On the 17th of July, the Porto Business School graduation ceremony took place at the Matosinhos Cruise Terminal. It was an evening to remember, and the mark of crossing the finish line of the International MBA journey.
Over the past year, I went back to being a full-time student: daily classes, group assignments, presentations, and exams. Looking back at the numbers, it adds up to 37 subjects across three terms, 111 deliverables between individual and group work, 6 major exams, and 7 pitches delivered live. I got to broaden my knowledge across a diverse range of subjects, from finance to marketing, from innovation to strategy, and it changed how I think about business in ways I didn’t expect.
I also took part in an international exchange in Berlin, hosted by ESCP Business School, on Entrepreneurship, AI and Smart Mobility, where key industries showed us that digital transformation is no longer in progress, it’s already the operating reality. The Business Impact Challenge had us tackling a real AI problem for Sword Health, while the Entrepreneurial Mindset module gave us the frameworks to develop our own startup ideas. My final capstone was a consulting project for Doka, analyzing how operational decisions were impacting working capital efficiency. During the second and third terms, I also took on the role of Career Representative, bridging the Careers Development department and the classroom.
All of this would have been a great experience on its own. But it wouldn’t come close to what it actually was without the people I shared it with. I had the pleasure of being part of a class of 42 people from 19 different countries, and working and sharing this with them, both inside and outside the classroom, is the part I hold closest.
I’d like to thank PBS for the quality of teaching and the environment that made these experiences possible. A special thanks to our Dean Jose Esteves; Sandra Vasconcelos Caramalho, for her guidance throughout; program directors Renata Blanc and Alia El Banna; and Pavla Kolarova, for being there every day, always ready to help; and the rest of the PBS staff. And, of course, to the classmates I shared this year with, who made all of it better.
This chapter comes to an end, but the story will forever be shaped by it.
