At the Vlerick graduation event in the Capitol in Ghent, 325 tassels were shifted from right to left to mark graduation, followed later in the school yard by a joyous burst of caps thrown in the air. Among the 81 part-time MBA students and 244 Master students that graduated, was also the School’s 14,000th alumnus! The more than sunny day ended in a long reception in the School’s garden, with parents who had flown in from all over the globe.

In the meantime Vlerick’s full-time MBA students, who are on a 12-month programme, have embarked on their “Vlerick Giving Back” projects. Given it is the first time that this is part of the programme, the projects the different teams have come up with are really impressive. We have currently two teams in Africa, six in Asia and the Middle East, seven in the US and Latin America and another ten helping NGOs in Europe, on topics ranging from developing school health initiatives and setting up social development programmes through to fundraising and strategic planning. The full-time MBA graduation ceremony will take place in September.