The first week of April saw the Grand Finale of Nyenrode Business Universiteit's 2014 International MBA Challenge, powered by IamExpat.
Seventy finalists participated in 13 group discussions lasting nearly 12 hours, which were followed by an extensive deliberation among the jury of Nyenrode faculty, alumni and staff to narrow it down to five well-deserving winners.
"The IMBA challenge is a great way of spotting talent and getting to know the people behind promising profiles," said Professor Désirée van Gorp, Chair International Business Strategy and Associate Dean of Degree Programs at Nyenrode Business Universiteit.
"It reflects Nyenrode’s personal touch in going the extra mile to get to know talented people who we are keen on participating in our MBA program."
The winner of the 32.500 euro full-tuition scholarship at Nyenrode for this year’s IMBA Challenge was Oleg Gulich, a Russian who lives in Finland.
The two 20.000 euro partial-tuition scholarships went to New Zealander Josh Levent, who lives in Switzerland, and Artak Ordyan from Armenia. The two 10.000 euro partial-tuition scholarships went to Gergely Zabo of Hungary and Merel Berling from the Netherlands.
For Oleg Gulich, winning the full-tuition scholarship was a dream come true. "I was really excited to be part of the Nyenrode International MBA Scholarship Challenge," he said.
"The judges made sure the experience was thrilling: everything from the IQ tests, business ethics situations, team debates and individual pitches made for an unforgettable journey.
"You can imagine my reaction when I heard my name during the winner's announcement! I plan to seize this opportunity and make sure that I live up to expectations."
Josh Levent says the scholarship will enable him to further his own dreams. "My passion in life is developing leaders. I believe we can create a better world for everyone through the development of highly skilled and globally aware leaders.
"Through an MBA at Nyenrode I expect to develop my own skills further and to come face-to-face with many great opportunities to develop others that I can explore in the years to come."
Artak Ordyan wants to use his experience to develop his networking, so that following graduation, he can apply his newly developed assets for "the economic and social growth of Armenia and improving the lives of children."
Nyenrode International MBA is a one-year journey of personal and professional development that allows talents to discover their innate skills as a leader and an entrepreneur.
During this journey, students will challenge and be challenged by executives of international corporations, top-notch professors and like-minded talents.
For more information and questions about Nyenrode Business University:
› Official Website
› Tel: +31 (0) 346 291 291
› Email: info@nyenrode.nl