Executive MBA Virtual Experience August 2026

Why attend this virtual experience?

Experience strategic leadership in action

In today’s business environment, leaders are expected to make strategic choices while facing uncertainty, shifting stakeholder expectations, digital transformation, AI developments, sustainability pressures and organisational change. This Executive MBA Virtual Experience gives you a direct taste of how strategic leadership is explored in the classroom at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM).

Through a live faculty-led mini case, you will be invited to think through a real leadership dilemma, weigh competing priorities and reflect on how leaders create clarity when there is no obvious answer.

Understand the Executive MBA from both the admissions and alumni perspective

This session opens with a guided conversation between RSM’s Recruitment & Admissions Director, who is also an RSM Executive MBA alumnus, and an invited EMBA alumnus. Together, they will explore how the programme works in practice, what candidates should consider before applying, and how the EMBA experience can shape the way professionals lead, decide and grow.

This format gives you practical programme guidance, enriched by first-hand alumni reflections from people who understand the Executive MBA from the inside.

Take 90 minutes to reflect on your next leadership step

Scheduled during a quieter summer period, this online session offers space to pause, reflect and consider whether the Executive MBA is the right next step for your leadership journey. Whether you are actively exploring your options or beginning to think about your future development, the session is designed to help you move forward with greater clarity.

During the virtual experience, you will:

join a live faculty-led mini case focused on strategic leadership
explore how leaders make choices in complex and uncertain environments
hear an alumni-to-alumni conversation about the practical and personal experience of the Executive MBA
get clear guidance on programme structure, admissions, workload and fit
understand how the RSM Executive MBA helps experienced professionals strengthen their strategic leadership capability

What to expect during the Executive MBA Virtual Experience

A guided alumni conversation about the programme experience

The session begins with a conversation led by RSM’s Recruitment & Admissions Director, who is also an RSM Executive MBA alumnus. In conversation with an invited EMBA alumnus, they will explore what it means to join the programme, how the EMBA fits alongside a demanding career, and what candidates should consider when deciding whether the programme is right for them.

This opening conversation combines practical admissions guidance with lived experience. You will hear about the application journey, workload, classroom experience, peer learning, leadership development and how EMBA learning can be applied directly in professional life.

A live strategic leadership mini case

The central part of the session is an interactive mini case led by RSM faculty. The case will focus on strategic leadership in uncertain times, inviting you to consider how leaders navigate complexity, competing priorities and change.

The discussion may touch on contextual forces such as AI, digital transformation and sustainability, but the focus will remain on strategic leadership: how to make choices, involve stakeholders and move from analysis to action.

A practical view of the EMBA experience

This virtual experience is designed to help you understand not only what the Executive MBA includes, but also how it feels to learn at RSM. You will get a sense of the classroom dynamic, the level of discussion and the kind of leadership questions explored throughout the programme.

Event agenda

Please note that the agenda is subject to change and will be updated as the event programme is finalised.

16.00 - 16.05

Welcome and introduction

16.05 -16.30

Alumni-to-alumni conversation: programme experience, admissions and fit

How does the Executive MBA work in practice? What does it take to combine the programme with a demanding career? How can you assess whether now is the right time to apply?

In this opening conversation, Vasileios Zaravellas, Director of MBA Recruitment and Admissions and Executive MBA alumnus, will interview Koen Mioch, RSM Executive MBA alumnus. Together, they will offer an honest and practical view of the programme: from admissions and workload to classroom learning, peer exchange, leadership growth and professional impact.

16.30 - 17.25

Faculty-led mini case: Strategic Leadership in Action by Bjorn Atterstam

Leadership was always difficult to get right; nowadays, it is even harder.

In this leadership session, you are invited to put yourself in the shoes of a high-potential emerging leader who has just been appointed to a key role in his company, and together we will make sense of a new reality.

At first, this leader is very excited about the opportunity they have been given, but soon they find themselves facing intricate challenges that they do not feel prepared for.

Through the story of this leader, we will explore a selection of leadership dilemmas that leaders in modern organisations commonly face. Situations where there are no easy answers, multiple viewpoints, no certain outcomes and yet the leader still has to move forward.

It is the kind of challenges and situations an EMBA will prepare you to tackle.

We will conclude by reflecting on the insights from the case and connecting them to your own leadership journeys. This will be followed by an open Q&A, providing an opportunity to explore questions, exchange perspectives, and discuss how these leadership dilemmas resonate across different organisations and industries.

17.25 - 17.30

Final reflections and next steps

Meet the speakers

Learn directly from RSM faculty and alumni

During the Executive MBA Virtual Experience, you will engage with people who can help you understand the programme from different perspectives: faculty, admissions and alumni.

RSM faculty will lead the strategic leadership mini case and give you a sense of the academic quality and interactive learning style of the Executive MBA. RSM’s Recruitment & Admissions Director will provide practical guidance on programme fit and application steps, while also bringing the perspective of an EMBA alumnus. An invited EMBA alumnus will share first-hand reflections on the programme experience, including workload, leadership development and applying learning in practice.