Yoran Kapper

Yoran grew up in a very small village called Beets in the North of the Netherlands near Hoorn. He studied at a bilingual high school and after it turned out that working with the army as an officer was not an option, he decided to switch directions and explore the field of business with a focus on (international) marketing, sales and IT. To completely step out of his comfort zone, Yoran decided to better acquaint himself with degree options in
Amsterdam and felt that the International Business and Management Studies at the Amsterdam School of International Business was the right fit for him. Especially the fast-track programme was appealing to him, since it was more challenging, and it also gave him the opportunity to complete his bachelors within three years instead of four. To entirely change his ‘safe’ environment, he decided to move to Amsterdam to live with fellow students and explore the full student experience.

‘I was looking for an extra challenge and with my diploma I was able to apply for the 3 year Fast-Trackprogramme’

A new chapter in his life started once he moved to Amsterdam. He used to always stick with the same group of friends, meeting new people wasn’t really his thing, but AMSIB changed his view on the way he looked at himself and his view on others. ‘Being an introvert, AMSIB really gave me the opportunity to open up and meet new people and to experience other cultures.’, Yoran describes.

During his time at AMSIB, he also has grown on a personal level. Once the opportunity presented itself to visit Vietnam with his father for a motorcycle road trip, he did not have to think twice. After two weeks exploring Vietnam, Yoran decided to stay there alone to continue his travel journey to Thailand and Indonesia. For a month and a half, he travelled all by himself, discovering new cultures and facing new challenges.

‘I wouldn’t have made this trip alone if I didn’t study at AMSIB. It gave me the chance to develop myself into the person I am today.’

Going on exchange was something Yoran really looked forward to. Since the availability to go his first preferred country, Australia, was limited, he decided to stay a little bit closer to Amsterdam and choose to go the capital of Germany, Berlin, instead. And he is glad he did! ‘I wanted to embrace a new culture and explore new surroundings, and Berlin gave me the opportunity to explore student life in Germany.
Berlin has its very own culture and it was great to experience this beautiful city from a student perspective.’ Another reason for him to choose the Fachhochschule für Wissenschaft und Recht was the Schools high ranking. Finally, the semester didn’t start until October, which gave him the opportunity to travel around Berlin and meet new people before he started.

In February 2021, Yoran will be starting a premaster after which he will pursue a master Entrepreneurship at the Vrije Universiteit (VU). ‘My biggest ambition is to start my own business and this master gives me the ability to learn all the aspects I need to know in order to start my own company.’

Over the past years Yoran realized that the wanted to start something for himself and not work under someone else. ‘I find it a challenge to focus on tasks in which I am not really interested, and I think it is important to spend the rest of my life doing something I really enjoy and that I am passionate about. Setting up my own business would motivate me since I would do it for myself and not to please someone
else.

Although he’s not completely sure in which sector he would like to start his business in, his preference goes out to a combination of offering services to design web shops for business and helping them implement and promote their identity online.

Yoran describes that now with Covid-19, it is more important than ever to put yourself out there. ‘you really need to stand out of the crowd and make yourself visible, especially during a crisis like this.’ With the impact of Covid-19 around the globe, he is even more motivated to become an entrepreneur as companies are now forced to make themselves more visible online and they are more likely to need support in online branding.

Covid-19 not only has an impact on many businesses, it also influences the students’ route after graduating. Especially now with the impact of the corona crisis on the job market, students are looking for opportunities to develop themselves by continuing their education instead of finding a job, Yoran explains. ‘A few friends in Germany really found it challenging to find an internship or a job. Companies are struggling and it is probably safer to continue studying than to search for a job at this moment. ‘

Covid-19 has had quite the impact on Yoran’s current working and living situation. He was looking forward to starting his internship at the Marketing and Communication department at AMSIB, but unfortunately, after three weeks working in the office, he had to continue his internship from home. For him this was quite a disappointment as well as an adjustment as he was looking forward to starting his first ‘job’ in a professional environment and work directly together with colleagues.

Although Covid-19 influences Yoran’s first feel of working in the office, he also looks at it from a bright side. He describes that it requires more creativity and it makes you more responsible for your own agenda and finding the right balance between your work and personal life. He personally finds it a challenge to stay motivated but staying in touch with fellow students and making use of the school’s guidance is helping him to survive. ‘If you look at it from a different perspective, Covid-19 offers you an opportunity to develop yourself to really start to feel responsible for what you do.’

Overall, Yoran is not letting this crisis influence his excitement for the next chapter in his life. He is looking forward to completing his bachelor’s degree and he is very eager to start his pre-master in January. He finds that the Fast-track study prepared him with the right knowledge needed for the professional environment and he is very glad he took his chance to study IBMS in at AMSIB. ‘The international exchange and the internship gives students a good understanding and preparation to continue in the workforce after their studies and implement the knowledge gained on the (international) job market. In the beginning it was quite broad, but in my second year during my minor we went more in depth and especially in my third year and during my internship, I got a better understanding of what you need to know to enter the job market.’

To my question whether he would be interested in staying connected with us after he graduates, his answer was a full ‘Yes!’. ‘Once I am done with my study, I would really like to stay involved, and become an active member of the alumni community.’

Starting in my new role as an Alumni Coordinator, this was a great end of our interview. For me it was a valuable conversation, and on top of that, I have another proud AMSIB Ambassador to add to our Alumni Community!