Your success is our success

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has” by Margaret Mead was the first thing I remember from the start of the COTRUGLI MBA program and up until today I keep finding proof confirming that. I have been working as a scientist in drug discovery since 2002. After a few years, I decided to change careers and continue my career outside the lab. I was aware that my general knowledge of business was not at a high level, so I decided to invest in an MBA education. Searching through available options, I was introduced to COTRUGLI MBA.

Even after ten years, I still believe that this was the best decision I made to develop my career. Joining MBA was an eye opener to a completely different world to me, the world of business. Being taught by first-class lecturers and constantly being surrounded by highly skilled people from various career backgrounds, who challenge me to do better and be better, was a perfect start to a new chapter.

The networking edge an MBA gave me is truly unparalleled. Being a team member and staying connected with those amazing people who are spread throughout the region is absolutely a fortune. After I finished my MBA, with my working experience and the acquired knowledge, my career developed very fast, moving from labs to business development and finally to the position of Managing Director in just five years.

The program helped me discover new ideas, new fields, and new areas of interest and gave me a solid foundation for the position I have today.It also increased my self-confidence by improving my knowledge and self-awareness to a level I could never imagine before. What I learned at COTRUGLI Business School is that if you can unlock your passion and develop an entrepreneurial spirit, everything you wish for your career is possible.

Before joining COTRUGLI’s Executive MBA program, I had been working in Human Resources for many years, taking part in many educational programs due to my constant need to develop my knowledge, skills, and competencies. At a particular moment in my career, I was reaching out for a program that would help me gain leverage in overall busi1ness areas, combining Strategic decision-making, Finance, Accounting, Operations Management, Marketing, Sales, and many more – all in one specific Program.

Here came COTRUGLI and its Executive MBA program into the picture. The program offered world-class lectures at the leading business school in southeast Europe, and it was a unique opportunity to gain an overall business understanding. The program was a two-year intensive journey and a challenge in balancing family, work, and school. Looking back at those times, I can only say it was all worth it. During those two years, I learned much about

the business and myself. Taking part in n0umerous modules helped me to gain valuable insights into specific areas they covered. Working, brainstorming, and making decisions in teams of individuals with different backgrounds was challenging, yet I loved this part the most!

Today, I can say that I have a significantly better understanding of the interdependencies between business areas and how my role can contribute to aligning them. At last, I have made friends for life. We worked hard but also had a huge amount of fun. One of the huge benefits is that I am now a member of the COTRUGLI family, a place where you have a network of intelligent and successful people who support each other. When we get together, it’s like being among friends, and I am proud to have the privilege to call myself a COTRUGLI!

My decision to enroll the Executive MBA program has been made while I was working as a Territory Manager in Allergan. Although I held a Doctoral degree in Pharmacy, I was very well aware that I am lacking specific knowledge and skills regarding pharmaceutical marketing and business in particular. After analyzing all MBA schools in the region and wider, I realized that the Executive MBA program at COTRUGLI Business School offers the best value for money invested.

However, it was during our first module when I really felt how easy even the most complicated topic is when you learn from the best. We learned from top quality professors but even more from each other by sharing experiences and supporting each other in our teamwork. Along with many new things, I also learned how to deal with stress, assess other people and improve my communication skills. It was an extremely intensive period of my life, but definitely very enjoyable as well. Although I always expect a lot, everything was above my expectations. I discovered the real meaning of networking.

Only one month after obtaining my EMBA degree I was challenged with the above mentioned position. This position provides me not only with the higher level of responsibility and higher income, but also gives me a chance to fully unleash my leadership potential, personal development skills, as well as all other soft skills acquired during the last two years of my EMBA program. At the same time, I managed to stay up to date in marketing and sales, the fields that I love the most. As one of our professors used to say: “After gaining something in life, it is time for you to give back”.

After graduation, I decided I wanted to expand my knowledge further; as I started to work in the hospitality industry in 2010, becoming the assistant of the Hotel Director in 2012, I realized that this was the perfect moment to enroll COTRUGLI Business School and so I did. I became a COTRUGLI MBA student, which was the best decision I could made. It was a dynamic and exciting year, during which I gained a wider knowledge of how to run a business. Looking back, it was the best time to attend the MBA because after a year, I became a Hotel Director of a 4* hotel.

Since it’s a demanding and responsible job where you need to be present every day, I wouldn’t be able to be absent every month for a couple of days. One of the biggest values that COTRUGLI Business School gave me is learning from lecturers worldwide and meeting great people from different backgrounds.

I experienced working in teams with different characters, resolving tons of case studies, doing small projects, and, in parallel, working on our business plan, which we had to present at the end of the program, for the first time, and it was thrilling.

Now, six years from graduation, I can say that I’m delighted to be a part of COTRUGLI Business School, and I still try to participate, when I have time, in some lectures and events that the School organizes so I could retain the old ones and make new contacts, because, after all, I think the most valuable thing that the School gave me is networking of the highest quality, with professionals in different industries.

My COTRUGLI journey started with the application form for a scholarship. Someone might say that it is just a filled application form but given the amount of emotional involvement I doubt that either one of the participants may claim their indifference when they were approaching the building on the day of the selection process. We all brought our hopes and fears to the classroom.

My first positive impressions about the School started already during the selection process. COTRUGLI Business School strives to be different, innovative and to make a difference. I always had a strong drive for learning. Parents being blue collar workers never discouraged my desire to learn and grow. I used every opportunity to read, study, take lectures or learn from people with extensive experience. When I started my Executive MBA program it became clear that you can make efforts on your own, but what you actually need is a well-thought, systematic and organized educational program. You need a program that will broaden your knowledge across every discipline of business and management, sharpen your analytical skills and boost your confidence. And I experienced all that at COTRUGLI Business School!

The collective professional experience of the participants and the team approach allows sharing diverse perspectives on various topics and truly enriches the educational environment. Lecturers and their lecturing styles are another great experience. Their innovative way of combining classic business education with modern teaching methods, leadership techniques and global experience raise the appetite for learning. Often I have the feeling that the lecturers have Plutarch’s words in their mind ‘The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled. My COTRUGLI journey has not come to its end yet but I know I will miss it when it is done.

After working for 11 years in finance, I was at a turning point in my career and wanted to go to the next level. Plan A was to go „vertical“ in my profession, meaning I specialize further and deeper in finance. Plan B was to go „horizontal “ , i.e., extend my knowledge and understanding of business to all other areas. There are two reasons why I went with plan B and enrolled in an MBA.

First, to understand business, you must understand that it is the „sum of parts. “ Until then, I had mainly understood the finance part. The second reason is that although I am a finance person, I am also a people person, and I wanted to mix those two parts of myself. Fast forward five years later, I am a CFO. I still love Excel tables, but I also do so much more. I work with people and help them to achieve their and the company’s goals. I participate in sales, marketing, HR, construction, legal, and many other aspects of business, and I see how they all connect. Having a helicopter view of business also helps you to make a better decision. This is something I got as an MBA student: I multiplied my knowledge and skills. I invested in myself and grew both professionally and personally. It’s like an upgrade of yourself to a better version.

Studying for an MBA taught me things you cannot learn from books or at home alone. But the value of an MBA isn’t in the knowledge part only but in a cohesive understanding of how business works. It lies in personal discipline and commitment to the classes, homework, and case studies. It also taught me the same discipline and commitment I need as a l eader. It lies in the transformation I went through as a human being.

The moment when COTRUGLI Executive MBA program was presented to me I knew immediately that I had to be a part of it. A few months later I was already enrolled in the program. On the very first module “Basic of Business Functions” I found that that teaching methods were very dynamic in terms of exercises that participants perform in groups. I was astonished by imagination and different approach that participants had when trying to solve a task. Working in groups with interesting colleagues through the process of brainstorming can really help you broaden your view and take a different perspective to the issues before deciding for an option.

By the end of the module I was sure I made the right choice by joining the COTRUGLI Business School and by becoming a COTRUGLI family member. Great networking is essential in today’s business world, and this School connects managers and leaders from all sectors all over the SEE Region. My career started in one of the leading banks in the Croatian market, Zagrebačka banka, where I have been working since. The knowledge I have gained through the Executive MBA education helped me step up to the next level in my career.

For a few years now I have been working as a Director of the Centre for SME in Zagrebačka banka, providing a banking services to clients and helping them grow their businesses. By broadening my horizons and gaining new knowledge at Executive MBA program, I am now in a position to help others to develop professionally and entrepreneurially.

In every career, you have ups and downs, great moments that you are extremely proud of, and not-so-great moments from which you learn and improve. One of my greatest moments was the decision to embark on an EMBA journey with COTRUGLI Business School. The decision to do it was not easy and riddled with a lot of suspicion about whether this was worth the investment (time and money) and whether it would be just a waste of time. I talked to previous EMBAs, and they all had one unanimous message – the experience, knowledge gained, and the people are very much worth it! That is how a decision was made, and my EMBA journey started…

Two years flew by quickly, filled with learning, fun, and knowledge sharing. Excellent lectures, interesting team competitions, and many extracurricular activities (and it’s not just about learning). Through those two years, I have made great friendships and strong business partnerships and learned to think like a businessman. I have learned the language of business and created a new approach to tackling business challenges. I took as much knowledge as possible and implemented it within my company.

Today, five years after I finished my EMBA, when I reflect on what it did for me, I can say that I got a couple of great friends, a lot of business partners and associates, and a great sense of pride for doing my EMBA in generation X. I’ve also developed new skills which are now propelling my business into one of the markets leaders in Project Management consulting services.

Don’t doubt it, do it!

COTRUGLI Business School found me in a transitional moment in my life when I needed a new catalyst for growth – both personal and professional. And ever since this journey started in 2007, COTRUGLI has kept me actively involved and inspired to grow and develop. COTRUGLI proved to be a different kind of school in numereous aspects but most of all in the personal touch and close connection in its community.

From the very start I felt I naturally belong here, surrounded by close friends to share my ispirational ‘a-ha’ moments throughout the program. If I have to be honest, the biggest learning happened in the car while we, the Bulgarian group, travelled for about 10 hours every month from Sofia to Croatia. We had a chance to exchange a lot of information, make sense of what we learned at the lectures, and reflect on what it meant for our companies and ourselves. Everytime we were coming back home after a module, we were loaded with energy and commitment to execute the new ‘revelations’. This energy and motivation triggered by every module was one of most practical benefits of the progream which I will greatly miss moving forward.

For me COTRUGLI was also ‘vacation’ time as I often said to my colleagues. It was a time away from the ‘busyness’ I often created for myself at home. Along with having quality party time, it was also a time to reflect on the important things, rather than the urgent. It was a chance to see from a distance what was happening at my company, what was my role in its development, what we were missing and what we were doing better than the others. This gave me the different perspective I was missing engaged in my daily routine at home. Most of all, COTRUGLI empowered me with a sense of direction and inspiration to continue the learning journey and create meaning for my life.

Why MBA? is one of the most critical questions that Masters of Business Administration aspirants need to answer at admission interviews. There aren’t any universal „good answers“. The answer should be a personal reflection that comes from within. In other words, you need to think deeply and search introspectively to find what drives you; that one element that sends a shiver of excitement down your spine when you visualize achieving your inner goals. The awareness that you are not where you want to be should motivate you to get that internal search started.

In my first year, I was the youngest student in my group with less work experience than any of my classmates. The company I worked for then was willing to award a scholarship to the MBA course sequence because of my stellar business achievement record. Why did I choose COTRUGLI Business School instead of any other school in the region? COTRUGLI Business School is internationally recognized and accredited by the AMBA. It has a longstanding reputation as one of the leading business schools in Southeast Europe. At COTRUGLI, they understand that ready-made formulas do not work in a fluctuating business world.

COTRUGLI is here to help you rethink your knowledge, ethics, and business attitude while doing its best to meet your educational expectations. I enjoyed studying with amazing professionals, managers, and entrepreneurs from all over the region. The main intention of these great lecturers was to make our professional and personal development easier, to assist us in our career growth, and to support and celebrate our personal and professional successes.After completing my MBA program at COTRUGLI Business School, I started working in the tourism and hospitality industry. Using all the knowledge I acquired and useful practice advice, I became a cluster director of two hotels today; I received the „Best Hotels in Croatia“ award for two years in a row, presented to me by the Croatian Chamber of Economy and Ministry of Tourism. At last but not least, I need to mention that while we were working hard during our MBA classes, we had a bunch of fun and started new friendships that lasted a lifetime.

All around, COTRUGLI is your only choice because it is the best choice. The experiences I accumulated during those times gave me an edge as a competitive member of the MBA community. COTRUGLI gave me a jumping start in discovering my professional path and the confidence to stay on it, reach the stars, and keep on going.

COTRUGLI EMBA has been a great experience! This experience has been built step by step, one interaction at the time with professors, colleagues, and School staff. It has opened my horizons in different areas of business and at the end, made me humbler as there is so much to learn and experience. At the same time, it made me more confident that I can succeed in a fast-changing business environment. Rewinding to the application time, my primary goal has been related to understanding the bigger picture in a sense of getting a formal education on different concepts and practices.

At the same time, I was eager to increase the international awareness and interaction and to be exposed to highly respectable experts on different business topics. My initial goals have been fully achieved, and, as it happens with great experiences, they have been overachieved on two dimensions: increasing my personal effectiveness and opening my eyes to an amazing region and people. Riding ahead of the change curve also means identifying the next hot region. For Europe, our region, including Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina has good grounds for development and growth.

Being enrolled at COTRUGLI gave me the chance to meet exquisite leaders from the region and to get familiar with the regional specifics. My colleagues have been the key ingredient to the experience. The interactions in the classroom, before and after the modules, or just in our spare time have been truly enriching.

By using our courage, vision and inspiration, I trust that we can help our region fully reach its potential! Something often unseen, still very important: COTRUGLI has touched and still touches many people outside those enrolled in the program. Because what I learned extended to my colleagues and friends, which have benefited along the way. After each module I was so enthusiastic and I felt compelled to share: be it the frameworks and tools we can use in our daily life, business cases, or the deeper reflections on what we want to achieve as leaders and how can we increase our personal effectiveness.

As an entrepreneur, I always try to learn new things that can help me improve myself and my business. That was the main reason I chose the COTRUGLI EMBA program in the first place. Meeting new successful people also sounded attractive. I was the youngest in my group. For the first time in my life, I was surrounded by only smart and intelligent people who were way smarter than me. You learn from the professors but sometimes even more from your colleagues.

After the first two modules, a colleague approached me and requested a meeting regarding my digital marketing services. Her company stayed a client to this day, even though she left the company soon after. This revenue has been paid for my COTRUGLI education many times. One of my projects was an online food ordering service, which I sold to the biggest media company in Croatia. It was easy because a colleague from COTRUGLI oversaw the search for interesting acquisitions, and he knew about the project from our casual conversations.

When someone asks me about COTRUGLI, my usual answer is that it was a great experience and that it made me a lot of money directly and indirectly over the years. In my view, people are the biggest asset, and that’s why I would always choose COTRUGLI.

My whole life, including my complete formal education and entire professional experience has been around electrical engineering and Information and Communication Technologies. Since I strongly believe in old Latin saying: “Omnia mea mecum porto” or “All that’s mine I carry with me”, constant education and professional development play an important role in my life.

For more than three years, I have been looking for a business school in Croatia which would fit the need I felt for further career aspiration in terms of economic and business knowledge and general soft-skills.

COTRUGLI Business School is the only one that has everything I need; it is based in Croatia and so my private life and current job suffer nothing. Further, even more important in today’s global

Five years ago, 2014. to be exact, I decided to pursue the COTRUGLI MBA study. At that time, I worked as a Solution Architect at Ericsson Nikola Tesla, but my ambitions were much bigger. Fortunately, the company acknowledged my aspirations to pursue leadership, so they sponsored my COTRUGLI MBA study. With such support from the company, the decision to start my MBA study was easy to make.

COTRUGLI MBA influenced my professional and personal life a great deal. COTRUGLI made me think differently – broader. It opened up a new perspective, setting the path toward entrepreneurship, self-awareness, and openness to new ideas. At the same time, I enjoyed my studies. I had a great time working with people from different backgrounds, from high-ranking government officials and business owners to experts from non-profit charitable organizations. Working together with them on various case studies has broadened my views and, at the same time, made us more connected and closer to each other.

That made a good foundation for friendships that will last for a lifetime with many of them. Today, I work as a global manager at Ericsson, and I’m the one who seeks new talents and new potential leaders. Similarly, I want my leaders to learn, grow, and experience the transformation MBA study can bring to their lives and careers. I’m very proud that this year, the first generation of new leaders working for me is finishing the COTRUGLI MBA.

Watching them transform and grow as persons and leaders throughout the study makes me happy. As their study is ending, our ambitions are growing, and we are ready to take on more challenges and enter into new business segments that those same people will lead. I also must say that COTRUGLI has sparked my idea to start my own business, pursuing my hopes and dreams. Encouraged by my newly acquired skills and knowledge, my colleagues and I founded a video production startup called “Vedeera.” Today, we are developing new solutions based on artificial intelligence and machine learning for one of the most lucrative segments in the financial sector. I must say, we are very excited, and we have big hopes and dreams.

In today’s world, where the business environment is becoming increasingly complex, new technologies emerge constantly, and change is the only certain and constant thing, it is important to continuously work on yourself. This is the only way you can stay competitive on the market and ensure that you have all the necessary qualities to become a leader of the future. To accomplish that, it is important to expand your knowledge and skills in multiple directions, and COTRUGLI MBA offers that. You can gain various theoretical knowledge containing frameworks and concepts mixed with real-life examples that experienced lecturers share with the students.

On top of all that, one of the most valuable things about this program is your colleagues with whom you share the same journey. One can attain a lot from their business and life experiences, which are shared during lectures, but more often during free time between lectures. This brings values and relationships that last longer than the official program itself. Realizing the above mentioned circumstances, I wanted to upgrade and develop my career, so I started the journey with COTRUGLI.

My career commenced in INA Group as an intern in control and progressed to a managerial level position when I enrolled in an MBA program. At that time, I was in IT, and this MBA helped me gain valuable tools and knowledge to drive my career further by enabling me to see the big picture, enhance forward- looking thinking, organize business processes, and empower people management.

Currently, I’m the CFO and management board member of INA Group operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a position that demands from me ever more versatility, adaptability, and innovation. The COTRUGLI MBA program helped me on my career path to success.

10 years ago, when I was a young, shy IT consultant, I knew I understood technology well. Still, I also realized I didn’t recognize its value to society and many businesses. With that in mind, I found myself among young, smart people from different countries who mostly had no technology experience. I had something to bring to the table, and so did they. I learned about business, but – more importantly – I learned how to communicate with businesspeople and how to convey the value of what I did. We worked hard together, we traveled, and we partied. Friendships formed, and many persisted. A venture, albeit short-lived, was started with a couple of colleagues. It was a wonderful time, and I left with a trove of new, exciting knowledge that complemented my analytical skills well.

I returned to technology for a few years: I worked on large projects for big multinationals. I moved countries and started a small consultancy in London. I learned about fintech and took a senior innovation role at a top-tier bank, where I worked with clients and senior stakeholders to find ways to transform global capital markets. Last year, I helped start a serious blockchain venture with well-known investors. Throughout all this time, I didn’t realize how much the MBA prepared me for my professional path. What was once learned knowledge became intuition, and what was intuition became second nature.

Slipping into new roles and juggling different disciplines was challenging, but I always knew enough to carry on. My time with COTRUGLI was deeply, yet very quietly – almost subconsciously – transformational. Some of my ex-colleagues are now close friends and trusted advisors, and I make every opportunity to see them. I have recently brought back my old COTRUGLI folders from Croatia because I realized that there are some problems that I don’t yet know how to solve.

After 17 years of work in the company, which is Croatia’s biggest producer of wheat flour, where I worked as head of the logistics department, assistant executive manager as well as a member of the Supervisory Board, I decided to turn a new page in my life. I founded a company whose core business is trading with wood and wood products (after all, my profession has been forestry since I graduated from the Faculty of Forestry, University of Zagreb).

My decision to leave the former company was not overnight but resulted from long thinking and analysis. Great help I got from the COTRUGLI Executive MBA program. The two years I spent at COTRUGLI Business School were a wonderful and rich experience. I have learned new trends in business areas such as marketing, leadership, and financial management, and I have also improved my business skills.

Furthermore, I must emphasize that my personal development has grown to a new level. I discovered a whole new world of new ideas, business tactics, and business world views. Besides the COTRUGLI and the MBA program, I must point out that acquaintance with people I have met, from my colleagues to professors and school employees, is priceless. I can’t count how many great experiences I have had with them during the program and even after. Therefore, when I draw the line, I can conclude that the COTRUGLI Executive MBA program has improved and enriched my life.

At one point in my life, I realized that I needed a change, and I set myself three main criteria: I want to develop personally. I want to expand existing and acquire new knowledge. I want to be close enough to my family and friends. And I found COTRUGLI!

In terms of personal development, I had the opportunity to meet great colleagues and professionals; sixty of us shared the same goal for two years. It is a special feeling when you realize yourself and others through constant teamwork, ups and downs, by reaching a common solution in the real simulation of the business world. That helped me to change my fixed to growth mindset. By attending the Executive MBA program at COTRUGLI, I realized how many opportunities we have around us. For me, it was such a valuable journey with fantastic colleagues that allowed me to review existing and acquire new knowledge, with a lot of challenges that helped me to grow.

Regarding the quality of the program in general, the AMBA certificate that the school possesses is sufficient proof of excellence. The program is tailored to cover all areas top managers need to run a business successfully. Every module we had was above my expectations. The new competencies I achieved gave me additional confidence. Finally, due to such a module schedule, I was close enough to my family and friends, who also were important segments of our journey. As in my generation, I was honored to deliver a closing or farewell statement during a graduation ceremony (valediction). I remember the faces of people in the audience.

A lot of family members were so happy and proud of us. At that moment, I felt pride, too.

As a banker, I asked myself where the best way to invest after the worst financial crises hit the world in 2008 was. Of course, the best place is in „knowledge,“ since you can be sure that it will not depreciate or change the price. In time, the ROE will be double-digit, if not triple, and nobody can steal it from you. After almost seven years, I can admit that the investment was more than successful, with an increase since then in revenues or salary but more than that with a life-changing connections, strong friendships, and an unforgettable experience.

When I attended the COTRUGLI MBA I was part of a multinational bank leader in the Croatian market. COTRUGLI showed me that the dream of tomorrow can be today's reality with the right attitude and connections. After the 12 months course, full of energy and ready to implement what I learned, I decided to step up out of my comfort zone and to do a radical cut in terms of changing residence/city moving in the Croatian capital Zagreb and changing the bank, moving in one of the smallest bank in the country owned by an Italian corporation.

The bet was high but worth it since, as supposed in a smaller organization, the characteristic of the individual can emerge faster than in a big competitor. I got the chance in my twenties to feel and taste what it means to be a manager in an environment where age is rewarded maybe more than talent. It was not easy at the beginning, but also, thanks to the knowledge learned at COTRUGLI, I got it up and soon increased the members of my team as also my position in the bank.

For the last two years, I have had the privilege and honor to be the Head of Corporate in Banka Kovanica d.d. member of the group Cassa di Risparmio della Repubblica di San Marino. I am surrounded by a team of young and talented professionals who I try to motivate and keep positive daily. The bank is small in Croatia but high-speed and high-performance and, most importantly, very customer-oriented. In the corporate segment, we focused on short-term working capital loans. When a client takes a long-term loan, the key to the decision is the price, even the slightest difference in the interest rate. However, in the short run, more important than the price is fast delivery. It is critical to success, and Banka Kovanica d.d. can secure short-term funds in less than 48 hours.

Our motto is: we take small businesses seriously! In the end, I will recommend COTRUGLI Business School because it not only changed my professional life but, most importantly, I met my wife there, and now we have two amazing kids together. So, what to say more?

The engines of what I am – is my enthusiasm and desire to do it better, without limits, keep believing that there is better way, trying and trying, distinguishing what is essential to preserve and what is expendable, respecting my partners and working for common success. And here I am living in London with my family, working for a global power company with generation and distribution businesses, providing sustainable energy in 28 countries, through diverse portfolio of thermal and renewable fuel sources.

With workforce of near 30,000 people, committed to operational excellence and meeting the world’s changing power needs. At first I heard about COTRUGLI Business School from a colleague of mine. At that time he was studying at COTRUGLI, was very impressed by the program and strongly recommended it to me. I had the possibility to choose among several Business schools. COTRUGLI attracted me with the international contacts, flexible program and the common final aim: to work together for improvement of CEE region, business environment and business opportunities.

During the regular two years of the EMBA program I broadly expanded my professional knowledge and experience, learning from the expertise of the tutors and all my colleagues. These years taught me that to be successful means to keep your mind open and keep learning. Thanks to the EMBA program I taught to be the best I can be, because the life is without rehearsal.

Our journey with COTRUGLI Business School has not finished after the Graduation. The experience continues through all the fruitful contacts made during the years, with all the fantastic people met, with our common ideas turned into realities, with all the possibilities and opportunities in front of us to make it better way, for us, for our kids … because we learned to be in charge and moreover it worth.

COTRUGLI brings together the best business-oriented people from SE Europe and develops them further. This way, the business environment is more responsible and open towards the society.

As I said during our graduation ceremony, I do not regret a single centimeter of the fifteen thousand kilometers I had to travel to participate in the Executive MBA program of COTRUGLI Business School. It was worth each one of them. It all started a bit by chance – seeing the ad in the Bulgarian weekly magazine Capital. Took off with a bit of a glitch – when I did not get the notification sms that I have won one of the scholarships. But went on in a seamless and fruitful way – to prove me right I have made the best choice I could have made.

The Executive MBA program at COTRUGLI is not just about the theoretical knowledge in the books you have to read through it. For me personally it was mostly about sharing real-life experiences and expertise, getting from fellow students and professors multiple points of view to situations I was facing in my job at this time, about sourcing know-how and advice directly from the experienced faculty members. In a friendly, open and very supportive environment. When you add to these building a network of contacts throughout the region, becoming familiar with the culture of other countries, creating life-time friendships, setting up new business partnerships and having great time at the social events, you will get the full picture of what this programs gives you. Far more than just an academic learning experience.

Being all that, the EMBA program at COTRUGLI changes in a way your life – both personally and professionally. Often very deep, to the root of who and what you are. I believe, for good. The classes and team assignments require stretching your mind, exploring alternatives, thinking “outside the box”. In a way, it is an opportunity to challenge your own business paradigms. By getting out of the comfort zone of your daily activities, you acquire new knowledge, discover better ways of doing things and learn how to become more effective manager or entrepreneur.

As I started my professional life as a mechanical engineer, I was involved in various projects that required not only engineering knowledge but also basic knowledge about business, project management, and leadership skills. At the beginning of my career, I was primarily responsible for managing my projects, but as time passed and my boss recognized my potential, my responsibilities grew. Suddenly, I was responsible for leading a group of people with various education levels, different backgrounds, and personalities, which represented a big challenge for me as I had no formal education about the subjects needed to a leader as I would like to be.

This new role required me to know more about good business practices and understand how business today works. Parallel with this career advancement, I have decided to start my own company and offer my engineering services to the market. This step brings new challenges into my life: how should I organize my business, marketing, sales channels, etc.?

Then, I got the opportunity to join the COTRUGLI Executive MBA program as their program covered all the subjects of Sales, Marketing, Operations and Strategy Management, and HR. An additional benefit was the flexible and modular program approach, allowing me to attend all lectures with as little as possible influence on my work. The program was intense and required a lot of preparation before and after the lectures. Still, in the end, all that work gave me a completely new standpoint about everything: professional and private life, business, and, most importantly, a new perspective.

After successfully finishing the program, I quit my job and focused on growing my company. The knowledge gained from the COTRUGLI Executive MBA program helped me run my business efficiently and help our customer solve their problems in organizations. Today, I’m proud of our team and the projects we have successfully finished, and I’m looking forward to future opportunities.

Before I even heard of the COTRUGLI Business School – and that was a few years ago – I did a great deal of research of business schools both in and out of the region. A major part of it included face-to-face talks with a number of recent graduates. Each and every of them – even those coming from the Financial Times top 30 MBA schools – listed networking with fellow students as the single, most essential value of the program. Having decided at that time to pursue the business career in my home country, I was in search of a local business school that would bring together teaching quality and networking opportunities.

Luckily, it did not take me long to recognize both within the COTRUGLI MBA program. As one of the pioneers in the local MBA ‘market’, COTRUGLI combines excellent academics, state-of-the art curriculum and flexible class and exam schedules with brilliant students from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds. In a nutshell, it offers western-style MBA quality but with a strong regional focus. Most importantly, a year and a half of the MBA life means not only hard working but also funny social time that produces a wealth of business, as well as private contacts.

It feels truly great to have top business people around you – at one moment, you are in the class discussing a complex business case, and at the next, you find yourself sitting with them in a pub and having fun as if you have known them all your life. Less than a year upon my graduation, I look back on the COTRUGLI Business School experience with a smile on my face, pride in my heart and a host of fresh business ideas that keep coming out of my MBA.

Starting and running own business for a psychologist like me could be very challenging task. When my partner and I decided to start up a consulting company, I didn’t know any of the basic entrepreneurial principles. Therefore, I needed systematic way to gain new business knowledge. I looked for very practically oriented Executive MBA program with good reputation and qualified professors. And that’s how I found COTRUGLI Business School. Let me use SWOT analysis technique to explain my experience at COTRUGLI’s Executive MBA program:

Strengths: All modules are very practically oriented and combine systematic review of theoretical principles with examples, exercises and case studies; Lecturers are outstanding professionals in their fields and provide not only academic knowledge but also live examples from their experience. Even in the fields which are my areas of expertise (such as HR and Personal Development) I could get insights and inspirations for my work; Intense teamwork provides the opportunity to learn from the colleagues. Sharing experience allowed us to receive various perspectives and to get to know some best practices.

Weaknesses: As every good thing in life, EMBA program is limited in time. However, what remains after the program are not only the acquired knowledge and skills, but also wonderful memories and good friends.

Opportunities: EMBA provides great opportunities for networking in the whole SEE region and COTRUGLI pays special attention to various social events – sport competitions, parties, informal meetings, etc. which is quite important for entrepreneurs like me; COTRUGLI also provides the unique opportunity to feel the spirit of beautiful places like Belgrade, Zagreb, Rovinj, etc. where we had some memorable experiences.

Threats: Combining studying with intense work and family life is sometimes hard to handle.

But as they say: Where there is a wish, there is a way. I wish to all future students to find this balance and to grab all opportunities for 2 wonderful years of studying and living in COTRUGLI Business School way!

As a young graduate from e-Business I had just enough as I would need, to position myself in the rising online industry in Macedonia and I longed to swim in the business world right after. Meeting the successful managers in the corporate environment on the Balkans, made me think of the potential I have, to make local change in the global plan for managing the regional industry. I have never had a doubt of the progress line I need to walk through in my personal path of development, and COTRUGLI had shown me how.

By all researches I have done, it is the only business school on the Balkan offering the authentic mix of regional leaders’ experiences and world recognized speakers that can be smoothly scheduled in any young manager’s agenda. I have walked the line from an Internet Marketing Assistant to a CEO, all the way long with an MBA program on my back. Frankly, to use my “exploring” vocabulary – with a travel guide in my pocket! I went to COTRUGLI for the reputable knowledge package.

Surprisingly, COTRUGLI went after me to make me do something with it! Today I feel not just the inspirational drive, but also my own accountability, for creating the competitive advantage of the dynamic business environment I operate in. Being surrounded in an education environment of COTRUGLI participants, is like sitting in a selected audience of the most inspirational talk you have ever heard lively and it is so real, that you know you are just about to see it in a near future, on YOUR market playground.

We know that leadership has a lot to do with believing in yourself even when no one else does, and in the same time COTRUGLI brought me in, a queue of supporters and criticizers, each one of which adds value to my business output and each one of them, just like me, shapes the global network of world changing leaders.

This is actually an unusual story, but luckily for me, the true one. It was not supposed to be me attending COTRUGLI Business School. But the stars were in the right place at the right time, and something that was just an idea one October’s Wednesday became reality the following Friday. It took me just two days from just thinking about taking the MBA at COTRUGLI to actually doing it. That sudden decision made a great impact on the next two years of my life.

But something tells me that this impact will become greater as time passes. It is said that some of the most important things happen when you least expect them. I didn’t believe in “wisdom” of this kind but perhaps the time has come for me to challenge this belief. Constant personal development and educational upgrade is a definite must. No matter which field you specialize in, overall knowledge is a prerogative for better understanding and, accordingly, doing better in business. This is the only way one can delegate or collaborate successfully. In the publishing business, in which I currently work, where many different operations are conducted and many different professionals are involved in order to produce the final result, this is especially important. Better mutual understanding in business leads to more respect and confidence and, at the end, to better result. This is, I assume, the ultimate goal of everyone in business.

COTRUGLI provides technical knowledge but more importantly, it provides self knowledge, both on your own and interacting with others. Some truths ones discovers during this process may not be pleasant but they are helpful and above all, necessary. I could write about the things I’ve accomplished so far with help of COTRUGLI, but I firmly believe the best is yet to come. COTRUGLI will form a significant part in the future events of my life. That is certain.

COTRUGLI Business School provides an excellent framework for managers from nonprofit sector who want to upgrade their performance by gaining skills from for-profit companies. I was about to enroll my PhD on the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility when I first met the enthusiastic CBS staff in Sarajevo. I was introduced to their program, opportunities and other benefits including scholarships given directly by the School. Although School has been on the rise I was truly impressed by their success they have achieved up to that period. Also, because of my career orientation I honestly valued their idea to offer scholarship to students as the part of their corporate social responsibility strategy.

My own consulting firm has slowly penetrated the market of the multinational and local companies, yet my working experience was mainly related to nonprofit organizations. I was worried if I would be able to deliver the right service to clients from private firms. I was eager to obtain practical experience and to learn from real life case studies. For all these reasons I decided to temporarily give up PhD and to compete for COTRUGLI scholarships. Luckily I was selected among other candidates in BiH and with additional support from Whalen Family Foundation I became a student of COTRUGLI Business School.

In a nutshell, COTRUGLI Business School met my expectations. Despite the fact that I traveled miles to participate in the classes it was worth it. I grew professionally and personally because lecturers were applicable in redefining my career but also changing my behavior towards my team, partners and myself. I want to mention that it was there that I met my husband who at the time also was a CBS student and today we have a beautiful son. COTRUGLI Business School was the right choice for me!