From the center of South America – Lima, to the center of Europe – Maastricht

Twenty Peruvian participants just completed a four-week program as part of the joint international MBA program of MSM and CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business School in Peru, the number one ranked business school in Latin America.

The program included three management courses on Business in the Global Arena, Global Supply Chain Management, and Managing Cultural Diversity. The Peruvian participants followed this last course together with the residential full-time MBA and Master in Management programs. Through the group assignments in class they could truly experience diversity.

Moreover, the Peruvian MBA participants visited and networked with a number of international companies and organizations, among which the EU in Brussels, Greenport Venlo, Seacon Logistics, Nike and the Government from the Province of Limburg.

peru-group-venlo At the new City Hall in Venlo, an impressive eco-friendly and sustainable building, participants had a presentation on Greenport by Ms. Ellen Berkvens, Economic Advisor from the City of Venlo. About this experience, MBA particpant Pablo Zuñiga says “It is amazing how education, business and government can develop synergies and cooperate together in order to create shared value. It was really inspiring for me and my partners, as an engineer and technology follower. I hope to see my country achieving that innovation and sophistication level.”

The Peruvian group also visited the inland harbor in Venlo and Seacon Logistics where the Marketing Manager, Mr. Rico Gielen, welcomed them and presented this successful Dutch company, which is a leader in multimodal transport with presence in more than 75 countries. “It was really interesting to know how the work of the company started as a family business and then developed the corporation as one of the most important logistic chains with a worldwide presence, summarized Ms. Catherine Beltran.

peruvian-group-eu At the European Commission in Brussels, the MBA candidates attended the following three presentations: The role of the Commission as the executive of the European Union by Mr. Jo Vandercappelen, the Directorate-General for Communication, The EU’s Competition Policy by Ms. Claire Smith from the Communications Policy and Interinstitutional Relations Unit, and The EU’s Trade Policy by Mr. Eoin O’Malley, policy officer from the Directorate-General for Trade. For Gabriel Sevilla the visit to the European Commission was very enlightening: “It allowed us to know how one of the world’s most important political and economic blocks works. The hosts were experienced, knowledgeable and very open to share with us.”

Besides this, the Peruvian participants joined the installations of the Nike European Logistics Center in Laakdal, Belgium, the biggest distribution center in Europe and the largest in the world for the American sportswear distributor. In the words of one of the MBA participants, Sebastian Castro, “It was a great visit considering that we were just taking the course on supply chain management. The presenter gave an interesting overview that was very nicely complemented with the tour visit. Excellent opportunity to see a complex operation with so many markets, destinations and products.”

Finally the Peruvian group visited the Government from the Province of Limburg where the Treaty of Maastricht was signed in 1992, establishing the European Union.

msm_ehmb_1609260043_group-picture-peru_dean_pilar

The Peruvian MBA group together with MSM Dean Professor Wim Naudé and Ms. Pilar Gonzalez Vigil, Education Officer Global Education Programs.