Netherlands Consul General Advocates Dutch Education for Nigeria

 Bamidele Famoofo

 The Consul-general of the Netherlands in Nigeria, Jan Van Weljen, has called on Nigerians to embrace Dutch education. Weljen, made the call recently in Lagos, during his visit to the Business School Netherlands (BSN) flagship Centre in Lagos.  

The Consul-general who described his experience at the school situated at Ikeja GRA as fantastic, described the MBA School as centre of excellence.

 He said the Dutch Inspired Education model in Nigeria aims at innovative and practical approach to business administration and development.  He noted that the Dutch are known for their disciplined approach to life and practical approach to education. 

“I believe the Dutch model of business education is the best for a typical economy like Africa. That the Business School Netherlands has been able to replicate the Dutch model in this center of excellence is worthy of our commendation.” 

He assured the school of the continuing support of the consulate. Weijen, disclosed that the purpose of his visit to the school was for him to learn more about the business school’s operations in Nigeria.

 Meanwhile,  the Country Director of BSN, Prof. Lere Baale, who was on hand to welcome Weijen to the Lagos campus of the school, said Business School Netherlands is a leading provider of Executive Business Education worldwide. 

‘’BSN was established in 1988 in The Netherlands and has grown its presence in 16 Countries which include Nigeria. The school has graduated over 5,000 Executive MBA holders from over 1,200 firms in over 55 countries. It has worldwide accreditations reflecting her commitment to exceptional global quality standards.’’ 

The vision of the school, he said, was to develop world-class leaders, adding that,  “our ambition is to be an enabler in the development and success of leaders and organizations worldwide; through unique pragmatic practical Action Learning programme providing answers to current leadership issues.” 

According to Baale, “BSN is aware that the methods that succeeded in previous decades may not be applicable in our fast-changing world. Even if they are, organisations cannot achieve competitive dominance by merely copying the strategies and tactics of the past. BSN takes learning beyond case studies to inculcate the thinking and the doing processes that birthed those successes.

“Our value proposition is distinct. We are not just offering MBA, we require our students to take Action on the Knowledge they acquire and thereby grow their skills. BSN drives inspiration, innovation and creativity of our Graduates. We are creating platforms to connect our students to a circle of global network of peers, angel investors, venture capitalists, private equity firms, Mentors, Coaches, etc. 

“They are thus enabled to explore opportunities for international or global collaborations. Our Graduates are equipped to manage business professionally to secure capital and accelerate business & entrepreneurial ventures. This is why BSN graduates drive acceleration of business transformation through growth & profitability. 

“Through resilience, such businesses can scale up and move to the stock exchange, thus creating a wealthy global community and make a better world by contributing to the 17 SDGs- ending poverty, protecting the planet, and promoting global peace and prosperity,” Baale said.

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