On a recent Saturday at Amsterdam’s Tropenmuseum, a meaningful commencement ceremony held by Business School Nederland (BSN) in partnership with the Institute for Business Studies and Executive Education (IBSAE) celebrated a key achievement for regional professional growth: six Surinamese students have successfully completed the institution’s competitive Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, with four graduates accepting their diplomas in person during the event.
Unlike traditional MBA tracks that center heavily on abstract theoretical learning, the cohort completed BSN/IBSAE’s unique Action Learning MBA. This specialized curriculum is designed to bridge the gap between academic concepts and real-world professional practice, requiring students to apply learned management, strategy, and analytical frameworks to active challenges within their own workplaces. As a core graduation requirement, each student developed, wrote, and publicly defended a practice-focused dissertation tied to their specific field of work in Suriname.
Robby Rijssel, who served as academic coach and study supervisor for the cohort, highlighted the accomplishment as an extraordinary milestone. “I am incredibly proud of these students and everything they have achieved during the program,” Rijssel shared. “With their graduation, IBSAE has once again advanced the development of skilled professional talent across Suriname.” Per IBSAE’s institutional statement, this new cohort of MBA graduates will directly contribute to expanding the nation’s collective expertise and knowledge base across key public and private sectors.
Each graduate’s research addressed pressing, context-specific challenges across Suriname’s varied industries and government institutions: Andre Forster graduated with honors for his dissertation examining the strategic positioning of InVitroPlants Grassalco within Suriname’s agricultural sector. Mellyora Hanenberg-Vianen focused her work on streamlining personal loan processing efficiency within the retail banking division of Finabank N.V. Clyde Ramon Sengwai’s research targeted opportunities to boost operational efficiency at Suriname Water Company (SWM). Omayda Ackson developed a targeted strategic marketing framework to strengthen brand recognition and market positioning for InVitroPlants. Elvira Hoft explored institutional development opportunities for Suriname’s Non-Proliferation Authority under the Ministry of Defense. Priya Sital conducted research on strategies to expand career pathways within the Office of the Vice President to retain skilled domestic talent.