Having a career in London is probably a shared dream of many young finance professionals. Not only is London the biggest financial centre of the world where all the top banks are located, it is also one of the biggest cities on earth. And it was during the Vlerick London Trip that those ungraspable dreams of mine started to look as realistic opportunities.

After our check in and a memorable lunch at an English pub we were headed to visit the first company, Parker Fitzgerald, a company that was founded as a response to the global financial crisis of 2008. The overall topic was focused on the prominence of Risk Management in today’s economical environment ending with an overview of the career opportunities within the company.

During the reception we made full use of our networking skills and exchanged coordinates with the firm’s top management. Same evening, only few of my colleagues were in need of a good night rest and went to the hotel, while the rest of us got a bit more familiar with the city.

The second day was even more promising as the first company on our schedule was the famous Goldman Sachs. So of course, there was excitement on Tuesday morning – everyone was up and ready to go. As we made our way on foot to the office from Farringdon station on the bright sunny yet windy day, everyone was bubbling with excitement. Dirk L. impressed all of us with his simple yet powerful presentation on the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs. He ran us through the organization and structure of the IBD and emphasized on how this bank was different from the other investment banks. He encouraged us young and aspiring finance professionals to apply to IBD and get the opportunity to experience the thrills and challenges of the field.

After grabbing lunch on the way we arrived at the astonishing (and I’m not exaggerating) building of Lloyd’s, not the bank but the insurance market. After enjoying a presentation about the working of an insurance market we had a tour through the building, visiting the trading floors and got familiar with the history of Lloyd’s. Fun fact: did you know that the Titanic was insured at Lloyd’s?

Now that the official part was over we were ready to go to the Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce where a walking dinner was organized together with the London based Vlerick Alumni. The night proved to be an excellent networking opportunity and the dinner, provided by a catering company, was appreciated by many of the students. Through this event we got the opportunity to interact with professionals in a more informal way and ask the questions we still had about the companies they work or have worked for.

Our third day promised to be busy as we had three top tier company visits on our agenda. First one on the list was Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the investment banking division of Bank of America. Our two hosts were both Belgian, both in impeccable tailor-made suits and both had an astonishingly sharp haircut. Cedric I. guided us through the bank’s internal structure and presented a typical deal from his practice group. The young trader, unsurprisingly, talked about derivatives. The value of our visit, however, lay in the short tea with cookies reception afterwards. Some of us got tips and tricks about how to make it in London while others questioned the bankers about their day-to-day lives. Overall, our visit proved a rare and valuable opportunity to get some insights from practitioners, and to have some tips-and-tricks on how to walk in their shoes one day. Black, polished, shiny shoes that is. Probably Church’s.

Here is a little piece of advise from my colleague on how one should do sightseeing:

“It is hard to find good views of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, as it stands among tall buildings. For an exclusive view in a relaxing atmosphere, try the Tate Modern’s rooftop bar on the Thames’ south bank. Come around 5.30pm (the bar closes at 6.30pm, but most visitors leave at 5pm already), order a double gin & tonic and be in awe of the grandeur of the ingeniously lit dome of the cathedral.

Next stop: JP Morgan Asset Management. This was a visit to remember. We were welcomed by two representatives and enjoyed a great presentation about their quarterly market insights. Since our group consisted out of passionate and up to date investors, we by accident changed the topic halfway through the presentation. But fortunately for us the representatives took their time to share their opinions and answer all our questions concerning each of the major market movements. We ended the third day with a short visit to the office of Société Générale where a Belgian employee shared his story on how he became an investment banker and his colleague gave us insights about the career opportunities within the company and some tips and tricks on the recruitment process.

Very sad but inevitable we started our last day in London. This day promised to be very interactive as we had a trading game planned in a Business School. ESCP, which is among the top business schools in Europe, is located in the Borough of Barnet, the second most populated district in London. The building that currently houses the school dates back to the Victorian era. On our arrival, a large assortment of snacks was waiting for us, courtesy of our hosts. The session began with an introduction to trading delivered by Robert L. Hayward, former financial advisor at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. However, the best part of our visit began when we accessed the trading room. The trading simulation, led by Assistant Professor Othman Cole, gave us a real feeling of what traders experience at work on a daily basis.

After checking out of the hotel we were on our way home. These four days opened my eyes and showed me that starting my career in London is not that unrealistic and scary as is seemed before. And although I am sad to leave this city behind, I feel confident that it won’t be for long.

London, we’ll see each other soon!

The Christmas holidays came and went, but the Masters in Marketing Management (M3) students had one more big challenge before their winter break: the Industrat business game simulation.

Over the course of four days, the marketing students rolled up their sleeves and put their B2B decision-making skills to the test. The game simulated eight years of operation in a business-to-business company, and gave students insights into the countless different factors that are considered when making real-life business strategies.

“It was a fun business game to give us a glimpse into how B2B decisions are made,” said M3 student Jason Serck. “Sometimes it’s better to learn these concepts outside of the classroom through cases and simulations, rather than through lectures.”

On day one, students were nervous about what to expect. From reading a large manual before beginning to understand the various rules and concepts of the Industrat world, there was quite a bit of preparation and high-level analysis involved in the process.

However, once students made their way through the first few simulations, it was apparent that not only were they learning more and more about B2B decision-making, but they were also having some fun with it, too.

The four-day simulation was tiring, certainly, but it was a great last push before students had the chance to enjoy winter break. The two weeks leading up to break were exhausting, but still fun and insightful–the typical Vlerick combination. Industrat proved to be a challenge of course, but it was a challenge that students welcomed and tackled head-on.

Words: Ali Colwell, Master in Marketing Management (M3) 2016

Dear reader,

All of my previous academic career years I have been studying in a small town called Leuven not that far from Brussels. I use the words “small” and “town” not for the bad reasons but just to draw an image of a small and cosy town where I spent ten years of my life. An other way to describe the city to you, would be by mentioning that Leuven counts almost 100,000 inhabitants and that the diameter of its centre is approx. 2km. So even if the public transportation was on strike, one could cross the centre in just 15 minutes by foot. Now you can already imagine that although it was very practical to study there, it became somewhat boring after those years and because of that I craved for new surroundings and experiences.

Since the start of the academic year at Vlerick in Brussels, my wishes came true. Not only have I been traveling each morning for thirty minutes to the campus but I was also encountered with a great diversity of people, architecture and Brussels’ sparkling life. Each morning I walk in a buzzing stream of people who are hurrying to work or school and each evening, no matter how late, I still notice that most of the shops are open and that the streets are crowded. Even when we were working on an assignment in the middle of the night we could still order delivery pizza to the campus, what was difficult to do in Leuven on a usual weekday.

But even a greater diversity was awaiting me in the Financial Management group on the first of September. I was expecting some international students since Vlerick is an international business school, but our programme alone counts more than 12 different nationalities if you count me in. It is fascinating to work with people from so many different backgrounds and is inspiring how we all became so close in a short period of time. Although I realize that we are halfway our amazing journey I look forward to next challenges that our program has to offer.

The most important ‘non-financial’ lesson I learned in 2015 is that we must not be afraid of stepping into the unknown since the real life starts at the end of our comfort zone.

I wish you all lots of success and lots of exciting experiences in the new 2016!

Kyryl Berezin
MFM Candidate 2016

The last mile is the longest

In the final week of an intensive, yet incredibly satisfying, first semester, taking it slow was not an option. From Monday morning until Thursday morning, the single most important thing on every MGM-Ghent student’s mind was how to improve the Return On Capital Employed (ROCE) of the Goldstein Brewery. Just as in the Deep Dive Challenge, where we were required to act as strategy consultants for the Duvel-Moortgat brewery, beer was yet again the product under scrutiny. Coincidence or not, but this was perfectly in line with the market research that we extensively conducted with our class during our first months at Vlerick (and Swa-bar)!

About a week and a half before the start of Goldstein, the group division was put on Eduweb. Being alarmed on our common Whatsapp-group about this fact, all of us were in a hurry to satisfy our curiosity. The composition of the group is extremely relevant since you will be “locked up” in a small Break-Out Room (BOR) with them. The Goldstein-case began on Monday and ended on Thursday, lasting approximately 72 hours. 72 Hours without sleep turn some people into cranky monsters and bring out the lamest jokes in others (I’m not targeting a single person… But I’m certainly referring to Enzo). Research at Vlerick has shown that the time to the deadline can be reliably measured by the decrease of level of intelligence in the jokes. On Wednesday night, as time faded and exhaustion rose, we reached a peak in low-level jokes. Yet overall, the group dynamics worked out really well. This was a blessing considering 72 hours can last very long when you’re fighting in your group as if you were already married for 25 years. Although I must admit that, for a moment, I was the subject of some serious Turkish swearing by my Turkish team-mate (no offense taken Okan, I probably deserved that one!). I don’t think I can translate the exact words without being expelled from Vlerick.

Let the games begin…

On Monday, 14th of December, we started the Goldstein case with a general session on the objectives and the planning. After an hour, every group was released to their assigned Break-Outs to brainstorm about the various problems the Goldstein-company was facing and on how we would be able to tackle them. We didn’t have access to the data-platform yet, because our faculty (validly) assumed we would get lost in the maze of the massive amount of data available. At the end of the day there was a first meeting/presentation with the professor in order to check whether we were on the right track with the identification of our problems. Most of us were not.

Tuesday began with a presentation by a PWC representative on how to use the “Equazion”-platform for data retrieval and analysis. The introduction to “Equazion” – a tool used by PWC to analyse companies- added another interesting dimension to the case. After the presentation, the actual race against the clock started. Given the level of competitiveness, which is without any doubt a lot higher between Vlerick-students than in any other environment, we pushed ourselves to the limit to deliver our best possible performance. Dust was thrown in other groups’ eyes, bicycle tires were flattened and Game of Thrones-tactics were deployed. The subsequent 48 hours were filled with rollercoasters of emotions, professional burn-outs, the birth of new friendships and the end of others, moments of despair and euphoria, nervous breakdowns, insults towards each other and towards Vlerick, etc…

On Thursday, around 02.30 AM, at the darkest moment of the night, our group finally submitted our presentation and report. By the time we made it to our beds, we had less than 5 hours of sleep before meeting again to practice our presentation. The next morning was filled with coffee and adrenaline for every student. We delivered a satisfying presentation in front of a jury, consisting of PWC representatives. A feeling of recognition for our work and a beer offered by the professor on duty was our reward.

There was no class planned for the afternoon, yet we didn’t have the opportunity to catch up on sleep as we had yet another deadline for the “Entrepreneurship” class the next day. There was also some time for relaxing though, as most of us attended the annual Vlerick Winter Reunion that night. Key-note speaker Mark Gallagher delivered an exciting speech on what business can learn from Formula 1-racing. After the speech, we were able to capture some beers at the open bar where we discussed the intense adventures we had been through that week. For some of us, the night ended in Overpoort aka the Magic Gate, despite the fact we were expected in class at 09.00 AM the next morning.

Our programme was probably planned to exhaust us to the utmost in the last week. Before we were finally able to enjoy some well-deserved vacation during the Christmas break, we still had some hard nuts to crack. But right now, the Vlerick-birds have fled the nest. Some of us are now on a ski-holiday, others in a more sunny location and some (of the internationals) simply went home. We all now need to reload our batteries and take a small break from Vlerick. Yet I’m certain that most of us will already start to long for the second semester to start again within a few days. And, in the meantime, the thoughts about cutting costs in order to improve the ROCE will keep on popping up in some of our dreams for the time to come.

Words: Pieter Deleersnyder, MGM Ghent 2016

23rd December 2015

Till recently my idea of what ‘logistics’ involved had always been rather theoretical and obscure. That was before our MGM Brussels class visited Steinhoff International Logistics in early November 2015. Steinhoff is a multi brand company selling low cost furniture and clothing brands internationally. The group started in South Africa. Today it owns 42 global brands, namely Conforama, Poco and Harveys and is the second largest furniture retailer in Europe.

First stop of our trip: Ghenk to meet the warehouse manager of Ewals where Steinhoff rents out warehouse space. We got explanations on how the activities were organised while we were walking trough the depot. It was interesting to notice the strategic location of the warehouse in between the Ghenk haven and directly connected to the local railway.

We jumped back on the bus to get to Maastricht where Steinhoff’s international headquarters for logistics are located. After a nice lunch we were back on our feet for a company visit followed by four presentations by Steinhoff senior staff members about the vision and strategy of the company.

Vlerick MGM Brussels visiting Ewals warehouse facilities in Ghenk

The Steinhoff group grows both organically and by acquiring brands fitting the company vision. This has a considerable impact on the logistics since the group integrates the transportation channels of all the different brands. To remain agile Steinhoff created an internal ‘group of excellence’ acting as an in house consultant to reinvent transportation routes about a year ago. Ralph Fijen, the head of department, exposed the outcome of their latest project for the UK. The talks allowed us to put our classes of operations management and corporate finance into perspective. The values of truth, family and entrepreneurship defended by Steinhoff were all genuinely felt along the afternoon.

The day finished with a nice Italian dinner in the nearby old town centre of Maastricht at ‘Osteria Insieme’. We had amazing wine and tasty nibbles. Managers and Hr staff of Steinhoff joined us for the evening too. We took the bus back to Brussels feeling uplifted, especially because this day might result in In Company Projects abroad with Steinhoff and eventually in a long term position within the company for some of us.

I especially want to thank Jill and Rudi Roex again for organising this inspiring day trip and sharing their adventures at Steinhoff with such a passion.

Sharing food and wine in Maastricht with Steinhoff International executives

Words: Amélie Timmermans, MGM Brussels 2016

On Saturday the 31th of October 2015 AB InBev organised the first ABI Cup in Leuven, This is an indoor football tournament for students interested to join one of the Belgian brewer’s traineeship. The “Vlerick Bruxzookas” team composed by six MGM and six MFM students from Brussels was determined to make their campus proud! With the excellent coaching of MGM student Philippe Vercruysse the team went to the extra mile.

In total twelve teams participated in this first edition including two other Vlerick teams representing the Leuven and Ghent campus. In between rounds the players would get presentations about the different types of AB Inbev traineeships. Drinks and food were also nicely provided by the host.

The three Vlerick teams ended up performing excellent during the first rounds. All made it into the half-finals. The finals turned into an exciting duel between the Vlerick teams from Brussels and Ghent. Both teams showed their motivation to win the prestigious ABI cup in this nail-biting finale. Also the supporters were on fire! The end score of the game hit 2-2 which meant that a penalty shootout had to determine the winner. After a fierce confrontation the Brussels team was the strongest and won the tournament.

The winning students received VIP tickets for the upcoming Red Devils game against Spain where they will celebrate their victory to a greater extend.

Congratulations to Arnaud Louvrier, Edmond Van Zuylen, Frédérick De Meulemeester, Gerard Girabent Jonathan Noé, Louis-Philippe Julien, Melvin Decuyper, Philippe Vercruysse, Germain Bahri, Amir-Alexandre D’hoore, Nicholas Liénaert and Maxim Mendel!

“Vlerick Bruxzookas” team at Ab Inbev tournament

Words: Maxim Mendel, MGM Brussels 2016

Time to get happily serious and plan for fun.

On the eve of Digital Marketing Bootcamp Vlerick, my expectations were enormous. We were going to see – and learn – in all colors! It must be said that the challenge was exciting: in three weeks and as a team, we had to design a powerful app for Digital Sales and Marketing departments of Coca-Cola Enterprises. We had to think of a concept that would attract Coca-Cola products to the target group “Generation Y”. As a team we were eager to face the challenging days to come. Fortunately, we received on our arrival a survival kit of assorted beverages: Nestea, Nalu, Coca-Cola Regular, light, life and Zero. Armed with all these cans, we were ready for the challenge!

The second day of the Bootcamp, following the Coca-Cola company visit in Brussels blew my mind. On entering into the exclusive KO Lab, it seemed as if we were entering into a sacred sanctuary since only certain employees had access. I felt honored to have been demonstrated Coca-Cola’s latest innovations and plans for the future. This was only the beginning of the inspiration, we were also offered a CHANCE TO WIN A FESTIVAL TICKET FOR TWO FOR EACH MEMBER OF THE WINNING GROUP!!! Being the audacious person that I am, I asked Karel Demeester, the Associate Director of Digital Marketing and Sales, if the winner could swap the festival tickets with a job opportunity. We all laughed about it but the tone of my request was taken seriously… Or at least I hope so…

This was the beginning of a race against the clock to imagine the most interesting and powerful marketing concept possible.

Marketing Directors of Kinepolis and Panos equipped us with useful tactics to apply to the Coca-Cola case after having them as guest speakers to inform us on the latest Digital Marketing trends. Currently being in the works of creating my own app idea helped me to apply my experience for this task. Armed with a passion for creating cool ideas, I feel that my group and I had some leverage. Our goal was to enhance an app concept that was introduced by Coca-Cola. On top of that, we had to create a new digital concept all in order to be more attractive to the generation Y target market.

The competition was fierce and I felt it through the gaze exchanged while crossing paths with other group members. The sort of blank stare one witnesses when a championship is at stake. I felt the excitement coming from each study room. Ideas were spewing out, but they remained top secret.

Blessed to be grouped with the team members assigned, we took the task by the balls and didn’t let go. Ideas were coming from all different perspectives which we managed to build into extraordinary concepts. The strong point of my group was that we were all very enthusiastic about the ideas generated together and we kept building them up into something tangible… the question was… would we take the gold?

Lorenzo Brizzi

Master in General Management student, Vlerick Business School 

Vlerick Aramis 2015

First of all, here is an admission, I am completely biased, that is because I have been given a unique opportunity to explore aspects of business, by Vlerick Business School that I could not imagine before. So now that we have that out of our way, read on.

As an expat living in Belgium , who loves travelling and is living completely on her own, I have struggled to come to terms with the fact that I had no money, no financial backup to pursue an MBA degree from any top business schools around. And then it happened, after three written tests, one gruesome interview, one phone interview, I finally managed to get admitted in one of the top schools in Belgium with a 75% scholarship.

So thank you VBS!

So what makes me think Vlerick Business School graduates are great hires?

1. They have the unique ability to work in teams

Let us admit it, nowadays there are not many projects in the corporate world where people do not work in teams. Vlerick usually filters and recruits people who have a very strong backbone and a strong personality. Who can challenge status quo, think like there is no box as they come from a different mix of backgrounds. It is just what would happen in a real life – you work in teams where different people have different personalities. And where there are strong personalities, there is a spark or a clash of opinions. Vlerick students are forced into groups with teams randomly assigned, which they have no choice over and this gives them the practice to adapt to any personality type.

2. Vlerick graduates are good negotiators

In most of the courses in Vlerick Masters in General Management, the students have to negotiate their assignment scopes with their peers. This gives them the added practice of negotiations on top and apart from the intense Negotiation Skills courses taught by Vlerick professors. These professors are professional negotiators themselves (think war delegation and negotiations, business acquiring negotiations etc..). And when you learn from the best, some of it rubs off on you.

3. We are taught by great professors who know the industry inside out

Vlerick appoints top experts in their fields as professors. Not everyone can teach, however the professors in Vlerick Business School do not only have the right professional and industry knowledge due to their work experience / research, but also the right attitude to teach. Mostly the professors are also appointed by the school itself to do industry research projects which keeps them up-to-date with the trends, which are then relayed on to the students.

4. We have a great Alumni Network

I have noticed from day one, the Vlerick Alumnus are all very much engaged with the school even after graduation. They consistently support their Vlerick colleagues in any events / business competitions / hiring / advice etc. Our network of Alumnus spreads to top companies in the world and that gives us a three degrees of separation maximum, if in case we ever need to reach the top management of a Fortune 500 company for example. These experts are always their to help the students for their practical assignments whenever we need an industry expert feedback for the problem at hand.

5. We have the right overview of how a business runs in general

Because Masters in General Management course in Vlerick is pretty versatile, we have an overall “Queen-of-all-trades” overview on different facets of business starting from Accounting, Business Development, Operations process and Supply Chain, Innovation Management or Marketing and Sales. This overview gives us the unique ability to think from all angles of a business and look at all possible outcomes.

6. We have some cool entrepreneurial genes

Our graduates are made leaders within their communities and are known for their entrepreneurial skills. We are trained to think out of the box, heck, sometimes even without the box. The knowledge and experience that they gain during their studies provide our graduates with the necessary baggage to be top-notch business talent.

7. We do hands-on real-life kick-ass projects from top companies

Where have you heard the deep-set students being consultants? Since my course inception, I have done projects with Accenture, Nespresso, ABInbev, Duvel Moortgat and soon an International Turkish company as well as NXP Semiconductors. All these project solved real life business consultancy cases.

8. We have 8-months experience in sleep deprivation

Apart from the 500000000 cases that we have to solve for each course, we are tuned that we cannot receive more than 5 hours sleep. Not to mention over-night duties and under-pressure project completions. Of course I am exaggerating but that is what the past 8 months felt like.

9. We do cool stuff while we are at Vlerick

Apart from the usual stuff, our graduates are engaged in side-shows – like different sports competitions, several side projects like TEDxVlerick and Startup Weekend Leuven, Sales competition and Battle of Talents among others. In short, we can handle multiple projects when we put our hearts in it.

10. We do an intensive Consultancy project to wrap up our learnings

Apart from the above, we Vlerick students are happily allocated to different In-Company projects in the last two months of our Masters course. Currently for example, I will be doing a project with NXP Semiconductors on health-tech related next generation business modelling. Not only the students, but the researchers allocated to the project make sure that it is really a real-life- impacting and implementable project!

Conclusion: Definitely hire a Vlerick graduate!

While I do not want to be the reason behind your company-employee mismatch, I would like to encourage you for good hires. Reputed schools like Vlerick Business School do matter as they provide their students the right tools and training for a professional business structure and business development. In the end however, if is best to hire missionaries than mercenaries. If culture and fit is great with an individual, then you will have no problem retaining someone with a great skill set. If you hire on the contrary, someone who is very accomplished but does not believe in the mission of your company, he or she will destroy your company culture. You need to make sure you are always bringing on people who truly connect with, and are motivated by, the mission of your company and its culture.

And these reasoning my friends, should be a good enough to hire a reasonable Vlerick graduate! (hint 😉 )

Written by Shamma Raghib

First post appeared in LinkedIn:
be.linkedin.com/in/shammaraghib

MGM Aramis (Leuven)
Masters in General Management
Vlerick Business School

Grab your woolen mittens and scarfs, we’re going to London!

4 days we could leave our books behind, visit the most prestigious financial companies, network with the most respected people in the industry and of course, reinforce existing friendships amongst each other.

Let me tell you how we discovered London and how some of those experiences will have their impact on our future career paths.

No one of us ever imagined walking through Bloomberg, which is the cream of the crop concerning financial news and information. We got enlightened how financial analysists, journalists and many more work together to provide the financial market with the news it needs to properly function. As Michael Bloomberg believed news should be transparent and accessible for all, the open working environment reflected this by using glass walls.

After a fish and chips lunch, we all went to discover London, each at our own terms. The discovery consisted of the London pride-monuments such as Buckingham Palace, London Eye and the Big Ben. Some of us went even to West End to experience the story of the Phantom of the Opera. But of course, as we are young, also the pubs were discovered that night!

After a late pub-night some of us faced a very early morning cured with plenty of water and the necessary painkillers. Luckily, half of the hangover cure was provided by JP Morgan as we were welcomed with coffee, tea, fruit juice and water. Despite the bouncing heads and tired eyes no one felt the desire to rest as the explanation of Vlerick Alumni Tom Vermeulen encouraged the students to discover the secret to become a JP Morgan-worthy candidate. Also Vincent Juvyns was interesting without a doubt when he explained JP Morgan’s view on the current market. After both presentations we were again spoiled with delicious food; delightful sandwiches, exotic fruits and creamy cheese were all available to us. Some of us even took the liberty to take a look around in the elegant and refined building where the interior was just stunning and the panoramic view on the Thames made all students take their cameras, not only our Chinese student, Qi.

For the third time this trip we got new badges in the afternoon. This time they were Goldmann Sachs-visitor badges. In the meeting room we were given a presentation by the Managing Director of IBD Europe, Dirk Lievens, who proved to be a very attention-grabbing speaker. Mister Lievens explained how investment banking works and how Goldmann positions itself in the sector in comparison to their peers. Afterwards we got a quick tour through the building where we got a view on the absurd facilities the company offers its employees; gym, ping-pong corner, sushi restaurant and even a spa were present!

The evening was filled with networking possibilities in the Royal Anglo-Belgian Club. During the walking dinner we got the chance to meet some of the Vlerick Alumni who are living and working in London. Not only the financial alumni were present (who work in Barclays, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley) but also Vlerick Alumni that decided to work on a non-financial basis such as Michael Vanderweeen (Linklaters) and Sarah Vanwelden, (Christies). All of them were open to networking and sharing experiences, which resulted in an formal and informal advice to start off a career in London.

With less sleepy eyes and more energy we visited Lloyds the next day, an interesting tour for many reasons. The building itself with the pipe-structure outside, the retired broker who guided us through the building and explained us how Lloyds works and the more detailed HR-information we received afterwards.

With some spare time until our next visit London got discovered more in detail. Most girls preferred to check out Covent Garden and Oxford Street whereas the boys got to know the best bars. Also tea-time was not skipped!

After tea-time Soecieté Générale welcomed us with a presentation on debt capital markets and fixed income by the director and managing director. Also HR gave some very valuable tips how to start off a career in London, how to stand out. The people from Société, invited us afterwards to a pub called Sammie’s for a drink. Which, let us be honest, turned into quite a few drinks accompanied by a drinking game between students and bankers. Talking about an interactive networking event!

Last day in London. So tired. Luckily we had an active experience on how a trading floor works in the ESCP Business School. For the first time, we could test our trading talents! But let’s be honest, those talents can still use some (or a whole lot more) practising. But, as always, the competition was there and everyone wanted to be the best trader on the floor!

With new insights in the financial market, the knowledge of the London pubs and beautiful memories we returned home. London gave us an opportunity to experience the heat of the financial world and made our courses come to live.

Thank you London for having us!

I have my background in IT and during my undergrad days, I remember, being able to associate with companies like Google and Oracle was every man’s fancy. They are still the favorites of any computer science graduate. But hardly had I anticipated that a marketer can also find a role at Google. All these insights could be possible by the enriching International Study Trip experience we had during the last week in Dublin

The choice to select Dublin as study trip destination is not random. If you would look at the economy of Ireland you would find many MNC’s related to digital and IT sector that have their European HQ at Dublin. True there are certain economic incentives but the point I want to stress here is that it has led to creation of digital ecosystem of startups and corporates together. We also had the chance to experience some of the startups that Enterprise Ireland (Govt. body to foster startups in Ireland) was working with to help them export their services out of Ireland.

The four days flew so fast and we had enormous learning opportunities during the trip. The first day was briefing with the startups at Enterprise Ireland. We could meet the respective owners of company and ask questions and doubts pertaining to the case we had to work on. The second day was exploration day. We visited the campus of Oracle and Google and could get brief glimpse about their culture, their work and their processes. I feel like mentioning Anouck, one of our classmates, “Yes, there is such a thing as free lunches; it’s called a job at Google!” The companies like Google and Oracle have an open culture to foster innovation and they make sure that their employees may always remain motivated and hence they provide such a perks & facilities

The third day, we got a chance to visit Smurfit School of Business, a top ranked Business School by FT and we attended a short lecture on Digital Marketing by the faculty there. We also had a session by an industry expert who was the incharge of Digital Marketing functions at Ryanair. Later on we had a small intermingling with the students of Marketing Development Program where we could discuss how their Marketing program was placed in relation to ours and the experiences they had at the school. The final day was a wrap up. We had to leave our cozy BnBs, deliver the presentations for the startups and explore the city a bit.

I have inkling towards Sufism and Rumi  expresses my mind here well, “Travel brings power and love back into your life.”  In addition to the numerous learning instances, I was refreshed seeing a new land, new culture and new cuisines. I must not forget to mention the fun times we had as a group while exploring the city during our evenings each day after our normal schedule. So far Vlerick Journey has been enriching. I will keep you updated with the further interesting happenings

Rishi