November 2020

Professional Development WeeksThe Professional Development Weeks is an exclusive programme for all

students of UvA Economics and Business. Spread across a few weeks, you get

the chance to get unique trainings from experts from the field.

What we offer

We offer several workshops and seminars to develop your professional skills, like

negotiating and managing, but also working efficiently, and visualising data using Excel.

In groups of 25 students, you’ll receive useful tips and get to practice several things that

will help kickstart your professional career.

Most trainings offer two sessions, so if you can’t make it to one, you may be able to

join the other option. Do not sign up for both, as you may end up costing someone else

a spot.

Sign up here

Workshop Dates Timeslots Location

Think Like a Start-up Game Thu. 12-11 14:00-16:00 Online

Working Smarter Fri. 13-111) 09:30-11:30

2) 12:00-14:00Online

Pitfalls of Customer Briefings Mon. 16-11 11:00-12:30 Online

What’s Important in your Ideal

Job?Tue. 17-11

1) 12:00-14:00

2) 14:00-16:00Online

Excel Skills Wed. 18-111) 10:00-12:00

2) 13:00-15:00Online

Negotiation Skills Thu. 19-111) 12:00-14:00

2) 14:00-16:00Online

Starting as a Manager Fri. 20-111) 10:00-12:00

2) 12:00-14:00Online

Fundamental Consultancy Skills Mon. 30-11 15:00-17:00 Online

Workshop Think like a Start-up Game

In this session, you’ll set up your own start-up company and get familiar with

Design Thinking. Through playing this game, you learn the range of different

customer needs and how you put the customer at the centre of designing

innovative concepts. Interaction, creativity and collaboration are front and

centre in the Think like a Start-up Game.

Learning goals• Learning the benefits of a value-driven organisation

• Learning to deal with the threat of completing tasks

without reflection on the process

• Learning to (re)connect and empathise with your customers or end-users

• Getting a basic understanding of the Design Thinking methodology

Trainers

Daphne Lamberts is a Service

Development Lead at DesignThinkers

Academy and works for global clients

like Cartier, L’Oréal, Pictet, Carmeuse,

bol.com, Randstad, Gucci, and the

municipality of Amsterdam. She holds

a MA in Concept Development &

Trend Research, always designing with

a human-centered perspective at mind.

Hui Ling Fu is a Service Designer at

DesignThinkers Academy and has

a background in Product & Service

Design, and holds a Bachelor’s

degree in Industrial & Product

Design. She works for global clients

like Vodafone, the municipality of

Amsterdam, Randstad, and bol.com.

Sign up here

Thu. 12-11

14:00-16:00

Online

How do you cope with all the challenges and responsibilities of your study,

work and private life? How do you keep the overview, lower your stress levels,

and maintain your focus? The answer: work smarter! In this active workshop,

you’ll learn a method that will help you do more with higher quality. You’ll get

practical tips on working smarter, which let you handle your time and attention

more effectively.

Learning goals• Creating an overview in work and study

• Increasing focus when studying

• Learning a method that helps you do more with higher quality in your studies

Sign up here*

Workshop Working Smarter

Trainer

Patrick Stastra has shared his

productivity expertise at companies

like Hay Group, Delta Lloyd, ABN

AMRO, and the Amsterdam Center

for Entrepreneurship. He holds a

Master’s degree in Economy, and he

is a former HR consultant.

Fri. 13-11

09:30-11:30 or

12:00-14:00

Online

* Be aware that you can only sign

up for one of the two timeslots.

In your job, you will often be an intermediary between your company and

your customer or a third party. It is vital that you know how to communicate

correctly and effectively what the needs of the different parties are. In this

workshop, you’ll learn how challenging this can be in a customer briefing, and

you’ll get several tips and tricks to help you navigate them.

Learning goals• Becoming familiar with the pitfalls of customer communication

• Getting practical advice on how to conduct customer briefings

Sign up here

Trainer

Maurice Fransen is a marketing

specialist, having worked as a

Marketing Director at 538 Group

and Q-Dance, as well as Marketing

Strategist for ID&T. He also has

experience as Account Manager,

at V&D and as Account Director at

McCann-Erickson.

Mon. 16-11

11:00-12:30

Online

Workshop Pitfalls of Customer Briefings

In this training, you learn what you require of a job to make it a suitable job for

you, which will increase your chance of success and happiness. This can guide

you towards finding the right first job for you. You’ll find out what you need

through a flow analysis: how do you reach a ‘flow state’ and what does this

say about you? Take this workshop to find out!

Learning goals• Focusing on qualities instead of defects

• Finding out what’s important for you in your first job

• Staying true to yourself in finding a job

Workshop What’s Important in your Ideal Job?

Sign up here*

Trainers

Eline Meijer is a Strength Consultant,

after working previously in

psychology and as an Operational

Manager at Guidion. She successfully

introduced strength-based working

at her company, before starting

Strenghts Consultancy with Eva. She

has an MSc in Psychology.

Eva de Meijier is a Strength

Consultant and a former team lead

at ABN AMRO. An intense personal

development programme introduced

her to her current field and passion:

coaching. This led her and Eva

to start Strenghts Consultancy.

She holds an MSc in Business

Administration.

Tue. 17-11

12:00-14:00 or

14:00-16:00

Online

* Be aware that you can only sign

up for one of the two timeslots.

Many companies work with Excel to complete their bookkeeping, organise

tasks, and to store and analyse data. Understanding how to analyse and

visualise that data lets you identify patterns that could help you identify

opportunities for cost reduction or value creation. It may also help you

convince others of these opportunities.

This workshop requires no prior knowledge and will teach you several beginner

techniques for data analysis and visualisation.

Learning goal• Being able to analyse and visualise data effectively in Excel

Sign up here*

Workshop Excel Skills

Trainer

Peter Snoeren is an Assistant

Professor at the University of

Amsterdam, in the strategy

department. He is specialised in the

relationship between stakeholder

orientation and corporate strategy,

and how this affects value creation

and value capture. He has been

teaching Excel and Data Science

courses for 5 years.

Wed. 18-11

10:00-12:00 or

13:00-15:00

Online

* Be aware that you can only sign

up for one of the two timeslots.

Negotiating requires several skills. You must keep an eye on all interests,

monitor margins and boundaries, and hopefully everyone is satisfied with the

outcome. In this negotiating workshop, we deal with the negotiation process

from start to finish to ensure that you get the best results.

Learning goals• Understanding the art of the negotiation process

• Finding the mindset you need to get the best results

Sign up here*

Workshop Negotiation Skills

Trainer

Sandra van de Mheen is a trainer of

leadership skills at Business Impact,

after working for an AI start-up

and as a Business Unit Manager.

She holds a Master’s degree in

Management from Nyenrode

Business University.

Thu. 19-11

12:00-14:00 or

14:00-16:00

Online

* Be aware that you can only sign

up for one of the two timeslots.

As a manager, you need a good set of soft skills. They complement hard skills

and allow people to work well with others, perform better and achieve their

goals. How do you let your team grow and motivate them at the same time?

This workshop will give you insights into motivating your team and controlling

the outcome of the tasks you give them.

Learning goal• Understanding the mindset you need to let your team grow and achieve

organisational objectives

Sign up here*

Workshop Starting as a ManagerFri. 20-11

10:00-12:00 or

12:00-14:00

Online

Trainer

Sandra van de Mheen is a trainer of

leadership skills at Business Impact,

after working for an AI start-up

and as a Business Unit Manager.

She holds a Master’s degree in

Management from Nyenrode

Business University.* Be aware that you can only sign

up for one of the two timeslots.

What do you need to know for a career in consulting? Whether you’ll go into

strategy, operations, managing, or any type of consulting, you need a number

of basic competences. In this seminar, you’ll learn about the fundamental skills

for any consulting or professional career, the things people say ‘they wish they

knew when they started their career’.

As a bonus, you’ll get a special Consultant’s Digital Toolkit.

Learning goals• Scoping and structuring any client assignment

• Managing your client, stakeholders & project

• Listening, communicating and presenting effectively

• Managing change and adoption

Sign up here

Workshop Fundamental Consulting SkillsMon. 30-11

15:00-17:00

Online

Trainer

Stefan van Loon is a Transformation

& Digital Manager at Building

Materials Europe, after working

as a strategy consultant at Bain

& Company for over 8 years.

He has extensive knowledge in

solving strategic challenges for

large multinationals and complex

organisations, like growth strategies

and merger integrations.