On Tuesday, the 22^nd of November, the International Business Talent (IBT) program ceremony took place, a special occasion for Resato and for one of our recent trainees, Ana Cazacu. It is the second time that graduates from Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, receive an Honours College certificate for their successful participation in the International Business Talent (IBT) program.

Ana Cazacu, a Resato team member for the last nine months and a recent International Business School graduate, has completed her traineeship with us at the beginning of November. Similarly to Ole Schnieders, our last year IBT participant, as part of the program, Ana wrote her bachelor thesis and did a 4-month traineeship at Resato.

In February 2016, Ana began her thesis research on business development opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region. In order to tackle the project, she researched the needs of Resato within the company, interviewed governmental bodies and business professionals with experience in the region, and traveled to Den Haag to attend an ASEAN conference. At the end of the project, she delivered a well-rounded set of recommendations, as well as an implementation plan that included budget cost calculations. Following the University graduation in July, Ana started her traineeship in internal business development, where she developed a roadmap to support the corporate strategy, with concrete steps to be taken by each department.

‘Resato offered me the great opportunity of getting a bird’s eye view on the organization and I learned so much by understanding the business from various perspectives. I am grateful to the company for giving me a boost and for supporting my development into a young professional’, said Ana.

The Ceremony  

Jelmer Slot, one of the nine young professionals who successfully completed the IBT program at a company in the Northern Netherlands, was the first one to give a speech at the ceremony. 'IBT is a kick start for my career. It provides opportunities for students as well as for companies. ‘, said Jelmer. Subsequently, Rob Verhofstad, board member of Hanze University, handed out the certificates to the top talents of three of Hanze University’s schools. ‘It is amazing what you have achieved’, he said addressing the IBT participants, and continued by saying, ‘These young professionals have put down an exceptional performance. They possess qualities such as intercultural skills, out-of-the-box thinking and perseverance.’

The ceremony was closed by Bram ten Kate, Dean of the International Business Schoo, who signed the certificates and explained the importance of the IBT program. ‘With IBT we help SMEs to improve their business. Through the collaboration of three institutions, we can offer a broad portfolio of top talents’, said ten Kate. He also highlighted the mutual benefits of the program for both students and the company, as the former have the opportunity to develop their skills by taking on new challenges in a business environment and the latter gain from the students’ fresh perspectives, ambition, entrepreneurial thinking and culturally sensitive approaches.

The IBT Program

The IBT program of the Hanze University of Applied Sciences aims to pair excellent students with SMEs located in the Northern Netherlands for challenging assignments. It is a win-win situation, as the students are given the opportunity to tackle complex issues and develop an array of skills, while the companies are supported when structuring or expanding their international or local business activities. The students work for an internationally-oriented company in the Northern Netherlands to create a top graduation assignment in international business, followed by a four-month traineeship focused on implementation. During the traineeship, the participants are guided by professional consultants in order to develop both personally and professionally.

The program, led by the Marian van Os Centre for Entrepreneurship of the Hanze UAS, seeks to select the talented students based on the companies’ needs in order to make a perfect match between  the two parties.