Samuel Weynants, INSEAD MBA Class of 2019 J
Age: 27
Hometown: Ghent, Belgium
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Free University of Brussels, business
Pre-MBA Work Experience: Four years, management consulting at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Why business school? Why now? After 3.5 years as a consultant, I decided to go to business school just before I was promoted to project leader because I believed I would strongly benefit from taking a year off to prepare for this new role. More concretely, I see three main objectives for this year.
First, I want to work on key project leader skills (mainly organizational behavior, leadership) and upgrade some hard skills that I believe will better prepare for the business of the future (e.g. artificial intelligence/machine learning, big data).
Secondly, I want to build a strong, international network that will support me throughout the rest of my career.
Finally, I want to take time to reflect on my career path so far and going forward. Meeting people from so many different backgrounds is an incredibly valuable source of information. You can get a basic understanding of most industries without ever having to work a single minute in most of them.
Why INSEAD? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend? For me, INSEAD stood out because of three reasons:
First, the breadth of network the network is probably unmatched by any other MBA thanks to INSEAD’s very strong focus on diversity, both in terms of geographies as well as industries. (And it did not disappoint: In our intake of ~500 people, my classmates have 60 different nationalities; in my own study group, all people are from a different continent.)
Secondly, the possibility to do a 10-month program makes it a very attractive proposition versus the typical two-year program when you take into account all costs (including opportunity costs).
Finally, some of the most impressive and inspiring colleagues and leaders I have worked with are INSEAD MBAs. They also confirmed for me how the programs at INSEAD have thoroughly changed them.
What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Class of 2019 J? At INSEAD, I feel we put as much emphasis on learning from our professors as learning from our classmates. I am not afraid to give and receive (very) candid feedback, and as such, my aim is to create such an open feedback culture where each student feels encouraged to help his or her classmates grow throughout the year through open, constructive feedback.
Fun fact that didn’t get included on your application? I know reggaetón songs better than some real Latinos.
Post-MBA career interests? Management consulting, corporate strategy (industry-agnostic)
Advice to current prospective applicants:
–One thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process? Talk to multiple alumni to understand not only what it takes to get in a certain school, but also what the culture at the school is like. As you are making a significant investment (tuition costs, moving/living costs, forgone salary), you want to make sure that the school you choose is exactly what you are looking for to advance your career.
One thing you would change or do differently? Start earlier with my reflection letters. I thought I knew myself better than I actually did.
Part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it? Let’s say I am not entirely convinced of the value of a compulsory GMAT score as a criterion when selecting from such a diverse set of people.
What is your initial impression of INSEAD’s students/culture/community? It is an amazingly diverse community of people who believe they can each contribute to making the world a better place. The academic staff is very approachable, and their classes are top notch. Each of the students has a special story from which I can learn. I feel very lucky to be part of such a unique community.
One thing you have learned about INSEAD that has surprised you? The emphasis put on self-reflection. We are encouraged to actively think about who we are, what we offer, what our values are, and how we see all of these things come together to construct our future. I’ve come to understand more about myself in the last two weeks than in the preceding 27 years.
Thing you are most anxious about in the year ahead? Making the wrong prioritizations. At INSEAD you are literally bombarded with exciting opportunities from all directions—be it in academics, career search, or social events—and your are forced to make multiple choices a day. I hope that, at the end of the year, I’ll be able to say I was generally correct when balancing out those three dimensions.
Thing you are most excited about during your time at INSEAD? Expanding my comfort zone: meeting new people and learning from them; exploring new cultures; trying new things (such as leading teams).
