A sneak peek in the life of our full-time MBA alumnus Amit Biswas

A brief introduction…
I was born and raised in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. In other words, you can say, I am Made in Bangladesh, probably similar to the clothes that you are wearing right now. I have lived and studied until the age of 16 in Bangladesh. I moved to India when I was 17 to study for my bachelors in business, focused on Marketing Management. After graduation, I moved back to Bangladesh and worked at Telecom as Product Portfolio Executive. In 2011, I moved to the Netherlands to follow my MBA at Maastricht School of Management. Throughout my career, I have mainly worked in high-tech companies in different departments such as analytics, sales, product development and marketing. I was fortunate to be able to put on different hats within the same company. This broadened my knowledge, helped me to see the same company and processes from a different angle. This gives me the added advantage to effectively communicate with different stakeholders.

In my free time, I enjoy researching topics related to marketing, branding, and design. I also love to cook for my friends and family. You can also find more information about my personal and professional life on my website: www.amitbiswas.nl.

My time at MSM
My time at MSM was a unique experience. During my MBA, I was lucky enough to meet and work on different projects from professionals all over the world. Sitting in a classroom with students from different countries and cultures is such a rewarding experience that very few universities can provide. Being the class president of the batch MBA28, helped me to further develop my international communication, team management and people skills.

The full-time MBA program at MSM is for one year, yet the credit is equivalent to two years of the MBA program. In other words, it is an intensive program that provided me with fast-track growth in my career in the Netherlands. The staff and professors were very helpful. The mentorship program of MSM was very rewarding as I had the opportunity to meet my mentor and know each other both on a professional and personal level. Student life is in general said to be the best time of ours lives;

At MSM, it is one of the most rewarding international student lives anyone can ask for.

My career path after graduation
Immediately after graduation, I was offered a job at Koninklijke Nedschroef Holding B.V through the MSM Mentorship program. Since 2012, I had worked in various functions such as Business Development Analyst, Specialist New Media, Sales Controller and Strategy roles. Such exposure has given me the base to approach topics from different angles, adjust to change, the ability to learn quickly and to remain flexible in professional environments.

Besides daytime working, I have been actively involved with MSM as an Alumni Ambassador, working voluntarily for charity foundations and helping companies with branding and marketing activities.

In 2020, I decided to stop working for Nedschroef. I registered myself as a ZZP (entrepreneur) to set up Oridoc and focus on getting my first book “Logo Land” published. Since the summer of 2020, it has been an incredible journey. My professional network grew exponentially as I had met many professionals both in person and virtually through Oridoc and my book project “Logo Land”.

Did the MSM MBA help you in your career?
A BIG YES!! The full-time MBA at MSM provided me with the platform for starting my career in the Netherlands. The MBA program at MSM has the right balance of theoretical and practical approaches towards current economic affairs in the EU and the world. The program allowed me to gain knowledge access to the way of working in Europe. The businesses work very differently from country to country. Being born, raised and worked in Asia, the MBA program allowed me to understand the European way of doing business.

At the same time, the career development program of MSM helped me to prepare for the job market in advance and tailor my applications for the Dutch market.

The lessons learned in the MSM MBA are still benefitting me!
It has been almost 10 years now since I had moved to the Netherlands for pursuing my MBA. The MBA program at MSM expanded my professional network globally. I can proudly say, I know at least someone in almost any part of the world, thanks to the MBA program at MSM. Even today, I have contact with my classmates of MBA28 via WhatsApp. I even had the opportunity to meet a few of them in person after graduation. How amazing is that?

Professionally I have used my learning experience from the MBA at my work. I have put theories into practice during managing several projects at Nedschroef. The international experience also helped me to effectively coordinate international projects with international team members.

Privately, I have used the research methodologies for writing my first book “Logo Land”. I have spent an incredible 4 years of research in finding the meaning and origin of the Dutch municipality logos. Sometimes it's funny to think, how much influence 1 year of experience at MSM can have on you.

More about my book LOGO LAND
The journey of the book started with the logo of Eindhoven and a simple question “Why does the logo look like this? “ It was the end of 2016, the city started placing these high-tech Citybeacons throughout the city centre, where I have first seen the new logo of the municipality of Eindhoven. As the days and months went by, I kept on seeing this new logo throughout the city. On the day, I had asked one of my colleagues, “Why does the logo look like this?”. He was able to recognize the logo but did not know anything about the meaning.

The same evening, I went home and did some research on it. The next morning, I told him the story behind the logo and its design. He found the unfolding story behind the design of the logo fascinating. At that same moment, the wild idea about writing this book was born.

What is the book about?
LOGO LAND tells the underlying story of the municipality logos of the Netherlands. There are 352 unique municipalities in the Netherlands. Each municipality has its unique logo. A logo is more than just a picture or a tagline. A logo tells the story about what makes a municipality unique through a combination of visual forms and wordmarks. A good logo and brand can build a strong community, attract entrepreneurs and businesses, and increase tourism.

This book provides answers to all the below questions for all the existing municipalities of the Netherlands.

• The origin of the logo
• The meaning of the logo
• The meaning of shapes & forms
• The meaning of the colours

For the very first time in Dutch history, this book looks behind the interesting story of all the logos. 

The book is published in the summer of 2021. It will be available in all the book stores and online in the Netherlands. Also, it can be shipped to any part of the world.

You can read more about the book here : https://amitbiswas.nl/project/logo-land-book/

My goals for the future
The future is unknown to most of us. I am more focused on the present and I believe that if we can take care of the present and invest in ourselves today, the future will likely beautifully unfold. So, for the time being, I want to raise more awareness about the importance of local branding and marketing for the cities through this book. A good logo and brand can build a strong community, attract entrepreneurs and businesses, and increase tourism in the cities.

I want to enjoy this moment while my first book “Logo Land” is coming to life. Maybe I will write a book about another country as well. Most importantly, I hope this book will inspire someone in another country to look into their logos and write about them.

My advice to current and future students
I have three simple pieces of advice for current and future MBA students:

1. Invest in your professional networks. Network = Net Worth. Genuinely and truly invest in them. Don’t be a ghost networker who shows up only when you need support for yourself. Keep your networks warm from time to time. Connect with others for collaboration and support.

2. Stay open-minded. What you give = What you get. If you can embrace change and take a less linear approach, this adaptability and confidence to step outside your comfort zone can open up new surprising opportunities.

3. Follow your passion. Passion = Power. Don’t just take up a job for the sake of it. In the long learn, it will drain your energy; on the contrary spending, 8 hours of your day on something you like will drive you towards personal and professional success.