MSM graduation day: mission accomplished
“One of the important things that I learned during my MBA year at MSM, besides the valuable theoretical knowledge that I gained, is the simple act of saying ‘Thank you’”, said Vijay Wakchaure from India. “It happened after I had asked some advice from my good Dutch-Nigerien friend and was about to exit the room. He looked at me and said: “Vijay, why are you leaving without saying “Thank you”?” I was surprised at his question because back home in India, good friends never say “Thank you” to each other. He insisted that I should learn to thank people, even close friends. His remark made me reflect and decide to change. Now I always say “Thank you” because I think it is a good thing and I want to continue doing so when I go back to India.”
Vijay was one of the 54 students from the residential MBA program at the Maastricht School of Management who successfully completed an intensive year of courses, assignments, examinations, group discussions, workshops and research work and finally made it to Graduation Day.
The event was again the highlight of the year at MSM. On Thursday 4 September, 118 students from the residential, executive and outreach MBA programs and the MPhil and DBA programs, gathered in Maastricht, many of them joined by their families and friends and a large number of external guests who take an interest in MSM and its students, embassy officials, academic relations, business partners, student mentors.
“Never before have we welcomed so many guests at MSM as this year. No less than 15 ambassadors and country representatives are with us today, from Albania, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cuba, Egypt, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Namibia, Palestine, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam and Kenya. This is a great token of appreciation and recognition for our school and for our students’ achievements,” said MSM Dean Director Wim Naudé in his introduction speech.
As every year, MSM invited a keynote speaker and a member of the growing MSM alumni community to address the fresh graduates and share a few insights and tips based on their experience. Although very different in style, provocative South African media tycoon Koos Bekker and the vivacious commercial executive Tatjana Medic both praised the many rewards of a career in international business and advised the students at their young age – to “always try to strike a balance between purpose and pleasure” in their future lives.
Their speeches were followed by the presentation of the much coveted diplomas and the announcement of the winners of two special awards, the Elisabeth Strouven prize and medal for best researcher, that went to Mr. Philip Kamau “for his outstanding performance up to and including the DBA Program”, and the Ben Veltman prize for the best MBA thesis, awarded this year to Maria Elena Valladolid, for her “rigorous and thorough study of a topic of relevance to emerging economies”.
As the graduation ceremony came to an end, the MBA30 class representative Abdul-Nasiru Iddrisu Alhassan from Ghana gave an overview of the journey he and his fellow students had accomplished at MSM: “It is about a year ago when we undertook the mission to attain higher education in order to improve our lives and to better contribute to our various communities and make the world a better place. We came with high hopes for academic achievements. Little did we know that this mission would have more benefits than we expected. The multicultural environment of MSM has enabled us to experience the world without travelling around it. The experience has opened our minds and hearts to global economic, political and social issues as well as enabled us to develop international networks.”
He too had a few words of advice for his friends and companions: “A category of us will be going back to their current jobs, some will diverge into new challenges and others have plans to continue higher on the academic ladder; whatever the challenge may be in all cases, we wish everybody a successful mission. Wherever we may be, let us be good ambassadors of MSM by distinguishing ourselves through high organizational performance and by contributing meaningfully to the wellbeing of society.”
Vijay intends to do just that. “I have so many plans for when I go back to India,” he said at the closing reception. “Next to my government job, I run my own farm and I am very much attached to my land. During my stay in Maastricht, I had a chance to visit some farms and learn about advanced farming methods and technologies. I want to build upon the valuable contacts that I have made here and bring about positive change in my community.”
Later that evening, Vijay posted a dignified photo portrait of himself wearing his graduation gown on his Facebook wall. Applying the lesson his friend at MSM had taught him, he expressed his gratitude with the following words: “I would like to say thanks to all MSM professors, staff, NUFFIC and all Maastricht people who helped me in obtaining my valuable MBA degree in Europe. They really created a space in my heart and helped me during my devoted, hard work. I love Maastricht, the Netherlands too much and always will remember the memories of Maastricht. Now it’s time to meet my daughter, son, and wife who are waiting since long to see me again and I also would like to say thanks for their support during my absence in helping me achieve my goal.
Once again thanks to all of you. Bye Bye Maastricht,
Vijay”
Please visit our YouTube channel for the full recording of the Graduation Ceremony.
The compilation will follow soon!
Follow the link to view the pictures on our Facebook page.
Further reading:
What are the moments to celebrate at MSM?
Jean Monnet Chair for MSM Professor Harald Sander
MSM Awarded Erasmus+ Grant
Emerging Markets’ Giants Converge on MSM
MSM finalist for prestigious AMBA MBA Innovation Award
MSM at the top of Europe!
