International Business

Are you aiming for a career in international business? Do you thrive in an intercultural environment? With an International Business (IB) degree at RBS you can!

Our International Business degree teaches you how to be an innovator, an intercultural business communicator and a  value-oriented leader. Since every business faces complex challenges, you will tackle multidisciplinary challenges in this programme, as well as learn how to develop data-driven decisions to back up your strategies.

Real companies. Real issues

We think it’s valuable for you to get out there in the business world as a student. Why wait until after your degree? Less research and more of a practical approach is our approved method of preparing students for the international business world. It means that your assignments will deal with real issues in real companies. That’s the unique approach of the Rotterdam Business School, compared to a more research based university.

You will get to work on marketing plans and sales techniques. You will test out entry and organisational strategies.  You will learn about accounting and assess the financial performances of companies. You will also create supply chain networks, using the latest digital tools.

During your studies you will learn to understand all aspects of international business, while you have outstanding opportunities to specialise in the field of your interest later in the programme. Throughout the four years of the International Business programme these three learning lines are central:

Business. his first year is your perfect introduction to the basics of working in the global business arena. Through real world case studies taken from real companies you will discover the essentials of how to do business in an international environment.

Languages. his first year is your perfect introduction to the basics of working in the global business arena. Through real world case studies taken from real companies you will discover the essentials of how to do business in an international environment.Languages are a vital part of your study in our university. The reason is simple: as an international business professional and a global citizen you will have to speak the language and to understand the culture of other countries in order to meet your business objectives. By knowing  and understanding an additional language, and more specifically the business dictionary and application of it, you will already have a competitive advantage over your colleagues. This will make you stand out when working for specific clusters of countries. At the Rotterdam Business School you can choose Dutch, French, German, Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia), Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Spanish or Russian. Unique in the Netherlands is that we offer Asian languages as a specialisation.

Professional & Academic Skills. Expanding your knowledge about international business should go hand in hand with developing your professional and academic skills. Only that combination will make you the complete business professional you desire to become. Sharpen your critical thinking, develop your intercultural competence and challenge yourself to innovate.  Your personal growth will last a lifetime.

We offer the following specialisations:

• Organisation & Change. The Organisation & Change specialisation is suitable for students who are eager to learn more about strategy, management, and innovation at international companies, as well as the various types of organisations and how they work. The specialisation includes topics like strategic/general management, innovation management and entrepreneurship, internationalisation and market entry strategy, consultancy, organisational change, and human resource management.
• Supply Chain. The introduction of companies such as Amazon and AliExpress has revolutionised how we look at time from production to consumption. These fascinating developments fall under our International Supply Chain Management specialisation. You will learn the ways of managing the flow of goods and services, from the raw material to the consumer goods you can find on the shelf in the supermarket. By looking at the best practices in transportation, urban distribution, warehousing and port management you will gain an insight into the workings of effective and efficient supply chain management.
• Commerce. To beat the competition you will learn not only about sales, trade marketing and marketing strategy, but also about culture diversity within international companies. Languages are a big part of this specialisation, as they are a vital tool for you in international commerce. You will become experienced in dealing with social and cultural differences, which is needed for successful trade relations with business partners worldwide. You will learn how to develop and build up your network within the business world, how to develop an enterprising attitude and how to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. RBS offers languages courses in the most widely spoken European and Asian languages.
• Marketing. Are you interested in learning how products and services are marketed differently around the world? Fascinated by the way target audiences differ from place to place? Then our marketing specialisation is right up your street. You will learn how to create value for both the consumer and for society. Developing proper marketing strategies based on the target group and designing successful marketing communication programmes. Follow our mission and ‘exceed expectations’.