In total, 102 students from RSM’s International Full-time MBA Class of 2016 participated in the MBAT, which is a highly competitive gathering of MBA students in Europe and takes place at HEC Paris. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the three days of sports, events, and celebrations united more than 1500 participants from around the world, making it an opportunity to network, exchange cultures, and develop lifelong connections. The MBAT’s 22 sporting activities included football, rugby, table, babyfoot, ultimate Frisbee, chess, beach volleyball, basketball, salsa, and petanque.
Dodgeball and poker success
RSM’s dodgeball team won first place by beating HEC Paris during the final, and South African student Putukwane Madisha won second place in the MBAT’s poker competition. The dodgeball team consisted of RSM MBA participants Cierra Tsui (Taiwanese), Julia Peterle (German), Shimar Saxena (Indian), Curtis Cordeiro (American/Portuguese), Marco Freiermuth (Swiss/Dutch), Johannes Neumeier (German), and Prasun Agarwal (Indian).
Jarna Gandhi wrote on the MBA blog that there was a mix of excitement and competitive spirit.
“We definitely won because of the RSM team spirit and teamwork,” said Johannes Neumeier. “Everybody was cheering and totally into the game. It was an amazing experience.”
MBA networking
Neumeier said the MBAT was one of the highlights of his MBA journey so far. In addition to fun, sports and parties, it also provides MBA students with the opportunity to network with MBA students from other top business schools. The 14 participating MBA schools were the University of Cambridge; Cass Business School, City University London; Cranfield University; Durham University; ESADE; IE; IESE Business School, University of Navarra; INSEAD; Lancaster University; London Business School; SAID Business School, University of Oxford; RSM; University of St. Gallen; and TIAS School for Business and Society.
“I was able to network with students from other schools not only during the competitions, but also at the parties,” said Maria Grazia Squadrito, a Peruvian/Italian student in RSM’s MBA Class of 2016. “The MBAT is real great networking experience in a friendly environment, so it’s very valuable being part of it,” she said.
Watch a video of the event here.