I studied two years of management back home in the Netherlands during my bachelor’s and did an exchange in Mexico and an internship in Spain. I then decided to do my master’s abroad as well and started to look for a programme within my area of interest. A friend sent me a link to the Global Management programme at JIBS, I read the curriculum through once and I was hooked! That’s it! I didn’t look any further and applied only for that programme.
Julia De Geus, JSA President and former student Global Management
Initially, I was a bit sceptical about moving to Sweden. But after just three months in Jönköping, I realized I loved it! When I go home to the Netherlands and come back here, it feels like coming home!
I have never regretted my choice of education. The programme offers many interesting courses. Several of them are kind of general which I think is good as you get to enlightened in a lot of topics from entrepreneurship to global strategy. All of them are equally important and interesting. I have been thinking about doing another specialization to have even deeper knowledge in one of the topics later on since we cover so many different topics during the master’s programme. For example, the course in family business management was so interesting to me, coming from a family business background myself. I had never realized that I was interested in this subject before we started working on the cases. I suddenly could connect the cases to my own family situation and realized that this is something that I am really interested in and want to dig even deeper into! I understand this course is kind of unique, and I have not found anyone like it so far. This is what I appreciate the most about my master’s in Global Management – that it helped me figure out what I am really interested in the most. This is a great help as either a direction for work or further studies.
I also liked the structure of the programme, to have one year at campus with general courses and then have the opportunity to either do an exchange or an internship before finishing your education with a master’s thesis. To me, it is a very logical structure and builds up to what you need to write your thesis. I appreciate that you can choose between going on an exchange or doing an internship. In many master's programmes, an internship is mandatory. In my case, I chose to go on an exchange semester to Columbia, which was great!
An excellent springboard for your career
What I especially appreciate as a student at JIBS is that you work on educational projects that have an actual purpose, with real companies and corporations in the region and on projects that have a connection to reality. Jönköping is a very innovative and entrepreneurial region, open to collaboration with the students at the university. We collaborated with companies and organizations on almost every course, which made the connection between theory and practice very clear. It also allows you to build a network and solid real-life experience and opens doors for your career.
All in all, I think Global Management is an excellent springboard for your career. All of my classmates, graduating a few months ago, have already found good jobs, most of them actually signed their contracts even before graduating.
The best thing about JIBS is the diversity and all the opportunities you have as a student. You can be involved in so many ways, not only within our student association JSA, but also with the Science Park if you want to start your own company or you can engage in all kinds of events taking place at JU.
I liked the open environment within the whole school – not only in the classroom but also in the hallways and in the cafeteria when ordering coffee from the most amazing employees. It’s a very stimulating environment. I also appreciated the informal relationship between the teachers and the students. You aren’t just a number, you can call your teacher by first name and walk into someone’s office if you have questions.
My advice when searching for an education is, of course, to choose something that you’re really interested in and that motivates you. But also, to look beyond that and look for what possibilities the school has to offer when it comes to extracurricular activities, student associations and possibilities to engage in your spare time. You will spend a couple of years of your life in a new context and the classroom situation will not be all of it. When choosing JIBS, you will get an experience that goes far beyond the educational one!
Julia De Geus, JSA President and alumni Global Management
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