Can you tell us more about yourself?
My name is Waina and I am a graduate in Business Engineering from the Universite Catholique de Louvain. I also completed my Masters in Business Engineering, Marketing and Supply Chain Management from the Louvain School of Management. I began my career as a Trainee for the Federal Public Service of Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment in Brussels. I interned at BBOXX Ltd. in Foshan, China and continued as an ERP Guru for over two years working in different locations such as Foshan in China, Chiswick in the UK, Kampala in Uganda and Kigali in Rwanda. In October 2015 I co-founded Azurent which won the first prize at the BNP Paribas Start-up Weekend FinTech in Belgium, was a finalist at Microsoft Bootcamp and a resident at KBC Bank Incubator.
I have also been a part of various non-profit organizations over the years such as Infor Jeunes Brabant Wallon, The Human Swim Project and the Kross Walk Festival.
What prompted you to apply for an MBA?
Before starting my MBA I was working as an IT consultant after a business degree in Belgium. Even though my education was quite broad I felt that I needed to develop it in order to reach the next step in my career plan that was to develop my own startup. I applied to many programs after getting the support of Dr. Hubert Silly and got accepted to several of them. I decided to take IESE as it has an American format, with a two-year program that allows you to get a summer internship, something that a school like IMD or INSEAD does not allow as they are a nine months program.
What did you find the most difficult in the application process?
Being good at Math and having an intermediate level in English, I got a 700 in the GMAT after just three months of classes with Dr. Hubert Silly and his team. The most difficult part of the MBA application was to choose the right program for me. When I was at MBA Center I was surrounded by students who were all targeting INSEAD and I did my best not to be influenced by rankings and visited campuses like LBS, IMD, INSEAD, ESADE, IESE, in order to find the best school for me. IESE came as a logical conclusion for me as I have South American origins, my parents are from Chile, and studying in a Spanish environment was a way for me to improve my Spanish and become completely fluent in the language of my grandparents.
What is life like at IESE?
Life at IESE can only be described as thus, colorful, cultural and vibrant. First of all, the location of IESE in Barcelona itself gave it an advantage over many other schools in my opinion. Seeing the vibrant Spanish culture as well as being introduced to a host of others as part of the diverse multinational experience that IESE offers, was one of the highlights of my stay at IESE. Great classes, excellent facilities and a wonderful atmosphere of warmth and a fusion of culture made the IESE experience one worth remembering.
What would be your advice to someone applying for an MBA program?
What I would suggest to applicants for the MBA program is that you make a thorough research on the various MBA Programs and make your preparation as short as possible. I took a year and a half as I took the GMAT first and took a break of six months before resuming my collaboration with the MBA Center. This is not something I would advise. Focus for six to nine months on the application as you might start to lose interest in your application if it takes too long. Finally, take help from professionals like Dr. Hubert Silly and his team. I can really testify to the effectiveness of the support of Dr. Hubert Silly and his team. I had a friend who decided to prepare for the MBA on their own and got into the MBA program at Vlerick. However, he went back to his old job after the MBA with no career improvement at all. My decision to work with a top professional like Dr. Hubert Silly helped me to get into a top program that helped me to change my life and career. Thus, I believe that an investment in a company like MBA Center is worth it.