European Profile Wins Out

Juan-José Ruiz is the first to receive a full BASF scholarship for the ‘European MBA’.

Juan-José Ruiz was able to win over the selection committee with his truly European profile. The 28-year-old Spaniard, who began his career in his homeland after studying information technology in Barcelona and has most recently worked as an IT specialist in Ireland, is the first participant on the European MBA program to benefit from a full BASF scholarship. The chemical company will pay the entire tuition currently amounting to €19,500.

“I consciously made the decision to apply for the program because I wanted to complete an MBA in Germany and Mannheim is quite simply the non plus ultra. Additionally, the stringent selection procedure also convinced me that this was the right choice," emphasizes Ruiz, who has a clear goal: “I would like to advance both my professional career and specialist training and I'm convinced that the European MBA will impart the requisite knowledge and abilities that one needs for an executive position in an international context, such as for example the leadership qualities required for a multidisciplinary project.”

Since 2005, and in the context of its initiative ‘Mit uns gewinnt die Region’, BASF has supported the ‘European MBA’ with one full scholarship and several partial scholarships annually. Overall the company has placed a sum totaling €265,000 for a period of three years at the disposal of the Mannheim Business School gGmbH for the purposes of scholarships. “As a world leader in our sector, we require of our executives the ability to operate internationally, dynamically and with a sound theoretical foundation. The Mannheim Business School exactly fits these requirements," emphasizes Dr. Kurt W. Bock, CFO at BASF AG and Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Mannheim Business School gGmbH, during his keynote speech at the 2004/2005-graduation ceremony for the European MBA. According to Bock, “Its internationality stems from its cooperation with leading institutes in Europe, Asia and North America. Its dynamism stems from its praxis-orientated approach, which imparts the latest economic developments and management concepts. Its theoretical foundation stems from its close cooperation with the renowned business administration department at Mannheim University. These internationally top-ranking courses, tailored to different career stages, present an ideal opportunity for BASF.”