Shruti’s MBA helped her secure her dream role

By Shruti Saxena, Full-time MBA alumna, class of 2018-2019.

26 September 2023

Shruti Saxena started her career in IT development. For several years, she held technical roles in global organisations including Tata Consultancy Services and IBM. But after working in the UK and leading a small team, she realised it was time for a change.

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“I knew I wanted to move to Europe – and move away from a career in IT,” she says. “I felt if I stayed in IT, it would always be in a technical role. I enjoyed managing and getting a broader view of business – and I wanted to do more of that. But I had so much to learn that for me, changing my career meant I needed to do an MBA.”

After considering several programmes in the UK and the Netherlands, Shruti decided that Vlerick and Brussels had what she was looking for. So in September 2019, she moved from India to Belgium to start her Full-time MBA.

“One of the first things that attracted me to Vlerick was the class profile,” she says. “It’s so international and there’s a great range of ages and industries. This diversity really helped me to get to know different domains and how they work. I reached out to an alumnus I knew – and a couple of other alumni via LinkedIn – and they all said that the diverse class was a really positive aspect of the programme.”

Living and learning business

Shruti found that Vlerick’s Full-time MBA format gave her exactly the experiences she was looking for. She says: “The classroom-based programmes like finance and statistics were important – I had no finance experience, for example. But it’s how you then apply these learnings in practical projects that were valuable.

“For me, developing soft skills was the most important. It’s the transferable skills like negotiation and people management that help you succeed in any role.

“You can’t learn skills like leadership by studying – it has to be practical. And that’s what you get at Vlerick. For example, during group projects, you might have more or less experience with the topic. My personality is that if I don’t know about a subject, I sit back and listen. But if I do, I become a leader. This means explaining to others, bringing everyone on the journey and getting everyone’s perspectives. It’s a hands-on way to gain leadership skills.”

Finding her new direction

Shruti’s motivation for doing an MBA was to change careers – so she really appreciated the career guidance she received at Vlerick. She says: “There is a lot of support available. My career advisor helped me contact companies and also introduced me to alumni who had switched careers from IT – they guided me on how to approach this topic in interviews. We had a class on creating a LinkedIn profile and I had several sessions with my advisor to review my CV. Vlerick really wants to make sure you get it right – and this really helps boost your confidence.”

Leaping into a new career

This support – coupled with her well-rounded business skillset and a new-found confidence in her abilities – meant Shruti was ready to find her dream role in supply chain management. And she did – at the international company UPS. She now works as an analyst in the company’s Procurement Centre of Excellence.

She says: “It’s a drastic change from IT. I now work on strategic sourcing projects and have a much broader view of how my organisation works. My role involves strategy, negotiating, and using data analytics to compare bids. It encompasses so many different areas of business. I really enjoy it – and I’m so glad to have finally secured a role that I wanted.

“I use so much from the MBA like negotiating skills, finance knowledge, and strategic planning – it helps that I took three strategy courses at Vlerick! And my team is cross-cultural – so I was glad I already had experience working in diverse teams.”


Shruti loves living in Brussels and plans to stay long-term. She says: “Brussels is a very international place – you really find people from all over the world here. I particularly love the outskirts of the city. Me and my friends go hiking most weekends and the countryside is beautiful.”

Making the most of her network

Shruti has stayed in touch with her fellow MBA participants – and says Vlerick really helped her build a wide network.

“Through networking events, company visits, career fairs and alumni events, I got to know people who work in almost every sector. And of course, I have my classmates.

“There is lifelong value in networking, both on a professional and personal level. Making such good friends has been great – I never thought we’d stay connected after the programme but people make time for you even if they aren’t in the country. Professionally I’m always keen to get to know different companies – and thanks to the MBA, I’m not shy about asking. At first, I found it hard to reach out to people but now it feels natural. The MBA gave me this confidence.

“My advice to future MBA participants is to get involved in as many activities as possible. It’s not just about classes. There are coffees with colleagues after class, alumni events, and careers fairs – you’re always learning. One of the best parts of Vlerick for me is that you really do gain as much from what you do outside the classroom as inside.”

Shruti Saxena graduated in 2019.

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Aurelie Van de Meulebroucke

Aurelie Van de Meulebroucke

Customer Relationship Manager – Full-Time, European, Executive and Online MBA