A place that became home

“My Nyenrode experience was built around three pillars: the MBA program, the international student life and the student association (JCV).” Karim Ghannam, Full-time MBA alumnus, shares his experience at Nyenrode and how the program contributed to his personal and professional growth.

A year has passed. A year where I felt that I belonged to a place. A place I got attached to and a place that encouraged me to learn and to grow. A place where I did not only make endless business connections but also friendships that will last for a lifetime. Nyenrode is a place that I can call home.

Looking back at my MBA journey

It has been a year since I joined the Full-time MBA program in Amsterdam and became a Nyenrodian. During this year, I learned a lot about the business world. Both in the Netherlands and internationally. Nyenrode’s approach of combining academic theory with practical relevance and personal development enabled me to understand how businesses operate from multiple perspectives.

As a way of giving back I became the class representative and joined the board of the student association JCV (Jongste Compagnie van Verre) at Nyenrode. My mission was to support my fellow classmates the best I could and be part of each and every activity that happened on and off campus. I grew a lot as a person. Not only did I develop my communication and interpersonal skills, but I also learned more about the Dutch culture and how to work with different people from diverse backgrounds.

Furthermore, as part of the program’s European Immersion Modules, I got the opportunity to travel to different European cities where I visited many big companies and together with my fellow MBA students got to work on a variety of real-life business challenges. The Meet the CEO sessions lead by Prof. dr. Désirée M. van Gorp gave me the chance to meet CEO’s and executives, to learn from their experience and to present our ideas and/or solutions to some of their challenges along with my classmates.

A new chapter in life starts

This year has come close to an end, I feel overwhelmed that I’m going to leave this place that means so much to me, but everything must come to an end in order to open the door for a new beginning. I see this ending as a great one. As it will be followed by the beginning of a professional path that I’m looking forward to. I’m thankful for this experience and for everyone who helped in shaping it.