Job van den Bijgaart graduated from Finance & Control International in 2022 and gives us a glimpse of his experiences at Avans, master’s programma in Sweden thereafter and what he expects of his coming traineeship at Unilever.

My experience at Avans

“The Finance & Control international programme is something quite unique. In class there is an international atmosphere as some teachers and fellow students come from abroad, furthermore the topics that we discuss are more internationally orientated. For me the prime reason to choose FCI was learning to look beyond the numbers and take other business factors into account too. International opportunities contribute to personal growth too, I went to Australia for an internship, what I learned during my time abroad cannot be learned from books or classes. The teachers deserve big complements in my opinion, many of them have real business experience and became a teacher because they think it is fun, they can bring a class discussion to the next level by giving real world examples.”

Moving forward: master’s programme in Sweden

“After the bachelor in Finance & Control International doors open for master degrees both financially focused as well as focused on broader economic, managerial and business topics. Lund University is a renowned university located in the southern part of Sweden, the university is known for its international atmosphere attracting the most foreign students of all universities in Sweden. You see, a Master degree does not necessarily have to take place in the Netherlands, I can recommend anybody to look beyond the borders of the Netherlands when searching for Master degrees.”

Career at Unilever

“I will start working at Unilever and take part in a leadership programme. I will rotate in various Financial roles and simultaneously work on my personal development through education, training and mentorship. The FCI programme prepared me well to start a career in an internationally operating firm like Unilever, how my career will go is up to me, but my studies helped me to find a good starting point.”

Your personal development is in your hands!

“As a tip I would like future students to be aware that their personal development is into their own hands and goes beyond just going to school. You are very lucky to be able to receive such good education (not everybody in the world gets that opportunity). Every second you spend on developing yourself pays out for a lifetime so go for it, take your classes seriously but be active outside the classroom too. Go and join a student union, get a side job, read a book or perhaps spend time as a volunteer for a non-profit organisation. All of these things that I mention are possible, they are opportunities to develop yourself, but it is up to you to utilise these opportunities and do it!”