Develop your entrepreneurial mindset with our Executive MBA

At Vlerick, entrepreneurship means a way of thinking, of being able to identify and seize opportunities, of being agile and adaptable.

And this is as relevant and critical to a professional looking to progress their corporate career as it is to a start-up looking to disrupt a marketplace.

In our fast-moving world, entrepreneurship has many faces. It’s about people buying out companies. It’s about social entrepreneurs who want to make the world a better place. It’s about intrapreneurs whose passion is developing portfolios of products and services from within their organisations. It’s about anyone who wants to bring future-focused ideas, fresh thinking and agile approaches to their organisations in all sectors.

Miguel Meuleman, Professor of Entrepreneurship, says: “In today’s society, with the challenges we face, an entrepreneurial mindset is more relevant than ever.

“We can’t predict the future – so we have to make decisions based on incomplete information. But when you have an entrepreneurial mindset, your approach is defined by action. You dare to leap in an uncertain world.”

This is why we’ve always focussed on entrepreneurial thinking. And as change in society and business continues to accelerate, you’ll find that our new-look Executive MBA emphasises entrepreneurship more strongly than ever.

Vlerick’s Executive MBA is available in three formats: Executive MBA (in-person), Online Executive MBA (100% online) and the European Executive MBA (blended).

The Entrepreneurial mindset track

At Vlerick, we believe that an entrepreneurial mindset should underpin all business thinking. So it’s now included as a six-month track.

For the first six months of your Executive MBA, you follow a Leadership development track. Then you head straight into your Entrepreneurial mindset track. Through it, you learn to systematically identify, evaluate and capture new opportunities, in any type of business environment.

Miguel describes the track as a journey. He says: “It gives you a broad understanding of the entrepreneurial mindset. We start by asking the question – what does the entrepreneurial mindset mean for you? Because of course, the entrepreneurial mindset isn’t just for people looking to launch their own ventures. It’s relevant to corporations, governments, not-for-profits – and all sectors. The journey can be different for each one, but it’s underpinned by a way of thinking that’s essential for every successful business leader.”

The track includes a series of workshops that explore team building, financing projects and ventures, business model design and horizon scanning. It also discusses the different applications of entrepreneurship – including social entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship.

The mindset of an entrepreneur is for everyone.

''At Vlerick, a lot of things happen in the classroom to cultivate the entrepreneurial mindset, from typical lectures and webinars to tours of Silicon Valley and talks with successful alumni. This immersive approach helps students understand what it means to be an entrepreneur or a leader within an entrepreneurial company.'' - Prof. Yannick Dillen 

An action-oriented approach

Like everything at Vlerick, the Entrepreneurial mindset track is practical and hands-on – with multiple opportunities to meet real-life practitioners and get coaching from seasoned entrepreneurs. 

“We have around 30 entrepreneurs-in-residence at Vlerick,” says Miguel. “They act as coaches and share their experiences in classes. They’re a sounding board for participants – and an invaluable source of insight and best practice.

“And of course, we have our international study trip to one of the world’s most vibrant entrepreneurial hubs, Silicon Valley. This is an exciting opportunity for participants to discover the USA context.”

Opportunities to go deeper 

In our new Executive MBA, you can specialise in entrepreneurship by choosing up to five electives on topics including scaling your company, entrepreneurial finance and buyouts.

This specialisation is optional – but if you’re looking to develop your expertise as an entrepreneurial thinker and leader, it allows you to broaden and deepen your skill set.

In addition, all our Executive MBA participants carry out a consultancy project. This Knowledge-in-Action Project is an outstanding opportunity to use your entrepreneurial mindset to solve a real-world challenge. This could be building a business case for a start-up, or bringing an entrepreneurial approach to a corporate or social challenge, with the full support of Vlerick faculty and experts.

“The Knowledge-in-Action Project is all about getting real-world experience. Entrepreneurship is about getting out into the market, networking – and using the tools and approaches you learn in your Executive MBA to create impact.

“The Knowledge-in-Action Project is a safe environment to experiment, evaluate – and accelerate thinking.”

Connect with a community of entrepreneurial thinkers

From Vlerick’s earliest days, we’ve fostered entrepreneurial thinking. And for the past three decades, we’ve created market-leading entrepreneurship-focused programmes.

We also support international companies to develop their entrepreneurial thinking – and invest in ground-breaking research into entrepreneurial approaches.

So it’s no surprise that we have a thriving, inspirational community of entrepreneurial thinkers and doers.

Miguel says: “We are embedded in the entrepreneurial community. We offer a Student Entrepreneurship Fund – which is financed by our entrepreneur alumni. It provides €50K in seed funding to MBA participants with promising business ideas each year.

“At the same time, our Research Centres drive innovation and future-focused thinking across a wide range of sectors and specialisms.

“And our alumni across the world are active in driving entrepreneurial approaches in everything from government and not-for-profit organisations, through to the largest corporations.

“It’s an ecosystem that gives back – through networks, events and more. And our Executive MBA participants can be part of it for the whole of their professional lives.

“The Executive MBA at Vlerick is designed to push you, connect you with like-minded people and give you the tools, confidence and entrepreneurial mindset you need to take the leap.”

A Testament to Vlerick's Entrepreneurial Leadership

In a newly published study by Redstone, Vlerick Business School was ranked #8 in Europe for startup creation and #3 for unicorn creation among 457 universities and business schools across 34 European countries.

Redstone, a leading European early-stage investor, evaluated the entrepreneurial output of these institutions relative to their budget size. Vlerick's impressive rankings underscore its reputation as a top business school in Europe, alongside WHU, INSEAD, LBS, HEC, IMD, IE, and ESADE.

Prof. Marion Debruyne, Dean of Vlerick Business School, highlights that this achievement reflects Vlerick's commitment to fostering entrepreneurial leadership. The Vlerick MBA programmes include a dedicated six-month track on building an entrepreneurial mindset, covering team building, financing, business model design, and exploring various forms of entrepreneurship.

Keen to learn more about our new-look Executive MBA?

Get in touch with our MBA Admissions team. Book a call >