Answer to a friend on Romanian Canadian eMBA after my first year.

Hi friend,

The ROCA Executive MBA @ BBS-ASE (Romanian-Canadian) program offers the best value for money among all the options available in the Romanian market. Of course, with higher investments, you might find more structured materials, additional perks, and possibly more rigorous case studies.

However, I believe the content itself isn't the key factor, as it can be found for as little as $10 on platforms like Coursera, Udemy, or YouTube.

The true value is found in those "aha" moments and the chance to directly engage with insights, case studies, and instructors with practical experience or academic research expertise.

It's essential to actively participate and engage with the cohort, as the peers you interact with significantly differentiate one MBA from another. If you are comfortable with the Romanian business community, this program is ideal for you, especially for those looking to organize their knowledge and validate their micro-strategies.

There are various projects involved. Even though ROCA has a light physical presence requirement—typically one weekend per month on-site and another weekend online—there's still plenty of work between teaching sessions. I’ve just completed the first year, and second-year students have mentioned an even heavier workload. I still have a project due by Monday ??.

It's manageable, but I've dedicated at least a day to each project, sometimes even two. Maybe I'm a bit of a perfectionist. While the professors don't demand perfection, the challenge level depends on your personal goals.

I might not put in as much effort for my upcoming Monday project since I've already spent two days on another project. This one feels more like an exam project, which accounts for 55% of the final grade. It's frustrating that so much of my time went into a project, and the exam holds more weight. Whatever.

In conclusion, you need to be dedicated and present. When attending online, make sure to be fully engaged, even if it's from an airport lounge or a beach in Mallorca (like I did). During on-site sessions, be there with a mindset that is open to learning new things, even if the material feels familiar. You might discover new readings, like I did with Taleb's "Fooled by Randomness," which was recommended in one of the courses.

Networking and connections with your cohort are crucial. It's worth staying for coffee, beer, wine, desserts, or meals after the courses. It’s part of the experience. Plus, you might get opportunities through the program, sometimes with additional costs (acceptable ones, occasionally supplemented by small Erasmus scholarships). I spent a week in Tallinn at Talltech in Estonia, focusing on digitalization and digital transformation.

A few colleagues dropped out along the way, not for financial reasons but more because of their capacity to commit time and involvement.

It all depends on what you're missing when you enroll— overcoming imposter syndrome, gaining clarity, or connecting with like-minded professionals.

Good luck!

I plan to repeat a few first-year courses, so if things go well, we might meet in Vasile Alecsandru Strat 's statistics class, Adriana Dutescu 's financial management class, or Benoit Cherre's course, depending on my priorities.