Iñaki’s Masters empowered him to leap into a career in AI

When Iñaki Peeters graduated with a degree in Business Engineering, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do next. Inspired by an AI course he’d taken at university, he decided to join Vlerick’s Masters in Business Analytics and AI. Now he works at Faktion, a dynamic AI scale-up.

“I knew I’d gained lots of theoretical knowledge from university,” says Iñaki.  “And I knew I wanted to learn more about AI. But I also wanted to put my knowledge into practice, understand the business context and meet like-minded people. So I chose to pursue a Masters at Vlerick.

“I wanted to come away with an understanding of the technical side of AI but also the business implications. My goal was to take on a data science role after graduating.”

Something that really appealed to Iñaki was Vlerick’s approach to learning.

He says: “At university, it’s all theory. But Vlerick takes an interactive approach – which was really important to me. You can have technical knowledge – but you need to be able to see it in a business context. And you need to be able to translate it for a person who doesn’t have the same technical background that you do.”

Developing deep knowledge and broad perspectives

One of Iñaki’s highlights from his Masters was the structure of the programme – and what it helped him to achieve.

“You start with the fundamentals – statistics, an introduction to programming,” he says. “Then you go into courses that are more technical – hardcore coding courses like deep learning, machine learning and natural language processing. Towards the end of the year, you have courses that combine business and technical perspectives. I had a course on AI in finance and accounting, one on smart operations and one on marketing.

“It was really helpful to first zoom in on specific technology then apply your knowledge to different business domains.”

Iñaki also really valued the close connections he built with his classmates.

“What I really liked about Vlerick is from the first day you arrive in the classroom, everyone is in the same situation. Nobody knows anyone,” he says. “That makes it very easy to connect with people and start making friends. And it’s a special connection. I still meet up with my former classmates.”

The hands-on experience he was looking for

Iñaki had an opportunity to put his new knowledge and skills to work in a real organisation when he started his consultancy project with Boortmalt – one of the biggest malting companies in the world.

 “I was a part of a team with a classmate from my cohort and someone from the Masters in Financial Management,” he says. “We worked on a sustainability challenge that involved data analytics and data visualisation – to help the business reduce its emissions.

“A company project is totally different to a thesis, you can really apply your knowledge and you’re working as part of a team.”

Building a valuable network

Vlerick offers many opportunities to connect with other students and companies – and Iñaki made the most of them.

“There were company visits and cases with real businesses,” he says. “I went to events organised by Vlerick – like a cocktail workshop with Accenture, which was a fun way to get to know the company. You get to connect with students in other programmes but also different companies and the people working at them.

“We also had informal events – like the ski trip. This was a nice way to get to know Vlerick students from other programmes and campuses and see them in a different setting.

“The most important thing is that you’re in the driver's seat of expanding your network. The more you talk to people, to students, to companies, the more you will get out of it, and the more you will broaden your network.”

Taking the leap into the world of AI

Iñaki graduated in the summer of 2023 – and quickly secured a role at AI company Faktion.

“It’s safe to say that without Vlerick and the knowledge I gained about AI, it would be difficult to do the job I have now,” he says. “My day-to-day job is similar to what I wanted to achieve from my Masters – combining technical and business perspectives. I talk to companies, listen to their challenges and then translate them when I talk to our engineers – so they can develop a technical solution. I’m also actively involved in data analysis and data science tracks.

“I know a lot of people want to work at a big corporate. But what I like about working in a scale-up environment is the fact that you can really have an impact on the company from day one. My boss is the CEO and he often asks for my input. It’s nice to feel you're making an impact. And that’s one of the most important value propositions of Vlerick – creating an impact in what you do.”

Putting his soft skills to work

As well as giving him up-to-the-minute AI insights, Iñaki says he learned valuable soft skills at Vlerick – in particular, the ability to present with confidence.

“When I was at university, I found presentations very stressful,” he says. “But at Vlerick, you focus on how to convey a message in a convincing, meaningful way. We had lots of practice and even had a course on presentation skills. After a couple of months, I was going with the flow and believing that I could convey my message fluently.

“Six months into my role at Faktion, I had the opportunity to deliver a keynote in front of around 250 people. A few years ago I wouldn’t have even considered it – but after the Masters, I thought, let’s do it. The biggest leap that Vlerick helped me to take was with my confidence.”

Looking to the future

Iñaki hopes to play an important role in growing Faktion. And he also plans to remain part of the Vlerick network.

“I definitely want to stay connected with Vlerick,” he says. “I’m already involved in the Vlerick Digital Transformation club, which my boss is the head of. He’s a Vlerick alumnus too, he knows the value proposition of the school and he really believes in it.”

And what would Iñaki tell students who are considering the Masters in Business Analytics and AI?

He says: “I would say to potential students, if you don’t know what you want to do, but you have an interest in AI and want to deepen that interest, then take the leap. Yes, there will be a heavy workload. But the good thing is, you share it. You do group work and presentations. It's really nice to work with people who have the same drive as you – and then in the end, deliver a great result. It really is rewarding.”