The mix of educational backgrounds, from business to philosophy, passing from industrial design to robotics, should as always bring a great variety of point of views to the classrooms: Marketing, Organizational Behaviour, Financial Accounting, Managerial Economics or the CAP coaching sessions….

The new academic year  kicked-off with an outdoor team-building activity, taking advantage  of the last of the good weather offered by Brussels! The newcomers were greeted with an introductory session by MBA director Hugues Pirotte, who introduced his team, as well as the structure and content of the programme awaiting them. His presentation was followed by an inspiring demonstration of Susan West, Manager of the MBA Solvay Career Advancement programme. Susan offered a first enthusiastic taste of the unique experience the participants would soon be involved in during this year at the MBA: their career development process. The group were challenged with the question of “Who Are You?”, and the promise that this would be one of the main questions they will be discovering the answer to, over the next few months.

An overall feeling of excitement was clearly palpable and drew all members of the group, extrovert and introvert alike, into the team atmosphere. The groups went on a treasure-hunt discovery of Brussels, following clues along the way in the race to be the first back to the final destination. Cheers rang out as the last group made their way through the doors of “A La Becasse”, where everyone took the opportunity to share a drink and a laugh with new friends.

And so, again this year, a very unique group of participants have started their personal and professional challenge at the MBA Solvay, with a great deal of enthusiasm and sense of group spirit, realising immediately that their personal and professional goals can be better achieved as a team!

And as the MBA Solvay challenge starts for this group, meanwhile, the recruitment process for the next intake is already proceeding, looking for the perfect candidates profiles to maintain the high quality seal of the programme. Several positive meetings took place in September at the MBA Access Fair in Brussels and we will continue recruiting new candidates through other events and info-sessions, coming soon!

The MBA class 2010/12 can so take a little breath: it is now a good time to celebrate the MBA Solvay community! On December 9 the MBA Solvay, together with the Student Government and the MBA Solvay Global Women Network will invite students, alumni and professors in the new building to attend a special speaker – Xmas event!

Hugues Pirotte, MBA Solvay Academic Director, will welcome Mrs. Annick Monseuux, former president of Pirelli, to speak about the topic of gender in the business world: “What does it take to climb the pink ladder?”.  Mrs. Annick Monseuux, started her career in 1987 in the software industry, before entering the core of B2B marketing for both Pirelli and Teleroute, in different local and international marketing management roles. Her next career move led her to general management positions still with Pirelli and Wolters Kluwer, initially as Managing Director of a start-up in Italy, then as Chief Operating Officer, heading 25 countries and finally as worldwide Sales and Marketing director for Truck Tires, a €1billion business. She then moved to Executive Board Management, as President of Pirelli franchise-like retail network. In 2008, she started an independent activity supporting her international customers in growing the value of their business (WW sales and marketing organisations design, BU Management, M&A, Commercial Strategy Design and Reorganisations), offering in parallel her professional experience to social businesses to support the launch of commercial activities.

And after the keynote intervention, Vali Lalioti, MBA Solvay class 2009, will introduce the audience to an interactive executive coaching session: “How business coaching can help business leaders unlock difficult challenges and their organizations reach a whole new level…”. Vali Lalioti is an executive coach (http://www.valilalioti.com/) and she will answer your questions on how executive coaching works in a highly interactive and thought provoking session.

A walking cocktail will end the evening and give opportunity for networking with the MBA Solvay community!

The MBA Solvay class 2010 “just graduated” on July 3: 47 students, with 26 nationalities, 23 languages and 81% of non-local participants.

Even this year, the MBA Solvay really positions itself as an international Master in Business Administration in the heart of Europe, the best place to start a global career. Saturday 3th July 2010 was indeed unique for many people in Brussels. This year again, on that particular day, the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management contributed to the creation of the top business Belgian professionals, making the network of MBA Solvay alumni wider, stronger and more diversified than ever.

But maybe for two people this particular moment was even more special…..We have interviewed the 2 students who had been awarded the BEST MBA SOLVAY STUDENT 2010 diploma: Rie Werner (Ft) and Erik Vennekens (Pt) who  both graduated with high honors!

First of all, congratulations to both! We would like to know more about the life of our best students of this year.

How did you manage to combine your private lives together with the considerable academic workload you had to face during your MBA?

Erik: Which private life? Just joking. I must admit that some of the people around me were wondering whether I was still alive at certain moments. But thanks to the organization of the courses in blocks of two months and in concentrated periods within those two months, there were still quite some moments where I could pick up other activities besides the MBA. I must say that I most admire the people in my class who combined a full time job, the MBA and a new born in the family. Hat off to them!

Rie: The MBA was an intense experience; no doubt about that. For my part, I was privileged to have an encouraging husband and a flexible babysitter. At the same time, it was important for me to still have other activities outside the MBA like running or seeing friends for dinner. I used these moments to fresh my mind and reload my batteries

What is your recipe for “the best in class”? Any suggestions for future participants?

Erik: Help yourself by helping the people around you. I personally came to the most interesting insights by discussing with my classmates. The interaction is most crucial. Never step away from sharing with others what you have worked on or discovered. This will open up new opportunities for interesting discussions and insights.

Rie: We are all different and everybody needs to find his or her own way. My advice, however, would be: Stay curious, open and jump into the MBA experience with both feet. Listen and ask questions. Dare to take your stand and to challenge yourself. And keep in mind that the MBA takes a good deal of self discipline, persistence, and planning.

You just graduated from the MBA Solvay: What do you think you will bring with you? Which  “lesson” you will mostly keep  in your life?

Erik: Apart from the interesting and enriching panoply of new hard skills I have learned, I have been submerged in a bath of intercultural differences. For me this was the first time I worked on projects with non-Europeans. This was a very enriching experience. You could say that you don’t need an MBA for this, but I would disagree with that. The MBA creates a setting where you need to achieve but where you can also experiment, which is quite unique.

Rie: The MBA has been a great experience. I have gained a lot of new insights both professionally and personally. The MBA definitely has changed my way of thinking in several ways. If I should mention one “key lesson”, it would be that “everything is possible”. Instead of focusing on problems or obstacles, the Solvay MBA encourages to see the opportunities in every situation; to raise questions, seek advice and to challenge the assumptions or the rules of the game.

How did you life change with this MBA?

Erik: These two years have definitely changed the way I look at the functioning of a company and, in a broader perspective, at society. My original background is of a technical nature, so things like NPV and five forces were completely off my radar before the MBA. I feel I have a much completer look at the way a company works. This has definitely changed the way I function professionally. It has helped me to better understand the needs of my colleagues and thus increased the transversality of my approach.
In terms of self-development I have discovered the power of the “work hard, play hard” approach. Although known to me on paper, I had never really put it to practice. For me work was work, basta. The MBA (and my fellow students of course) forced me to change my view on this in a very natural way and I am very happy with the result.

Rie: One of the strengths of the Solvay MBA is the diversity, both in terms of nationalities, backgrounds and experiences. During the last year, I have come to appreciate this diversity. I have learned to take the time to listen, understand and proactively seek other perspectives before taking important decisions.

Having done some aftermaths, would you recommend this MBA to any friends, colleagues..etc..? And what would you suggest them to benefit the most from?

Erik: I would definitely recommend it to others. I have found the quality of the professors exceptional and very refreshing. The fact that this program brings together top lecturers from all over the world adds a big plus. What also sets this program apart from others is the intensive coaching on a personal level. High quality feedback is given on a personal basis, both on the side of group interaction and on the side of career development. This program really takes the time and effort to allow you to advance on your personal development.

Rie: Actually, I did just recommend the Solvay MBA to a friend who will start the programme next year.  Based on my experience, I gave her 3 pieces of advice:
1) Make sure to prioritize the personal development pillar and the CAP – despite tons of other deadlines. Personally, I learned a lot about my own strengths, weaknesses, motivations, drive and ambitions.  And I got some useful tools that I can use for the rest of my life
2) Remember that the probably most important lessons are learned not inside the class room but in interaction with your class mates
3) Enjoy and have fun! The MBA-year passes by too quickly!

JiaYi comes from China, where she did her international business studies. She has an international professional background, starting in a Canadian trading company, going through India and recently moving to Belgium. Doing an MBA is a lifelong dream for JiaYi, who already set her mind when she was an adolescent. She was looking for an MBA fully in English and decided to check out MBA Solvay. She came to one of the information sessions where the academic director Hugues Pirotte presented the program. The interaction with the director and the alumni, together with the reactivity of the admissions department helped her decide to apply to MBA Solvay and to start the admissions process.

Her expectations are set mainly in the experience sharing that comes with the MBA (with faculty, students and alumni) and on better defining her career goals.

PS: The Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management is also known under its former name Solvay Business School. The change of names was motivated by the merger of the Economics Department of the ULB and the Solvay Business School. The school is sometimes referred to using the acronym SBS-EM.

Ivan Veloso, class of 2010, made a video and decided to share it: “I appreciated very much the experience we had in HK and recommend it to our colleagues.”

João António, Class of 2009, also wanted to share a little more about his experience:

Hong Kong was not what I expected. It had a lot more variety than I had anticipated, and I got that feeling after only one day there. It was exactly as I had pictured the city, big buildings and bright lights. We had to weave our way through crowds of people as headlights flew past besides us. Even as the clock approached midnight, the streets were still filled, the neon lights were on everywhere, and the shops were all-go. In fact, when I walked the same streets the following morning, the same dynamic was present, very impressive, and very vibrant.

The learning experience was unique! I had the opportunity to share experiences with a very international group of participants and learned a lot about one of the most important markets in the world. A top learning experience in one of the best business schools in the world (Hong Kong Business School)!!!

The course addresses the economic, social and political situation in East Asia, with a special focus on Hong Kong and mainland China. It takes place in Hong-Kong, Southern China and Macao, in the context of a partnership between MBA Solvay and Hong-Kong University. The course is led by Elfed Vaughan Roberts, associate professor at the University of Hong Kong, with the support of professor Antonio Nieto-Rodríguez, from the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management.