Hello, my name is Cam Tang and I am from Alberta, Canada. I am an IBS alumnus and graduated in 1999.  I currently work as an Associate Product Marketing Manager at FINCAD in Vancouver, a software company with approximately 100 employees whose core business is offering financial analytics software to over 35,000 users in over 80 countries. Due to the fact that the employees at FINCAD come from all over the world, it has a truely multi-cultural environment which makes it a unique organization to work for. The company is privately owned, which is also unique for a global player, however, it operates much like a public company. I earn between 3,000 and 3,500 Euros a month.

Prior to my current position, I worked as a Real Estate Agent for Royal LePage, British Columbia, Canada, and as a Market Researcher at Phillips in Hong Kong. I actually got a job offer from Philips, where I was an intern at the time, before I graduated from IBS. Prior to my internship I did my study abroad in Macau.

I think the strength of the IBMS programme is that it prepares students for a wide variety of career options. What I liked most about IBS was the international student body, the internship abroad and the practical work internship. Gaining experience with market research and the strategic marketing course as well as the mandatory internship for providing hands-on experience all helped me in my career.  The exposure to cultural diversity, the international focus and the work experience offers a first-hand, practical experience that can be useful for any future endeavour.

Eline Brussel, an IBS Alumnus of International Business and Management Studies (formerly known as International Marketing & Management)

Job Position: Product Manager
Company/Organisation: Boehringer Ingelheim B.V.
Previous Positions:  Regional Manager and Product Specialist

At IBS, the year abroad in combination with marketing as well as an entire four-year programme in English made IBS the right choice for me. During my studies I did my study abroad in New Zealand and my placement abroad at Océ in South Africa. This was a wonderful experience that helped me gain insight into different cultures as well as business etiquette around the world. 

Shortly after I graduated I started working for Boehringer Ingelheim B.V., a family-owned business in pharmaceutical products. The fact that it’s a family-owned business is very unique in this industry and is defining for the organisational culture.  As a Product Manager (also referred to as Brand Manager), I work at the Marketing department for Prescription Medicines. I am responsible for ensuring we implement the best possible marketing strategy and positioning strategy for the products Sifrol and Flibanserine. Basically this entails writing a marketing plan and determining which strategic and operational activities can contribute to the objectives within the available budget both on a national as well as international level. As a Product Manager, you are the link between the sales department, the financial department and the medical department.

For three years in a row now, Boehringer Ingelheim B.V. has been awarded as being one of the best companies world wide by the Corporate Research Foundation. Within the Netherlands Boehringer Ingelheim B.V. has been responsible for several block busters of which the most well known are Spiriva and Sifrol. To the general public well-known products from the Consumer Health Care department are Bisolvon and Deoleen.
Boehringer Ingelheim B.V accounts for 270 employees in the Netherlands. World wide Boehringer Ingelheim B.V has almost 40,000 employees. In the Netherlands the organisation accounts for a turnover of approximately 130 million euro’s. World wide this is about 11 billion euro’s.

The International Business School (IBS) has helped me develop the competencies necessary for me to do the work I do today. I travel all over the world to visit conventions and to ensure that our products are marketed as desired. I look back at my years at IBS with fond memories and can truly say that IBS does a great job at preparing individuals for the global workplace!

A graduate of the International Business and Management Studies bachelor programme at Hanze University of Applied Sciences (UAS), Groningen, the Netherlands, Ignas Savickas managed to secure a job in the UK before even graduating.

Offered a job by the company he worked for during his third-year work placement, Ignas received the offer after making a solid impression.

“The company liked my strong team skills and appreciated my business aptitude. After completing my internship I worked hard to foster the relationship,” said Ignas.

“Before graduating, the company contacted me and offered me a position. I was really happy that my hard work paid off.”

International Business and Management Studies (IBMS), offered by the International Business School (IBS) at Hanze UAS, is a four-year, fulltime undergraduate programme. Graduates receive a Bachelor of Business Administration.

In the first two years of IBMS students are introduced to the theory and practice of the international business environment. Later on, students select one of three majors, from International Marketing, International Management or International Finance and Accounting. With work placements in the third and fourth year, students gain experience on the job while completing their studies.

In a competitive world, employers are in a position to raise the bar when looking for graduates with potential. A quick scan of entry-level positions will tell you that employers want graduates who can offer value and experience from day one.

To prepare students for the realities of the professional field, the IBMS programme challenges students from the beginning to work in international project groups.

Ignas commented that he liked the adventure of studying in a foreign country and meeting so many different nationalities. “I met people from all over the world and really gained independence studying abroad.”

Born and raised in Lithuania, Ignas wanted to study abroad for the adventure and chose Hanze UAS on a friend’s recommendation. With a job secured in the UK, the adventure continues.

IBS has given me a kick-start into a career in an international context. The Marketing and International Management programme has been "drilling" us through daily business tasks and gave us more than just an idea about what life after school might look like. Our teachers were hands-on people always trying to enhance theories from the book with their personal experiences from the business world.

At IBS, we’ve been exposed to basic business routines over and over again and though all these presentations and cross-subject-projects in multicultural groups were occasionally more difficult than anything else – this was exactly what I needed to be prepared for what I’m doing now.

In international business, you’ve got to be aware of little invisible traps which can hit you unnecessarily hard if you’re not aware of them. Avoid learning this the hard way – at IBS, it’s part of your programme and once you've graduated, you exceed your competition as a result of your experiences. IBS graduates have learned what it means “to get the job done”. In my experience, according to many employers IBS graduates are more hands-on than graduates from “regular schools” and thus, they have better chances to get the "cool jobs".

Learn more about IBS Alumni on the Alumninet website.