Perfect step between university and the professional world.

Cristina Xercavins Vives, Spain
Institution:EADA Business School
Program:International Master in Management
Degree:2011

How would you describe your International Master in Management experience?

Attending the International Master in Management at EADA has been the perfect step between university and the professional world. During the program, I had the opportunity to get a general and complete vision of the business environment. I also learned about the areas of marketing, finance, strategy and operations through the study of cases of diverse real companies with different issues.

At the same time, I had the opportunity to work with people with very different backgrounds and cultures, which helped me to adapt to different styles and introduced me to the common benefits and issues of working towards a common goal in teams.

Finally, I substantially improved my soft skills (communication, negotiations, leadership, etc.) at EADA through the different modules in the Residential Training Centre. These modules were carefully designed to complement the classroom activities (presentations, discussions, role plays, etc.)

We had to work hard, but the combination of different classes and activities (Residential Training Center modules, International School, International Weeks, trip to Trieste, company visits) made the program dynamic and helped keep us motivated.

What was the highlight of your studies?

There are two main characteristics that made the program especially interesting for me:

I really appreciated the fact that going to class did not just mean sitting there for 4 hours, listening to the teacher and taking notes. The classes were simulations of a real business situation where students felt involved and were strongly encouraged to participate in trying to solve the issues raised. The participants were the ones who identified the key points and suggested solutions, always with the supervision of a professor with extensive experience in the field. The professors acted as moderator, guiding the discussion in the appropriate direction to help the participants reach the conclusions.

The second highlight had to be the international environment of the programme. There were 60 people from 22 different countries in the two classes in my year. All the members of each stable group (our team for project work) had a different nationality. It’s rare to find such a multicultural atmosphere.

What role did EADA play in helping you to get your current job?

Both the director of the master and the people from Career Service were very helpful. When they knew that I was really interested in the Airline industry, they tried to find contacts and people in the sector. They made networking a lot easier for me, allowing me to find the job that I wanted.

How did your experience at EADA prepare you for this position?

Before coming to EADA, I had studied Aeronautical Engineering, so I had a very technical background. EADA gave me the necessary knowledge about management and business administration to make me feel comfortable entering the Strategy Department at Vueling. Moreover, all the case studies I had seen during the program helped me improve my analytical skills in order to identify key points and find practical solutions, which I do constantly at work. Of course, working in multicultural groups also made me more flexible and adaptable in the work environment in general.

Do you think the modules at the Residential Training Centre have influenced how you relate to your co-workers?

As I mentioned, the modules at the Residential Training Centre helped develop my soft skills, like communication and negotiation, which are important at work. Sometimes concrete activities that we conducted in the modules didn’t seem to be very useful by themselves, but at the end of the master I realised that they had been carefully designed to form part of a complete program to develop our professional skills. What I learned in the modules influences my behaviour in my current job.

Cristina Xercavins Vives
Yield Analyst, Ryanair
Dublin, Ireland

More Information

University Profile:EADA Business School
MIM-Profile::International Master in Management

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