With a Masters from Vlerick, Sarah secured her dream tech role

Sarah Vranken has always been passionate about technology. So after gaining a Masters in Business Engineering from KU Leuven, she knew she needed to go deeper to decide where to start her career.

“It was a broad degree, and I explored a number of disciplines,” she says. “Eventually, I discovered a passion for business analytics and AI. So I decided to apply for an advanced Masters, to get more hands-on experience, explore real use cases – and learn more about different specialisms.

“I already knew Vlerick by reputation. It’s also one of very few business schools in Europe offering a Masters in Business Analytics and AI. I was excited to be part of an international cohort with like-minded people who share my passion.”

Sarah applied for and received Vlerick’s Women in STEM scholarship – and began her Masters journey in 2023.

Deciding her career direction

She says: “I wanted to use my year at Vlerick to try out different roles and take different courses. Each course gives you technical knowledge, hands-on exercises and group assignments – as well as the tools to dive into the topic yourself.

“We only had a limited amount of time to dedicate to each course – but I was surprised to see how much you can achieve in five days. One of the strengths of Vlerick is that they bring in experts, so you get real insights. You also get exposure to different business disciplines and sectors. So you can explore where to kickstart your career.

“The beauty of the programme is its flexibility. You choose what you want to specialise in – you decide where you want to go the extra mile.”

Charting her own path

One opportunity Sarah took advantage of was Vlerick’s international exchange programme, joining six other Masters students at Nova School of Business and Economics in Portugal.

She says: “It was a great experience – the courses were high level and in small groups, so you had lots of contact with your fellow students and professors. The campus was also right next to the beach! I chose very technical courses – advanced programming and cloud computing. It was a great opportunity to tailor my Vlerick year.”

Because Sarah wanted to use her time at Vlerick to decide her next steps, she really valued input from our specialist career coaches.

“For me, the career coaching had a significant impact,” she says. “My coach really understood where I wanted to take my career and what I find important – like company culture and mission. I want to work somewhere that has ambitions to change the world.

“It’s so helpful to have someone to talk to, who takes the time to understand who you are as a person. Sometimes they’re hard conversations – but they help to shape your thinking. It’s an exceptional part of the programme.”

Developing a well-rounded skillset

At Vlerick, Sarah gained the technical expertise she was looking for – as well as leadership skills that would help her achieve her ambitions.

“I developed technical skills which I use regularly, such as coding languages like Python and PowerBI (Microsoft’s dashboarding tool),” she says. “In every role in the technology department, you need to know the basics. Even if you plan to go into project management and lead a team of developers, you need to speak their language and understand what they do. I use everything I learned at Vlerick on a daily basis.”

Sarah says that one of the biggest takeaways from her year at Vlerick was the importance of giving and receiving feedback.

She says: “It’s something that’s not common at all in the workplace, I often see people who don’t feel comfortable giving feedback. But it’s so important. Hearing what other people thought about me and what they saw as my strengths was so valuable. There’s a lot of space for self-reflection and self-development at Vlerick.”

Working in her dream role

The day after she graduated from Vlerick, Sarah joined the Technology Leadership Development Programme at Johnson & Johnson – a goal she’d been aiming for since before she started her Masters.

She says: “I knew about the programme and it was my dream graduate role – but I also knew I wasn’t fully prepared to go for it. I wanted more hands-on experience – which is why I went to Vlerick. The knowledge and skills I gained from my Masters strengthened my application and have helped me stay a step ahead.”

For almost two years, Sarah has rotated through different roles and departments. Now the programme is coming to an end, she plans to stay with the company.

“I love working Johnson & Johnson,” she says. “It’s a great fit for me and I love working with my colleagues. I also have opportunities outside of my role – such as giving workshops about women in STEM in primary schools, and being part of our campus firefighting team. There are so many opportunities to develop here, both personally and professionally.

“In the future I want a senior leadership role where I can drive impact even more directly. And that’s where the Masters will give me an edge. It’s so valuable as a leader to be able to dive into the data yourself, identify critical insights and truly understand what your team is telling you.”

Taking control of your career

Sarah would highly recommend the Masters in Business Analytics and AI to anyone interested in a technical role.

“AI is the future,” she says. “Even if you end up in a more business-related role, having technical knowledge will always help you – it’s future proof. My advice would be – use it as a year to develop yourself. You’ll learn so much. And take every opportunity Vlerick offers. You’re in the driving seat of your career – and this starts at Vlerick.”