These days it is getting too busy, we have classes till 5.30 and there is some event, some company presentation after that also. But what keeps us going is the vibrant milieu and stimulating talks of the thought leaders at school. So in this post I will be talking about some of the thought leaders that blew our minds with the fascinating insights that they provided.

My post will always be inadequate if I fail to mention about Steven Van Belleghem.  He is the bestselling author and keynote speaker on making the relationship more customer-centric. His most recent book, ‘When digital becomes human’ is already a hit. He taught us, how the companies should be transforming themselves in order to be relevant in the disruption driven digital world.

Steven is a celebrated author and I am just noticing that students last year also wrote about him. So another speaker who created a profound impact on me was Herman Toch. Herman is a marketer and also a bestselling author. He shared how he had to question his values as a marketer as he experienced a marketing holocaust in his life. Herman was the guest speaker for our CSR classes and never before the CSR’s lectures were so meaningful. He talked about ‘Happy Profit’, the profit which is not a goal in itself but comes as a reward of doing something meaningful and purposeful. He probed that the organizations of future would more be sustainable, taking people and planet together in their quest of growth. Semco & Uber were some of the examples he illustrated.

[youtube_sc url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRa0rbJiCxQ”]

My words just don’t describe the experience and the inspiration we have here.

Come and be part of Vlerick Experience!

Rishi

Do you dare to embark?

That, ladies and gentlemen, was the audacious catchphrase of a night to remember. Location of the crime scene: Le Bateau, a spooky, yet awesome party boat floating down a dockside in Ghent.

The Halloween Reunion is an annual event organized by our beloved Vlerick Marketing Alumni. Normally taking place on Halloween itself (October 31^st ), this year on October 30^th  with no classes for M3 students the day after. Coincidence? I think not.

The noble purpose of this event is that the Vlerick Marketing Alumni Association wants to give the current generation of M3’ers the opportunity to meet former M3 students. This in a very original way. The general concept of the evening was based on the “Utile Dulci” principle, in which “what is useful” (utile) is linked to “what is sweet” (dulci).

The ‘utile’ part for M3 students was that in the beginning of the evening, we were introduced to the sponsor of the event. UNILIN sent 8 company representatives to our campus in Ghent to present their company, as well as the interesting job opportunities. In essence, it is a leading player in flooring, division panels, and division insulation products with strong roots in Waregem, Belgium.

After the interesting company presentation from UNILIN, we were invited to an informal networking event in the Vlerick Lounge, accompanied with free drinks and hot dogs.

Once all business cards were exchanged and the networking was over, the big herd of M3 students moved to Le Bateau, from where the event transformed into a Halloween alumni gathering. Upon arrival, every single one of us received a piece of finger accompanied with a message that read that 10 Vlerick Marketing Alumni were murdered the night before. It was up to us to collect the finger pieces and to re-form a new hand by asking all attendants whether they had a fitting finger piece. If this worked, you probably met a lot of people that you previously did not know before, and you were rewarded with a free bottle of cava. The ‘dulci’ part.

All in all, everyone agreed that it was an amazing event, definitely worth repeating. We networked, we danced, we laughed, and above all: we had fun. On behalf of the M3 students, I would therefore like to thank once again both UNILIN and the Marketing Alumni Board for making this event happen. The group works that some of us scheduled the day after, were less productive than expected, but that again is just a minor detail, and probably something which we still have to get used to.

For the complete Flickr photostream, click here.

Cheers,

Tom Danloy.

It has already been two months that we are into this Vlerick Journey. Can you guess, what is the most tangerine part of this journey?  For me, it is working in different teams.  I had already worked in teams during my Bachelors and at workplace but working in teams at Vlerick is quite a different experience. It is because the teams that I had worked with earlier had similar mindset, similar educational background and similar interests, but here in this international setting, we have different cultures, different mindset and different educational background altogether.

Take instance of M3, Here we have students from more than 13 different nationalities with educational background ranging from Clinical Psychology to Designer.  With so much diversity, it can sometimes be a challenge to put our heads together. But with so many heads together, we reach to a solution that is quite different and discover new insights altogether. Another thing to add is that teams we work in are not the teams we continue to work with whole year. Each course might have different teams & it is interesting to mention that sometimes we are also working in more than one team at the same time. So when Vlerick says Invest 1 year, Gain 5 it means it is going to be intense with the learning of 5 years just condensed into 1.

So do you feel that you can handle the heat?

Keep me posted!

Rishi

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

3 weeks into the programme, our Masters students are getting used to life at Vlerick.
On September 3rd, we welcomed over 220 students, from over 25 different countries for their Kick-off! They met our campus, our Faculty and staff and got to know each other.

The official Opening by our Dean, followed on Monday, September 8th in Brussels. This was an extra celebratory event as we combined it with honoring Prof. Justin Lin, who received an honorary doctorate from Vlerick Business School and KULeuven in recognition of his role as one of China’s leading economists.

Over the next weeks, our students can look forward to following our Career Skills seminar, with hands-on workshoips and mock interviews, as well as leaving our campus already to go on Social Skills Seminar, in the Netherlands!

Vlerick Masters

Post by Melissa Soto

“Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”
― Mary Oliver

Since the beginnings of our Master in Marketing, there have been several inspiring speakers. Some are core professors and others visit us to share their own experiences: their successes, their failures and how they did to get back in the game… But most importantly, they tell us about the lessons they learned. Each time there’s a guest speaker, it’s to tell his or her story. But what none of them know, is that by doing so, they have instilled a certain belief in all of us. A belief to chase after our dreams, because they can turn into reality if we want it bad enough. A belief that we can face each and every challenge, as long as we follow our own hearts. A belief that our passions will guide us to where we want to be. Those stories have been more like life lessons to us this year. Or at least, that is how I feel about them.

For example, few weeks ago we had no less than three speakers to cover the topic of Interactive Marketing. Each one had a different perspective: starting with the power of word-of-mouth and how you can generate impactful conversations with current and potential customers, over to how to create loyalty by combining offline service with online campaigns, and ending with mobile strategies and the plenty of recent innovations in that field. Each one of them shared with us their personal stories, their life experience and with that, some really interesting cases they’ve worked on.

1. Steven Van Belleghem, author of Conversation Manager & Conversation Company. Started his career as a researcher at Vlerick. Today he is a writer, speaker and he runs his own company: B-Conversational.

2. Polle de Maagt, began as a trendwatcher in a recognized Belgian agency and then moved to other two important advertising and market research firms. Now he is living the entrepreneur life with his recent venture: The Ministry of World Domination.

3. Dado Van Peteghem, started his career as a consultant in a global market research and consulting firm. Today he is a managing partner at a Belgian company and co-founder of a pretty successful social media online tool.

The most inspiring thing about these speakers is that they all started out just like us: young professionals, eager to learn and wanting to reach for the stars. They all found their own path to follow; though I’m sure they’re not at all near the end of it. But besides having that desire to succeed – and then actually making it happen too – is not the only thing about them that inspires us, and definitely inspires me, to be great. There are a couple of key elements that add the necessary touch to go from simply narrating to actually move something inside other people:

• They are unafraid to make mistakes and they are honest about it when they do.
• They are humble about their own achievements and they highlight their learnings from their failures.
• They are proud of who they are, which includes flaws, strengths and even some quirks. For instance, Steven is very well known for wearing his blue sweater to the point that when he gets a call to deliver a speech or a lecture, he is often requested to bring the famous sweater along with him.
• They work hard and they play hard. They know that, to get where you want to go, it often takes several sleepless nights. You have to go after your dreams and you mustn’t be afraid to go the extra mile. It was not easy for any of them, but it was totally worth it.

So I guess I just want to say… They are real people. Their lives are not just about business and making money. It’s about achieving their dreams, following their passions. They weren’t afraid to challenge themselves and they never let a boundary stop them. Instead, they tackled every hurdle as it came their way, all the while enjoying the ride. That is what makes their stories so much more than just a lesson. Because they know what they’re talking about – they lived through it – and that is why their guest lectures are more like life lessons. And certainly amazing examples to try and emulate. I’m for sure ready to start reaching for the stars. Are you?

Question: Who are those speakers who have inspired you the most with their stories?

Dear readers,

Brace yourselves, a wall of text is coming… The highlights of the MFM’s venture into London during a study trip are described below, proceed at your own discretion.

Day 1

On the Monday morning of January 20th, before sunrise, the MFM class gathered in Brussels to go to London by the Eurostar and have one of the most exquisite weeks of the year so far. The first-movers of our class were already in London since Saturday, for some networking and enjoying a game of Arsenal vs Fulham.

Big and Little Ben

First things first, upon arrival in London we checked in at our hostel. Afterwards, we went to the offices of the maker of a well-known MFM tool at Vlerick Business School, Bloomberg. Most of us know it from the terminals they provide that allow access to some of the most refined financial data you can imagine. Starting off our company visits at Bloomberg was a good choice, as it immediately set the benchmark of how the offices in London would look and I can say without any doubt: they look astonishing. Initially, the tour began with some history of how the previous mayor of NYC started with building his empire of financial information data and services in the fixed income market and later expanded to financial services, ranging from offering financial data through the terminals or by Bloomberg TV and other products. After that, we had a break in their relax room and got some refreshments, while having a look at the multiple big aquaria with exotic fish. The second part of the visit consisted of some explanation on the new features of the Bloomberg terminal, which we use so often at Vlerick Business School. With these new insights on how Bloomberg operates in mind, we were ready to go to the next stop of the day, Oliver Wyman.

The offices of Oliver Wyman are located in the famous Baker Street and since we had a bit of time off before our appointment, the gents of our class went to the illustrious address of Baker Street 221 B. Afterwards, armed with a coffee in hand, we went for some more exploring and sightseeing of the city of London. Arriving at Oliver Wyman, we were greeted by four consultants from various countries and specialized in different industries. Oliver Wyman, for some less known as it does not have an office in Belgium, is best known for its financial strategy consultancy. After learning a number of facts about the firm, such as that it is part of the Marsh & McLennan company known for its insurance and reinsurance activities, we were ready to split up into groups and work on a typical consultancy case. Together with the insights of the consultants, we were able to solve the case and sometimes even surprised them with our creative solutions. After a small presentation on the solution and our very own Martijn De Meyer who presented our solution, we had some drinks and networking possibilities with the consultants. After the reception, we went to eat and had a meet-up with the class in the bar of the hostel where we discussed the first day and the wonderful days to come.

Day 2

The second day of our London Study trip started with a visit to JP Morgan, where we got acquainted with the company and their division of global asset management. The

Finance boys at home

whole MFM class felt privileged that one of the largest investment banks invited them to present their company and to share some tips for the application procedure. Furthermore, they gave us a preview of their expectations of how the global economy in 2014 will evolve. It was very interesting to get to know the company in a more detailed way. This was certainly very appealing to MFM’ers that are aspiring to work in the investment banking world. In addition, their outlook of the market was extremely interesting as well. They tackled different aspects, such as unemployment, real estate, the evolution of the interest rates and inflation. Now we have to wait and see whether their insights and predictions were correct. After the presentation, JP Morgan offered us a lovely lunch.

Most of us left JP Morgan to explore the city of London and to grab a bite in between the previous session and the following company visit at Standard & Poor’s. S&P is one of best known rating agencies in the world. The company is part of McGraw-Hill, which some might know for its academic books. The S&P building is located right in the heart of the City, at Canary Wharf. For most of us, this was the first time we actually laid our eyes on some of the most magnificent skyscrapers in London. When seeing the street name ‘Bank Street’ and the amazing buildings of the investment banks, a lot of us were immediately at ease. Once at S&P, we were welcomed by the staff and received an elaborate presentation on what the goal of a rating agency actually is, how these companies operate and why they are so (in)famous. We learned that S&P originated out of the analysis of railroads, which was in 1860 a common investment. Given that a lot of investors had no clue about the state of the different railroads, S&P published a detailed analysis on all of their financial and operational details. This methodology of examining and ranking companies is still applied to debt instruments nowadays. As in all good presentations, we had the opportunity to ask some questions. A lot of questions, most of them focusing on the role of rating agencies in the financial crisis, were asked and answered. After a couple of hours, our visit was already over. A quick group picture and numerous photos were taken before we headed back to the heart of London, eagerly awaiting the next chapter of our study trip.

Visiting S&P’s

At the end of the second day, we were expected at the Royal Anglo-Belgian Club for a networking event and a walking dinner. After S&P, most of the class went to visit a local pub to get something to drink and to rate the local beers and wines. That process, which implied both a quantitative and a qualitative element ended somewhat before 6pm, when we decided to go the club. The club itself is situated in a luxurious hotel where an upper floor serves as a meeting place for Belgians working in the UK. We were greeted by the staff who immediately started serving us the walking dinner. Good to know is that the term ‘walking dinner’ is not known in the UK (it’s called hot fork). This became all very clear to us when we actually had to eat. Some of us ate in style, relaxed in a chair made for kings, while others… well, the style was not always present. After the dinner, numerous school alumni as well as members of the chamber of commerce showed up. They gave us insights on how it is to work in London and in investment banking. The more ‘renowned’ alumni also gave us some advice on how to proceed in life. The network event ended late in the evening. This meant, of course, that there still was a whole night to enjoy…

Day 3

The third and last day of scheduled activities consisted of two parts. Our first ‘company’ visit brought us to the City, where we had an appointment at Lloyd’s, an insurance

Visiting Lloyd’s

market. After a short introduction, we split up into smaller groups and three wise gentlemen gave us all a tour around the different floors in the rather unique building (with elevators, pipes, etc. on the outside). One of the striking elements during the tour was the emphasis on history and tradition. As a result of its roots in maritime insurance since the 17th century, the place was full of artifacts related to this period and the activities. One of the highlights was the main Underwriting Room: a large room housing countless working stations, a big vitrine with many historical objects related to Lord Nelson, a large logbook containing records of ship accidents, and especially the Lutine Bell. This bell, originating from HMS Lutine, would be rung twice in case of good news (mostly ceremonially these days, e.g. when Prince George was born) and once in case of bad news (a ship had sunk). On the top floor of the building, we visited the Adam Room, a royal-looking room where the Council of Lloyd’s meets up. The room and many other locations were covered with impressive paintings, usually referring to historical events and people. Near the end of our tour, our knowledgeable guide was excited to let us know that their building’s interior was used in the film Mamma Mia!, posing as an office building in New York. The more you know… Our visit of Lloyd’s concluded with some refreshments and a presentation about the market (I repeat, not a company!).

Wouter seemingly enjoying trading

Following an undoubtedly nutritious lunch for many of us, the last event of the day led us to a fellow business school, ESCP Europe. The local professors prepared two very interesting sessions for us. After a brief introduction and a split-up into two groups, the first part of the afternoon was aimed at simulating a trading room experience. We got to play around with the software during a number of short trading rounds, under different circumstances (e.g., a skewed demand/supply). At the very end of the session, we played a couple of ‘serious’ rounds, focused on making as much profit as possible. Some were more successful than others at staying out of the red (sorry, JMP). Some well-deserved spoils of war (refreshments) followed. During the second session, we got to know more about the markets, the mechanisms and got to play a few games to illustrate the concepts of trading (e.g., the bid-ask spread). Both of these sessions provided useful insights and for many a first trading experience. Bragging ensued.

Days 4-7

After three days of visiting companies, most of the people from MFM extended their London trip to discover the city. During these days we enjoyed London from another, non-financial perspective. Some people visited the numerous musea, while others explored the city by doing some sightseeing, which included the Buckingham Palace, London Eye, House of Parliament, Tower of London and many more. We ended our days by enjoying the night scene of the city.

On Friday, a few brave souls dared to attend a finance conference organized by the University College London. After an extensive breakfast (not), the conference kicked off with a couple of interesting presentations by experienced professionals. The topics ranged from an overview of the market, regulations and the economy in general, to some insights concerning the low interest rates. Following a lunch combined with some networking opportunities, the afternoon consisted mostly of very interesting panels and discussions about subjects related to banking and M&A.

And finally, it would not be very MFM-like if we didn’t combine the pleasure with some business. Therefore, during the last day or two, a significant amount of people worked (or at least attempted to) on an assignment that was due on Monday. Regardless, this was a week full of fun and good memories.

The end.

Enjoying a healthy snack

Just a quick update today.

We are proud to announce that the Vlerick Business School Global IRC team has reached the BeNeLux finals of the worldwide competition of the CFA institute. After countless hours of work, very few hours of sleep during one of the busiest periods of MFM program, this group consisting of our great class mates, Wolf, Wouter, Vincent, Maxime and Aurelie, were able to deliver a top quality investment case. Congratulations!

For those who do not know what this is about: The CFA Institute Research Challenge gathers students, investment industry professionals, publicly traded companies, and corporate sponsors together locally, regionally and globally for an annual competition (Source: website CFA Institute). Find out more on the website of the CFA Institute.

Cheers,

Kenny MFM Brand Ambassador

Dear readers

Finally found the time to write a little blog post and give you some additional insights on what has happened in the last few weeks within the mysterious walls of our beloved Ghent campus.

Right before the Christmas Holiday we had … Oops! Almost made a spelling mistake there. Let’s give it another try. Right before the Christmas Group Work Meetings we had our second business game called Goldstein.  This time the MGM cohorts were mingled. What I can tell you about the business game is that if you don’t like numbers well… Prepare to start liking them. If people tell you you’re going to dream in English when you study at Vlerick, they are wrong. You’re going to dream about numbers, at least after Goldstein.

After digging in a huge dataset and looking for that one magic number that would boost the ROCE* – which didn’t exist of course –  for hours and hours, most of the groups suffered from “paralysis by analysis”.  After a long period of number crunching and exhausting team discussions, the light at the end of the tunnel became clearer and brighter. Walking around on the campus at 4 o’clock in the morning and noticing that every breakout room is still full with groups finishing their presentation –  to be made the next morning at 9A.M. –  gives you the last energy boost you need to finish the assignment yourself.

* ROCE = Return On Capital Employed. A financial ratio that measures a company’s profitability and efficiency of the capital is employed.

Friday 4 A.M.; five hours before the deadline.

The magic did not (and will not) only happen inside the walls of our Ghent campus of course. There has been some travelling to the Brussels campus for Career Days, on which we like to grab the opportunity to meet potential future employers and to enjoy the reception afterwards. 😉 For the courses of Entrepreneurship, you will need to get out of the campus and go and talk to a lot of people to get a lot of information and to do a lot of analysis.

In the near future most of the magic will happen outside as well. As we are getting close to our Spring Break, we are getting close to our ski-trip. Immediately after that, we get the chance to specialize in a certain fundamental of management during a four week, in-depth Boot Camp. After spending 4 weeks on the Ghent, Leuven or Brussels campus we go on a one week international study trip to Istanbul. The only thing remaining after the international study trip is the In-Company Project (ICP). A lot of us – hopefully including myself – will grasp the opportunity to go on a project abroad. So the future looks really bright!

Basically, there are so many things still unwritten…  And there’s probably a good reason for that: words cannot describe the experience you gain at Vlerick. At least I know one thing for sure: Athosphere is something that definitely changed my life and the lives of my colleagues. If I had to give you one advice it will definitely be the following: grab your chance to get on this life changing ride!

Hope to talk to you soon!

Angelo Van Slycke

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Feel free to contact, connect,… if you have any questions! Or meet us at the info session on Saturday 15^th of February on our Ghent campus!

Mail: angelo.vanslycke@edu.vlerick.com

Twitter: @AngeloVanSlycke

LinkedIn: be.linkedin.com/in/angelovanslycke/