Dick Oomen
On Wednesday January 24, Dick Oomen completed the MBA successfully by defending his BCP (Business-IT Alignment in SMEs – The Development of a Framework) in front of Boris Blumberg, Laury Bollen and Anant Joshi. We would like to congratulate Dick Oomen again and wish him all the best for a magnificent future! But why did he choose for the MaastrichtMBA in the first place? And what advice does he have for anyone considering an executive MBA at MaastrichtMBA?
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO PURSUE AN MBA?
I decided to pursue an MBA to gain new theoretical business insights. My knowledge was mostly limited to my profession, explicit business knowledge required development. After looking into different options for studying, an MBA was the most valuable option.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE FOR THE MAASTRICHTMBA?
I enrolled at the MaastichtMBA due to three main reasons:
- Small groups to work with, causing you to get to know your fellow students very well;
- Course weeks of 5 days, providing full focus on the subjects and a lot of interaction with teachers and fellow-students;
- The Leadership Development Trajectory, development not only resides in the knowledge you are provided with, but other aspects need consideration as well, such as personal development. I am interested in programmes that offer modules in their curriculum on this subject and the MaastrichtMBA has this included.
HOW HAVE YOU PROFITED?
The study brought a direct pay-off towards my professional life in the challenges I was dealing with at work. New insights and theories were often directly applicable in my professional life. However, the MBA also brought me insights on “How to stay close to myself?” which ultimately caused a goodbye to my employer.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR ANYONE CONSIDERING A START IN MAASTRICHTMBA?
Enjoy and have fun. Next to that the fact that you are working on your personal development. It was fun to interact with students and teachers. This interaction provided additional insights and learnings and were – despite the fact that it is limited in time (one week) – very enjoyable.
Be open minded because the group is very diverse. The composition of the group changes during the courses (new students coming in and students who finished their modules leaving). This provides opportunities to meet new people, with other insights and experiences. You will learn most of them with an open-minded approach.
WHAT SHOULD APPLICANTS THINK ABOUT WHEN DECIDING TO DO AN MBA?
Some considerations to take in mind are:
- What are my objectives when enrolling into an MBA?
- What does the curriculum of the MBA look like? Where is the emphasis on?
- What kind of examination is applied?
- How are classes organised, once per week, course weeks, remote or onsite?
- What is the impact on your private and professional life? Do your family and employer agree or preferably support you during your study?
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST ENJOYABLE PART OF THE MAASTRICHTMBA PROGRAMME?
I would like to address two items which are:
- The course weeks: these were weeks of hard work, and a lot of fun. You will interact a lot with teachers and fellow students. The programme provides room for recreation, especially in the evening and Maastricht is a city that has a lot to offer.
- The international weeks: learning in a completely different environment. You will experience and get well-introduced in some BRICS countries; their culture, values, habits and challenges (culture, business and economic). An experience I will never forget (South Africa and Brazil).