversations, but ultimately it will be incredibly worth it.” (01:42)
If you’re ready and willing to leave your comfort zone and take on greater challenges in life, then an MBA could be the perfect move for you. It comes at a financial cost, but Sofia’s experience shows the intangible benefits of an MBA are too big to put a price on.
If you want to learn more about what to expect from an MBA, feel free to reach out to one of our Vlerick MBA ambassadors. They’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
