Seminars and Reflections of 2015-2016

1. Seminars and
reflections
2016
Moïze Van de Vijver
2IBM – TMD2

2. REBRANDING AFRICA
Paul Nco Ngang 27/10/2015 KNT Aula5 15h00

3. Own Research
• I did not deem it necessary to conduct supplementary research on this topic, because I feel like
it is already something that interests me very much. Being of African decent myself and having a
lot of family and friends from all over Africa I was aware that Africa needed some rebranding in
other parts of the world. The reason I attended this seminar is because I was curious how Mr
Nchu Ngang was planning on doing this.

4. Content summary
The seminar started off by showing how different the Africa that
Is shown in the western world really is from reality, a lot of the
Things the mentioned were not new to me, but what did strike
Me however was that the fact that Africa was always
shown way smaller in maps than is was in reality.
This shocked me because I always thought that maps were something objective. Other things he
discussed was “why Africa is such an interesting continent to invest in. If you really want to make
profit you have to go to countries where there is still a lot of growing potential and opportunities.
China has already figured that out, and is heavily investing in Africa, the downside however, might
be that the investments are not don in a durable way.

5. Video
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-XJm0O4Ht8
I am not very good with
technical issues, so the link
is the best I could do.
The video is about
“Rwanda” (my home
country) and why it is
interesting to invest in it.

6. Reflection
• I really enjoyed this seminar, because it shed a positive light on the continent that I love most. It
makes me sad sometimes that people assume that all Africa is a continent and that all “Africans”
are the same, that they are all poor and uneducated. I don’t want to deny it, even Mr Nchu
Ngang said that there is still a lot of room for improvement, but not if Africa keeps getting
treated like a charity case instead of a business partner. I would really recommend this seminar
to every company willing to go international and looking for a fitted place to start.

7. WORKING AND
LIVING ABROAD
Dirk Buyens 01/12/2015 KNT Aula 4 18h15

8. Own Research
• I did not conduct any previous research on the topic of working and living abroad, because we
have seen a lot of information about this in our prior education in International Business
Management. I was however very interested, because ofcourse I want to live and work abroad in
the future in as many different countries as possible, so I was curious to hear what someone
with experience would say about this.

9. Content Summary
• Mr Buyens talked about his own experience, about how he and his wife managed to adapt in
different countries, cultures and situations. He gave examples of situations where they had to
improvise, (I remember a story about spending new years eve in the back of a taxi) And he told
us that when you are living abroad there are many things that you cannot control, and that
sometimes you have to adapt to it and just “go with it”.

10. Reflection
• I liked hearing stories about how he managed to adapt to new situations. And he gave us a few
good tips like for example when you go abroad with your partner, make sure he/she also has
something to do, instead of waiting for you to come back home, otherwise, this might ruin your
relationship. But on the overall I thought this seminar was a lot of repetition of things we’ve
already seen in class, like the honeymoon period, the fact that you really need to engage in the
new culture if you want to learn new things.. These were things we’ve already seen in class.

11. APPLYING FOR A JOB
ABROAD
K. Veldkamp 16/02/2016 KNT Aula2 15h00

12. Own Research
• I did not conduct any prior research for this seminar, because to be completely honest, I was not
very interested in this seminar to begin with. The only reason I went was because it was
compulsory.

13. Content Summary
• Mrs Veldkamp showed us a couple of websites where we could apply for jobs abroad and how
we had to do so. It was more an information session on this website.

14. Reflection
• I did not like it, I came in with prejudice that I was not interested, but after the seminar I was just
glad I could go home. It did not have any value for me.

15. CROSS
GENERATIONAL
MARKETING
Joeri Van den Bergh 01/03/2016 KNT L.03.01 15h00

16. Own Research
• I looked up the speaker of this seminar, (Mr Joeri Van den Bergh) and the company he is
working for (InSites Consulting). When I saw that their core business was to find the next best
way to improve marketing and make it more appealing to customers, I was sold. The topic of
Marketing really interests me ever since the first class of Marketing in the first year.

17. Content Summary
• Mr Van den Bergh talked about the different generations and in what way they are different and
influence each other. He showed for example that it is not the parents that influence the
children anymore, but the other way around. This is why it is now smarter to invest in reaching
the millennials.

18. Reflection
• I thought this was an interesting seminar, as we learned a lot of new facts and figures in the field
of marketing. What I learned from this seminar is to not underestimate the importance of good
quality market research. In order to convince your audience that your product is the best, you
have to give them the feeling that you completely understand them. And the other way around,
you need to know what you’re audience needs or what they are looking for in order to give
them the product they are looking for.

19. HIGH HEELS HIGH
FUNCTIONS
M. Knockaert, M. Doornaert, A. De Paepe, E. Putman & L. Van den Berghe
08/12/2015 Voseko University of Ghent 20u00

20. Why this seminar?
• The reason I choose this seminar is rather obvious I would say. The topic was women in high
functions and I myself am woman/girl with dreams of having a high function in the function.
But I am also aware of “the glass ceiling”, I know that it is harder for women to reach the same
level (and payment) of a man. But the main reason I took this seminar is because as a little girl I
always wanted to do the same job as my dad, and recently we started talking about me starting
a masters degree after I finish my Bachelor, because I’m of the opinion that I will need this in
order to prove myself in this world, whereas my dad, being a white man, sees this otherwise. I
have never really received advice from women that were successful at having a high function, so
this to me could be an eye-opener.

21. Own research
• I googled a few of the guest speakers before attending the seminar and came up with this.
• Mia Doornaert, columnist at “De Standaard
• Anne De Paepe, headmaster of the department of Medical Genetics of the University of Ghent.

22. Own Research
• Evelien Putman, Crisis manager mainly active in the logistics and transport sector (also alumni at
the KU Leuven and a list of impressive degrees)
• Lutgart Van den Berghe, 4 time winner of the most powerful woman of the Netherlands.

23. Content Summary
• The structure of this seminar was not the traditional seminar I expected it to be. The 4 women
received a couple of statements and they had to give their own opinion on it. There were
questions regarding the preconceptions people had about women in “a men’s world”, the glass
ceiling & even the sticky floor, the work-life balance and even the personal life of some of these
speakers were discussed. We received not only advice on how to rise as a woman in a men’s
world, but even how to maintain a relationship and how to raise you’re children.

24. Reflection
• Personally I loved this seminar, like I said in the motivation part, I never really had advice from a
professional woman, and to hear those 4 woman tell it like it is, the good, the bad and the ugly, was a
revelation for me. There were 2 parts that really struck me during this seminar. First of all I was not
aware of the term “sticky floor”. The women said that the problem is not at the top of the
corporations, but way lower. The perception of people needs to change towards men- and women
jobs. And introducing a quota will not solve the problem, because then in the land of the blind, one-
eye is king (or queen in this case). The other thing that struck me, or that relieved me was the way
they talked about their personal lives. They admitted it is hard, being a woman, and being expected to
take care of the children, but the quality of your child’s life does not depend on the amount of time
you spend with them, but on the quality of the time you spend with them. And you have to make
sure to surround yourself with people that are willing to help you. What was sad however was the last
sentence one of the women said. “when a man gets richer, he will have more children, when a woman
however gets richer, by doing the same job, she will have less children”. And that is the fault of our
society.