Master Thesis Awards 2022
In the spotlight: David Engelhardt
Every year the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) Brussels Campus presents awards to students who have submitted an outstanding master's thesis. Numerous esteemed partners support the awards, including one that rewards entrepreneurial skills. This summer David Engelhardt, freshly graduated as a Master in Business Administration, received the ‘Most Entrepreneurial Student Award’ from FEB partner Colruyt Group. He was nominated by professor Yves Van Vaerenbergh, the supervisor of his master's thesis.
About David
During his studies, David Engelhardt took on various entrepreneurial challenges, always within the entertainment sector. Based on a strong vision, targeted collaboration with partners and a sustained focus on his goal, David managed to turn a start-up into an established marketing agency. In doing so, he has shown sharpness and creativity to tackle seemingly unmanageable problems caused by the pandemic. He also convincingly demonstrated his ability to turn ideas into a meaningful business.
Start-up and entrepreneurial endeavours
He first showed his innovative thinking when he came up with the app Ventseek that allowed users to see what events were scheduled nearby, based on their current location. “Back in 2014, I often asked myself if there were any activities or events going on around me where me and my friends could have a good time. I realized that there was room for a platform that would help people discover events around them”, he says.
David provided the concept for the app (that included an event feed, a map and a coupon system), working closely together with developers and designers. “Thanks to my network in the cultural sector, I was able to enlist more than 20 venues and organizers as partners”, he adds. However, Covid-19 and social distancing heavily impacted the cultural sector. Since the majority of events was cancelled, the Ventseek team and David thought it was best to pause the project until the cultural sector was back on track.
Nonetheless, David did not sit back. He started focusing his attention on the educational sector. This resulted in the ‘University Student Network’ which unites about 30 partners, including universities, colleges and student organisations. Through the platform, event organisers can use various channels to easily reach young people. Up till today, David is still active in the organisation.
"Believe in yourself and your projects, work hard continuously and dedicate the necessary time to reach the next milestone."
Next up was the start-up 18.24 Agency, a digital marketing company that helps companies reach students between the age of 18 and 24. David also worked as an agent for Deliveroo, among others, during the pandemic. The Brussels and Walloon governments also called on him to set up a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 for students. He explains: "Through our network of student associations and with the collaboration of additional partners, we reached hundreds of thousands of students in Brussels and Wallonia. For this campaign, I supervised the video content creation with participation of students, organised video conference calls between students and virologist experts and dispatched governmental content to the network.”
Thesis challenges
With such a busy agenda it was not particularly easy to graduate with distinction. “That sometimes required some fine-tuning”, David admits. "My master's thesis was about celebrity endorsement in marketing and the impact of scandals. Among other things, I was looking at how celebrities can transcend such negative events and stay relevant - incredibly fascinating! There is also a mass of information available, so it was a big challenge to combine my thesis and my other activities. Fortunately, my supervisor kept pushing me to focus and meet the various deadlines so that I could deliver a solid final result. Time management is still a working point", he laughs.
Luckily, David is creative and flexible enough to face these problems. He could count on a lot of people within the faculty who are supportive and passionate about entrepreneurship. "Besides my supervisor, I also really benefited from the services of the faculty in Brussels and Stuvo+Brussels. It's great that they make time to listen and give advice”, he adds.
Future plans
David is now applying for a job in the area of entertainment and activities, seeking a position of marketing product manager or international brand manager. David: “I have high expectations for the future of Web 3.0 and see big opportunities coming up. Within 5 years I would like to be head of marketing within the entertainment industry (Gaming, Web 3.0...), or working as an independent entrepreneur in the sales field.”
Word of advice
Finally, David would like to encourage students pursuing a career in business: “You don’t need to be particularly talented to create a successful project. Believe in yourself and in your projects, work hard continuously and dedicate the necessary time to reach the next milestone. Finally, find people who believe in your projects and who are willing to dedicate the necessary time and effort to make a difference in your projects.”
Justine Lambrechts, Veerle De Grauwe, Peter Vancompernolle
All awards and partners: https://feb.kuleuven.be/actueel/mpa-brussel_20212022
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One of the main objectives of the Faculty of Economics and Business is to maintain close contacts with the professional field. These expert relationships are of great importance for the numerous projects developed by students and colleagues in the context of their entrepreneurial learning, bachelor's or master's thesis & research. Our faculty shapes this business orientation through intensive partnerships with leading companies in the field of research, education, recruitment and employer branding. Know more?
