Last month we had a chance to visit Abdij Rolduc in Kerkrade for our Opening Seminar. At first, I thought it would be another ideal opportunity to party, but actually it was much more than that. We were there for our Professional Management Skills Seminar, and what could be better than to experience it in action rather than just listening to the concepts behind our desk?

The seminar itself consisted of three days of activities trying to cultivate awareness about cultural differences, differences in cognitive and interactive styles and needless to say a lot of bonding opportunities. The first night, we had a theme party based on Jersey Shore, and as such we had to dress lewdly. It was fun. The second night was an Alumni Night, with M3 alumni welcoming us with gift hampers, a Marketing quiz and a lot of useful tips to survive the Vlerick year which lies ahead of us.

The best of learning happens when it doesn’t seem like learning. It is just a play, and yes we had a lot of role-plays, team tasks and group discussions. I played a role of disgruntled employee to create the simulation of dynamics in a work place and how to handle such situations. In another simulation, our plane had crashed into the desert and we had to strategize how we could get out of that situation. Should we leave the place where the plane had crashed, or should we wait till people would find us? A dilemma which initiated a lot of different opinions.

For the team building and coordination activities, we had to design a new city based on certain requirements. In addition, there was a task where we had to work blindfolded. All these tasks and activities were specifically prepared to highlight our cognitive and interaction styles, and pointed out that we could understand and appreciate different ways of working of different people.

All these learning opportunities had of course been futile, if we could not have been treating our taste buds with the buffet food at Abdij. Eating a rainbow of dishes was not only healthy, but was a delight to gustatory cravings and dessert in the end couldn’t add more to it. Last but not the least, our rooms were very comfortable and cozy just to relax after a intense day of role plays. On the closing note, I would say that Vlerick stands on the promise to integrate classroom based learning with more action based learning.

“I have discovered a lot about myself”, says Anuj Sachdeva, a fellow student at M3.

Rishi