MBA Experience - Ghent Campus
Join us for an immersive experience and discover the MBA format that best matches your ambitions and professional goals. This event brings together inspiring faculty, current participants or alumni, and the Vlerick MBA team. You’ll get a first-hand look at our three Executive MBA formats – Global Executive MBA, Online Executive MBA, and Executive MBA – and you’ll also learn more about our Full-time MBA.
What makes this event stand out?
You’ll take part in an interactive session led by Vlerick faculty, engage with experienced peers and explore a leadership challenge that shows up in every senior role: conflict. Expect sharp thinking, open discussion and practical tools you can use immediately while exchanging perspectives with current Executive MBA participants who are applying these insights in real leadership contexts throughout their programme.
You’ll explore how leaders can:
- Distinguish productive conflict from the kind that drains time, energy and trust
- Reframe challenging situations to unlock better decisions and outcomes
- Lead difficult conversations with confidence and clarity
- Build a culture where disagreement drives progress, not paralysis
The session
At the heart of the day is the workshop Never waste a good conflict, led by Prof Barney Jordaan, Vlerick Business School.
Your speaker
Barney Jordaan
Honorary Professor of Negotiation
Barney Jordaan is an expert in negotiation and conflict leadership – and helps organisations build effective negotiation strategies.
Drawing on deep academic insight and executive experience, he challenges how leaders typically view conflict and shows how to turn tension into a catalyst for growth and performance.
A central idea explored across the session is that conflict is normal. Like cholesterol, it comes in two forms. Productive conflict strengthens individuals, teams and organisations. Unproductive conflict, when ignored or avoided, comes at a high cost. The leadership challenge lies in knowing how to tell the difference and how to actively encourage the right kind.
You’ll also enjoy lunch with current Executive MBA participants, where you can ask how they prepared for the programme and gain practical tips to help you plan your own journey. This is followed by an optional Q&A with the Vlerick MBA team.
PROGRAMME
- 9.30-10am: Welcome
- 10-10.30am: Overview of MBA programmes and Q&A
- 10.30-11am: Coffee break with current Executive MBA participants
- 11am-12.30pm: Workshop: Never waste a good conflict, led by Prof Barney Jordaan, Vlerick Business School
- 12.30-1.30pm: Lunch with current Executive MBA participants and optional Q&A with the Vlerick team
If you’re considering your next step as a leader, this session will help you decide which MBA format best fits your ambitions, career stage and personal goals.
Register now to get a taste of the Vlerick MBA experience firsthand.
Success Stories
Cis Vercouteren
Owner of 48Ounces
I like this programme for its specific focus on Europe, where we get to visit and learn about new business trends, practices, and solutions in those different countries. I also chose the programme, because I can complete the online modules at my own pace, but I still encounter and work together with interesting people during the immersion trips and projects. The aspect of meeting people was something I was not willing to sacrifice. This programme is very intense. Particularly during the immersion trips, you have a very packed schedule. But I learn a lot of new things, and I encounter very interesting people. It’s quite an amazing experience so far, and I am very motivated to continue this journey.
Geert Menu
Vice President Overseas Operations at Waterleau
I chose this programme because I want to become a better professional. Since Sustainability has become such a hot topic, I want to learn about these new dynamics. In this programme, we visit cities that are real incubators when it comes to sustainability and social responsibility. During our visit to Paris, we had the opportunity to visit some of the start-ups that are really inspiring, because they develop new tools and means for companies to implement sustainability and social responsibility in their daily business.
Bart Vercauteren
Head of ESG, Ackermans & van Haaren
This programme has a unique combination of benefits. It has a very international dimension, with a specific European focus on sustainability. But it is still a full Executive MBA programme and curriculum where I can acquire all key business and leadership skills. The combination of online learning, coupled with the various immersion trips and modules across different cities makes it possible for me to combine the MBA with my family and my work. It’s a very thrilling experience, and I am very enthusiastic about it. I already look forward to the next immersion trip in the programme.
Dominique Damman
Head of Grid Operations at Fluvius
I believe that anybody who has the ambition to do things in a better way and to grow in their career should do a programme like this once in their lifetime. We have a lot of deadlines, but we motivate and help each other, and the vibes in the group are great! I particularly enjoy the immersion trips, as they add a lot of value to the programme experience. Because all these hot spots across Europe provide us with the opportunity to visit and learn from companies based there and learn about the intersection of business and sustainability. Such as when we went to Paris to apply the learnings from our Financial Management course to the current reality of Sustainable Finance.
Get in touch!
Sihame Ghaddab
MBA Recruitment Manager – (Global) Executive and Online MBA