Extra opportunities

As a U.S.E. Master’s student you have the opportunity to attend lectures of fascinating and inspiring people, like CEO’s from large companies, scholars on issues of general interest or politicians on the economic challenges Europe faces today. In the past the U.S.E. Academy has featured guest lectures by, amongst others: Henk Jan Beltman, CCO Tony’s Chocolonely; Herman Wijffels, Chairman Utrecht Sustainable Finance Lab; and Panicos Demetriades, former Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus. Please have a look at the news section for more information.

Are you inspired and energised by solving complex problems? Do you want to develop your business skills and to experience what it is like to be an entrepreneur? Then the extracurricular Utrecht University Business Course (UUBC) is  the honours programme for you! The course is aimed at Master’s students from all disciplines studying at Utrecht University.

The Utrecht University Business Course is a 12-week Master’s honours programme where 30 of Utrecht University’s best students will learn and improve their business skills. During the programme you will participate in workshops, work on projects within a multidisciplinary team of students and network with professors, experts, consultants and entrepreneurs.

The programme

The UUBC kicks off in February with an introductory weekend. You will receive professional training and form a team with which you will be working on assignments and projects throughout the course. The programme consists of 3 main elements:

• Pressure Cooker: valorise a business concept during a 2-week challenge.
• Business Analysis & Consultancy: acquire business analytical skills and build a solution for a current problem of an existing company.
• Entrepreneurship: step into the shoes of an entrepreneur by developing your own idea while being supported and coached by professionals.

Each segment of the programme ends with a team or individual presentation in front of a jury, with a grand finale held in the Academic Building at the end of the programme. For more information, please go to the UUBC website.

During the Graduate Honours Interdisciplinary Seminars (GHIS) you will meet students from other disciplines in a series of small-scale seminars. Under supervision of leading UU researchers you will study socially relevant themes. These research themes vary from privacy and globalization to DNA and complex systems. You follow one seminar per study period and conclude the year with an interdisciplinary group project. 

GHIS is offered in English and available for all Master’s students from the UU.

Young Innovators is an honours programme for curious and involved students that like to commit to challenges about sustainability and societal wellbeing. You’re a changemaker working for and on a better world. Young Innovators allows you to work in interdisciplinary teams on projects that shape social innovation. 

Young Innovators is offered in English and available for all Master’s students from the UU.

In the Leadership Programme you discover what kind of leader you are or want to be. You apply knowledge from different disciplines to real leadership dillemas and get a better understanding about what it means to be a leader in a globalising world. You follow workshops (i.a. public speaking skills, conflict management) taught by experts ranging from UU professors and external lecturers. During the interactive and intimate College Tours you can engage with leaders from different domains in society. You finish the year by working with a leader as part of the Leader to Shadow component. 

The Leadership Programme has both an English and Dutch track and is available for all Master’s students from the UU.