“My name is Andrew Calvelo, I am from the Philippines and I took the Business Course in Management at ESE Florence from January – April 2023. After working for many years, this was actually the first time since College that I picked up studying again, this time in a very #international setup.
At first it was quite challenging, but my experience in the corporate world helped a lot. The classes were very personalised and interactive. We had lots of group discussions and there was plenty of room to express our own opinions and share personal and professional experiences. It was great to learn more about the Italian and European business mentality, and learn from the various cultures and backgrounds of my peers.
I particularly enjoyed the critical analysis of course material and the research projects we did for a varied number of companies like Red Bull and Patagonia. I learned a lot about different industries. The case-studies and company visits were also very useful, it allowed us to learn directly from business professionals.
The course turned out to become a real eye-opener, I am very glad I did it. You can definitely learn a lot on the job, but taking an advanced level course was definitely beneficial to my personal and professional development. I’d strongly recommend other professionals to have this type of mid-career experience as well.
The ESE philosophy encouraged me to go further, to dig deeper. I acquired various educational and communication skills, and I built character. I am definitely more self-aware now, but I also realise there is still a lot to learn. The course gave me a glimpse into the postgraduate studies at ESE which made me think of pursuing an MBA degree in the future.”