Catalina Rendón's testimonial about the Master in Digital Business Management
School of Innovation & Technology Management
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Catalina Rendón, Vice President Communications and CX at Viva Air, explains her opinion as a student of the Master in Digital Business Management at OBS.
Catalina shares her vision of studying a Master in Digital Business Management: "The Master has allowed me to acquire a global vision of the digital market without having to move from my country. It has provided me with knowledge and updates from the comfort of my home or office, complemented by the interculturality of my classmates".
Why did you decide to study this Master's degree?
I made the decision to do the master's degree because it was a subject that I was really interested in. I was looking for an update on digital issues. Those of us who are involved in these communications issues, in the new world we are living in, really realise that it is a theory that is being built almost at the same time as we are living. So, the short courses and the updating I was getting in my country, Colombia, were not enough. That's why I was looking for an international update, and when I found the OBS Master: very complete, full of a clearly practical orientation and immediate applicability, I liked it very much and that's why I decided to do the Master.
Why did you choose to study it at OBS Business School?
After searching in several universities, what I liked most about OBS was: The curriculum seemed to me to be very complete, I felt that there were some very practical subjects, balanced with other very strategic ones, which gave a very 360º view.
I really liked the support provided by the University of Barcelona, which gave me a double degree when I did my Master's there.
And because I found the platform to be very user-friendly. I talked to several Alumni who had already done it and they told me that it really felt like being in the "Live" of having commitments, attending meetings, classes, having to actively participate in debates, just as one does in the face-to-face academic world when participating in a class. So, that closeness, even though it was virtual, because in the end I wanted to stay living in my country, but to have the best education in the world was what made me decide to graduate from OBS.
What do you think of the Student ON Methodology?
At the point in life where I was, I needed to keep updating myself and I love it, it is part of my professional nature to be constantly updating myself, I felt that I needed the best of a global vision, but without having to move from my country. Professionally I am at a point where I want to be in my country, I really like my work and what I do, my family is growing, but my mind did not want to stay with what I had only in Colombia, so when I found the international view of the course I did with OBS, it was the perfect opportunity. And that's why I made the decision.
What skills have you developed throughout the programme?
For me the most important thing, and it is one of the things that I highlight the most after studying the Master's with OBS, is the applicability. Really, every module, even in a debate with my colleagues that I was fortunate to have, colleagues from three continents or very active professors who sent us information, who sent us success stories and examples, has been useful to me. I would arrive at the office on Monday to apply everything I was learning. It's not like you feel that you have to wait and that there is knowledge that is going to be projected, but for me it was a matter of total immediacy. I found this very nourishing and it is one of the things I valued most, because it is totally applicable knowledge and also because it was not so theoretical, but we were learning at the same time as we were doing. Learn by Doing. It seems to me that it is a very important practice and that in the digital world and that we are really building the theory at the moment, it is the best, the best way to do it.
How has your experience been at OBS?
My experience with OBS has been wonderful, from the very beginning, the first point of contact when they start to tell you a bit about what you are getting into, when they tell you a bit about the university, the double degree. From the first module, which is totally introductory, you start to work with the platform and begin to understand all the tools that will be at your disposal throughout the year. That's when I think the experience starts to be really fun and it makes it very dynamic, it makes it fun: you are learning, but at the same time it's almost like an adventure to get into the subject of studying.
Then, during all the modules I really enjoyed it because the topics were strategic, changing, practical, I had to do group work, individual work, in class I had to actively participate with the teachers. So it was really very dynamic.
How do you imagine your professional future after your programme?
I finished the programme a few years ago, so I can tell you about what happened after I finished my master's degree at OBS. When you have the knowledge incorporated and not only in a degree, you start to contribute much more in meetings. Your work teams start to see that you have new knowledge and they start to challenge each other, and they start to say: "so, I also have to keep up with this person who is throwing a lot of line and who is asking for a lot of rope and who is saying that we have to be updated, again, because digital issues are very changing". Definitely, for me it was confirmation of how important it is to keep up to date and that a master's degree really starts to show when you are with your partners, your colleagues and you can bring so much more to the table.
What would you say to a person considering studying at OBS?
As President of the Alumni Club Colombia, this is what I do almost every month. I get a lot of questions from people who are hesitating whether or not they want to explore other options. And in the end what I tell them is: applied knowledge I have been mentioning, secondly, a very comfortable virtual experience despite being online, it has many advantages over face-to-face, that the classes have a timetable, that the platform is so friendly that you literally feel you are in a classroom where you raise your hand, that you can share in the debates with your classmates, that you have teamwork... That is practically face-to-face. Only I had the advantage of doing it from my office or from my home, with friends from Russia, from Argentina, from Spain, from all over the world. I also talk to them a lot about the intercultural part, about comfort, and in the end it is a 360º that gives you a lot of knowledge that you can apply in your day-to-day professional life.
Now you know Catalina Rendón's experience on the Master in Digital Business Management. If you are looking for opinions of another programme or want to know more experiences of OBS Business School alumni, do not hesitate to consult them.