Independent Executive MBA (EMBA): A fine example of time management
27 Jun 2008Vlerick has joined forces with the Amsterdam Business School as part of a challenging experiment. The Independent Executive MBA programme allows participants to achieve multiple objectives at once: it enables them to gain a qualification from two renowned business schools, it offers the perfect solution for people with a full-time job and it provides an intensive learning experience with first-rate teaching staff.
Practice makes perfect
Generally speaking, managers with an average of 12 years’ work experience are not looking for more than just management theory. While it is true to say that theory forms the basis of practice, how do you convert one into the other? This is the starting point of the Independent Executive MBA. Yolanda Habets, Vlerick’s EMBA programme manager: “The programme complies with the current best practices of an MBA for executives, with the key emphasis on real-life business situations. Students are sent the course material in advance and can work through it at their own pace. During the teaching weekends, which are organised once every three weeks, there is ample opportunity for questions about application of theory through interaction with the professors, the other participants and guest speakers from the business world. This doesn’t mean that theory is neglected in class. During two of the four residential weeks, the participants are immersed in some of the more complex management fields that are essential in business, such as accounting, economics, quantitative methods, leadership, intercultural management and negotiating skills.”
Time is precious
The format is an important factor for all 21 participants when they opt for the Independent Executive MBA programme. Most travel a lot for their job and cannot always free up time during the working week. There is also a markedly high proportion of female participants: 25%. Once again this is directly linked with the format. Combining a responsible job with a family and weekly classes is a well-nigh impossible task. “The programme is no less intensive than other MBAs, but the participants find it easier to organise their own schedules,” comments Yolanda Habets.
Cultural experience
The Independent Executive MBA programme has 21 participants representing no fewer than nine nationalities (from Belgium, the Netherlands, Russia, India, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, Romania and the UK). Combined with the students’ many years of professional experience, this cultural mix has a very enriching effect. And this cultural experience is not confined to the classroom. As part of this year's programme the participants will spend a week in India focusing on the theme of “entrepreneurship and doing business in India”.
Participants’ testimonials
Thomas Marty, Switzerland
“The Independent Executive MBA of Vlerick and the Amsterdam Business School combines the flexibility of having teaching sessions just once every three weeks with the intensity of a full two days of classes. This enables you to have a normal working week, while the two weekends between classes give you extra time for reading and class preparation. The participants are all from very different backgrounds, which allows us to learn as much from one another as from the professors.”
Isabel Vanobergen, Belgium
“Doing an MBA has always been a personal goal of mine. Having reached the point where I had 12 years’ work experience and three kids, I started exploring the options for taking on this challenge. One of the factors I had to consider was how to combine an MBA course (lectures and study time) with a demanding management position in a multinational company. I was also looking for a truly international experience where I could meet people with different backgrounds and stories, all wanting to grow. The Independent Executive MBA programme was exactly what I was looking for. The teaching methods are of a high standard, creative and appealing to people with all kinds of different skills.”
Denis Onneweer, the Netherlands
“As a management consultant and programme manager, I felt the need to broaden my horizons and improve both entrepreneurial and managerial knowledge and skills. I chose the Independent EMBA because it combines the strengths of two excellent business schools in a fairly priced, high-quality package, tailored to the needs of experienced full-time professionals. The professors are eager to share the latest know-how and offer a sound mixture of theory, case studies and individual or group assignments. The students have diverse backgrounds, both geographically and in terms of professional experience. I’m mixing with people from several countries, working in areas ranging from marketing and sales to general management. This opens up new perspectives on shared issues.”
Deepshikha Birla, India
“The Independent Executive MBA programme is the perfect recipe for professionals like me who wish to gain access to top-notch management education while being able to fully focus on their career. The range and breadth of the course content allows in-depth learning and is enriched further by the high quality of the teaching staff and the collective experience of highly experienced international classmates.”
Info
Yolanda Habets
Tel.: + 32 16 24 88 86
yolanda.habets@vlerick.be
Orator 28 - June 2008
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