As he did not want to give up teaching, Tigran Mkrtchyan balanced working and studying from the onset of his Business Administration programme. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to explore the wealth of learning and (net)work opportunities it brought along.

Tigran Mkrtchyan, Armenia

He landed a job as a financial service consultant at Projective Group before he started his master’s and had to put the teaching on hold. Luckily, the company greatly appreciates personal growth, allowing him to develop new ways to pursue his interests.

“I am from Armenia, where I worked as an English teacher for TOEFL and IELTS after high school. From age 16 I also made a modest start as an entrepreneur to market some books that I wrote, which sparked my interest in studying business. KU Leuven checked off all my requirements. The Business Administration courses were exactly what I was looking for, the university was highly ranked and I liked the structured website. In addition, the fee was affordable compared to other universities with high rankings. I also talked to an ambassador who helped me with administrative questions and understanding the possibilities of combining working and studying.”

“I always planned to work and study, because I love teaching and wanted to continue that. The volume decreased dramatically, of course. I also did two internships during my bachelor's programme, but only stopped teaching in my third year and then I landed in my current job before I even started my master’s programme.”

SWIFT

“Projective Group, a financial services consulting company, contacted me via Career Zone and I actually received their job offer on the day of my graduation as a bachelor. Through Projective Group, I am outsourced to SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. As an onboarding manager for the Global Payments Innovation Initiative (GPI), I support global financial institutions with their onboarding journey on a portfolio of GPI-affiliated services, from inception till go live.”

“While working I obtained my master's degree and subsequently a postgraduate in applied artificial intelligence. Currently, I am also helping with business development at Projective Group and finally, I am also looking into delivering training about what the future of work will look like, the skills you will need to obtain and how the technology impacts the world and will shape the future. It is still in an early phase. I started it after the postgraduate programme because I really missed teaching. A great thing about working for Projective Group is their focus on personal growth, which offers the flexibility and learning to grow in whatever field or way I want. I can now combine AI with my love for teaching through the training, closing the circle.”

Being an entrepreneur

“My two internships during my bachelor's programme - as a brand manager for the marketing company Publicis and as a credit risk analyst for the insurance company Credendo - were rather opposite experiences, but very insightful. To be honest, my goal was never to be on any of those but to be an entrepreneur. KU Leuven may not be top of mind to obtain such a business degree because it is very academic but I do believe that it creates the best employees. I built my portfolio of experiences, including internships and my job, through the faculty’s or university’s fairs and platforms and I tried different things that eventually landed me where I am today. I have been a member of the finance student organisation Capitant and of ESN, Erasmus Student Network. I went on an Erasmus exchange and took the university’s entrepreneurial programme KICK. Even though my idea did not materialise, I learned about business planning, software development, launching a company... and had fun along the way.”

“I am still in touch with most of my university friends and some became my closest friends.”

Out of my comfort zone

“So a major recommendation to (future) students is to actually get out of your comfort zone and engage as much as possible. Join the many different initiatives and events organised by the student associations, the faculty and the university and subscribe to all newsletters. It really helped me find my way. In addition: thoroughly research your rights and opportunities! Services and support are abundant - not only at the faculty or university level, but also at the government level - but many people seem unaware. One simple example: I remember students talking about struggling with putting together a CV while several services offer free coaching for that! Those are two important ways to find out about interesting stuff and then you can connect the dots to find your way.”

“The Management Project in the first and second year was my favourite course as it made us use everything we had learned in practice. It literally put us outside the university and grew our network since we had to work with people from various companies and backgrounds as well. In addition, the dynamics of a team of six people from different countries, cultures, religions etc. greatly differed from what I had imagined. I never truly understood the issue of multicultural cooperation until I lived it, so that was extremely insightful.”

Brussels Campus is top

“The Brussels campus is a great place to build an international network anyway. With over 400 students from all over the world at the start of my first year student life and the connection with my fellow students turned out excellent. I am still in touch with most of my university friends and some became my closest friends. Today I travel a lot and no matter where I go, I always have someone to meet and we keep each other posted on a professional level as well.”

“Even if I am currently thinking about moving away from Brussels, I like living there. At the very start, I did consider to go live in Leuven after having seen Leuven online and because of the extra facilities. It is more a students’ city. Thankfully, most facilities are also accessible to Brussels students. But given the distance, one can very well live in Leuven and commute to the Brussels campus. In the end I do like it. It is small but very practical and innovative in a sense that it has all the necessary tools. The location in the city centre is perfect. You can run all your errands on the way home. I liked our library a lot, even if you cannot beat the historical setting of the one in Leuven.”

“If you want to stay and work in Belgium after your studies, start learning Dutch or French - or even better: both - from the moment you decide to come. I took French and Dutch lessons at KU Leuven and my French was not too bad, but when I stopped using it, I forgot. Today the language requirements have become a must on the Belgian job market, so I feel lucky to have found a job.”

The pandemic

“I arrived in September 2019 and six months later the pandemic hit, so I had a lot of online classes. However, we already had video lectures and online manuals from the start, which helps to combine study and work. So when pandemic started the transition to on that platform was quite smooth. I was proud of that because friends at other universities were not too happy about their online classes. I find KU Leuven’s overall approach mature and accommodating to all types of students. Whether you learn better at home or at school, you can do what suits you best. I like that approach because it also teaches you responsibility. Exams at KU Leuven are not easy. If you don't work, you don't pass.”

Belgium: a welcoming country

“Looking back, arriving in Belgium with just my suitcases at the age of 18 without ever having travelled to Europe felt a bit crazy, but it turned out fine. From the beginning it was a great experience since Belgium was more accepting and welcoming than I had expected. I still hear opposite stories but for me it was amazing.”

“The practical side, such as administration and housing, was very different from home but I guess that is the case not matter where you go. You have to get used to it. I vaguely remember one negative experience during my introduction, something with timing issues. For all I know it could have been my own fault. Now it just a funny story, because overall I had a very positive experience. Hence, my most recent tips for new students or friends is: don't worry, it will all work out! Administrative and other processes are just complicated, they do not get easier but they always work out in the end.”

Veerle De Grauwe