Vlerick Business School’s full-time MBA programme has been redesigned to become more practical, more flexible and to have a greater focus on key skills such as leadership and entrepreneurship. As a result of the changed learning approach and design of the programme, candidates will enjoy a much more hands-on experience. The programme will incorporate a variety of live-action projects and collaborative discussion sessions. On-campus teaching will focus on the application of theory in practice to allow candidates to get the most out of their face-to-face experience.

Leading European HR and Payroll service provider SD Worx is establishing a strategic partnership with the Vlerick Business School to give an extra boost to digitalisation in the HR world. One of the initiatives to help achieve this is the development of a digital ecosystem for the world of work and beyond. SD Worx wishes to go beyond simply providing services related to HR and payroll and is setting up a platform through which external parties can also offer their services. The platform will be accessible from January 2022 and will be the first of its kind in Europe.

Last year, Vlerick Business School launched several alumni clubs, an initiative that arose from the demand for lasting engagement for alumni after their studies came to an end. The alumni clubs that form part of the Business & Professional segment offer alumni a platform where they can share knowledge and gain new insights within a specific field. The recently launched Vlerick Impact Club ties in with new industrial strategy by the European Commission and the Club wants to play a pioneering role in the areas of social and sustainable impact within Belgian industry.

Vlerick’s Masters in Financial Management programme has confirmed its position in this year’s Financial Times Global Masters in Finance Ranking amongst the top 25 schools in Europe and top 30 globally. And in the Benelux, we maintain our number 1 position. Our CFA-accredited programme provides an excellent broad and in-depth corporate finance education, complemented with relevant managerial skills. Despite of the challenges caused by Covid-19 with regards to studying abroad, our programme currently has 70 students representing 15 different nationalities.

The COVID-19 crisis is confronting society with huge challenges. Governments all over the world are focusing on the complex task of setting up rapid high-volume vaccination campaigns so that life can get back to normal as soon as possible. In consonance with these efforts, blockchain technology can help tackle several of the challenges imposed by COVID-19, and it can even help our economy recover more quickly from this pandemic. Professor Kristof Stouthuysen and researcher Tineke Distelmans talk about the possible applications of blockchain in vaccine tracking and storage, a COVID-19 passport and the global organisation of supply chains.

Thibo Clicteur earned a Vlerick Masters in General Management in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. But that didn’t slow him down. On the contrary, he’s been on a super-fast track ever since. During his in-company project at Katoen Natie he was introduced at Deloitte. After an instructive traineeship at their Global Trade Advisory where he was involved in solving international trade problems of all kinds, he was offered a full-time contract.

Leadership can be defined as the art of motivating people to achieve a common goal. To be able to motivate your team, you need to understand them, know which tasks they enjoy and which they don't, and take their input into account. This kind of relationship can only be built if you truly listen to them. Listening is also the pathway to fresh insights and ideas, and can be the difference between a project succeeding or failing.

Over the years, Vlerick alumnus Jennifer Elliot has consciously looked for her ‘Ikigai’ – the Japanese secret for a long and happy life – which includes work that you like and are good at. Jennifer started out by studying Law. After her Masters in General Management, she worked for 10 years as a Marketing expert in large corporate environments. Finally, her professional search has led her to create her own jewellery label: Elliot & Ostrich.

iGMO partners EY and KBC look back on the way the past year tested medium-sized companies’ resilience. How are companies handling Covid-19? How do they keep helping each other along even now? What’s the pandemic’s lasting impact? A conversation about ‘familial fuzziness’ and rediscovering the joys of entrepreneurship.

With students around the world increasingly turning to an online MBA programme as a more flexible and more cost-effective method of furthering their career development goals, QS Quacquarelli Symonds have released their annual list of the world’s best online MBA providers. Vlerick’s Online MBA programme has entered the global top 10, rising from the 12th position last year to number 9, and remains the only Benelux business school to be featured in this list. The 2021 edition of the list names 57 programmes worldwide, with Spain’s IE Business School ranked number one for the fourth consecutive year.