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Maastricht MBAs Are Landing Jobs In Tech Startups And In Artificial Intelligence At IBM

Dutch business school’s innovative approach is preparing MBA students for careers in tech

By  Robert Klecha

Fri Nov 10 2017

BusinessBecause
In today’s business environment, technological innovation is a force of nature that’s reshaping industries, creating huge profit overnight, and falling the old oaks of established companies who fail to adapt.

Business schools need to prepare their students for tomorrow’s workplace, and high-tech jobs that don’t even exist yet. How can schools support MBA careers in tech?

Maastrict School of Management is more than up for the challenge. The Dutch school provides its students both with the soft skills, which remain transferable across industries, as well as the option to take tech specializations, either within their own programs or through close partnerships with top schools around the globe.

Shady Hatem followed MSM’s MBA program in collaboration with RITI in Egypt and graduated in 2012. After graduation, Shady went on to start two tech startups in his native Egypt.

“I didn’t have any business knowledge before being enrolled in the MBA program,” Shady explains. “From the MBA, I learned how to deal with investors, how to prepare a business plan, negotiate with partners, and analyze markets. Without this, I wouldn’t be able to start a business.”

The idea for his latest company—focused on artificial intelligence (AI)—came while researching his MBA thesis. He’s had constant support from MSM’s faculty.

shady

“I noticed that there are many models built by researches that can be converted to AI assistants. 

I built a minimum viable product and checked some potential users. Once I got positive feedback, I started building the product.”

Why did Shady choose for his MBA? “The MSM-RITI MBA program is highly accredited and it also has very good reputation in my country,” he explains.The business school’s global reputation is hard-earned—MSM was a finalist for both the 2014 and 2016 Association of MBA’s (AMBA) innovation award.

MSM has partnerships with top institutions globally ranging from collaborations on innovation management with close neighbors RWTH Aachen University in Germany, to international MBA collaborations in China, Peru, and Vietnam.

These partnerships give the school access to cutting-edge specialized education which, when combined with MSM’s strength in business management, positions grads for career success.

mirkMirko Rodríguez experienced these benefits first-hand after completing a joint MBA degree at Maastricht and Centrum-Católica in Peru. He’s since gone on to work in artificial intelligence at IBM.

“The knowledge I acquired during my MBA helped me move up in my career, develop my management and leadership skills, and understand more clearly how organizations work,” he says.

“All the courses that I took on the MBA help me deal, even to this day, with situations that I face in both my personal and professional life,” he continues. “Plus, I now have tools that I did not have before.”

 

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