Fabia Becaus is a Trinity Business School ambassador currently studying on the MSc in Entrepreneurship & Innovation. After graduating from university in Belgium, she decided to kickstart her professional career before embarking on an MSc programme. Ahead of Global Entrepreneurship Week, Fabia talks about her motivation for choosing the programme and gives advice to future applicants looking to develop their entrepreneurial mindset.
After three years of studying Business Administration at KU Leuven in Brussels, I had a solid theoretical foundation in business, but I wanted to gather practical work experience in an internationally operating company before completing my Master’s degree. While developing my professional skillset at Erve, a Fashion licence and brand company in Belgium, I began to understand more about the field of entrepreneurship, which had previously sparked interest during my undergraduate programme.
Following two years of work experience, investing both money and resources in a suitable MSc programme that would advance my career became very important to me. I wanted to study in a vibrant city with plenty of talent and opportunities. I saw myself in an international career within Europe, so Dublin became a top choice as one of Europe's leading ecosystems for entrepreneurship. Trinity College Dublin was the obvious choice for me, not only because of its prestigious reputation but I knew that the quality of education was worth the investment.
Entrepreneurship is tough because there are countless ways a start-up can fail. As an aspiring entrepreneur, I aim to maximize my chances of success by systematically studying what constitutes a successful start-up and entrepreneurial mindset. Trinity Business School’s MSc in Entrepreneurship & Innovation was the obvious choice for me to start my journey in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The programme is remarkable for its blend of theory and practice, replicating the different phases a start-up goes through. This helps us gain a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and enables us to pursue a start-up from day one of the programme and develop it alongside our studies. Within the course of the year, I hope to co-found a start-up that I can pursue full-time after class.
Besides the curriculum, what has been most valuable for me so far are the connections I have made with my peers. On one hand, we all come from various educational and demographic backgrounds in my class. However, we all share that common passion for entrepreneurship and innovative thinking. This diversity makes discussions both in class and outside the classroom incredibly valuable. As we are almost finished our first semester, I’m excited to continue exploring the different opportunities with my peers in this entrepreneurial incubator where we can connect with industry experts and learn from pioneers in their fields.
Before applying to the MSc in Entrepreneurship & Innovation, I would encourage all applicants to develop that initial understanding of the ecosystem and the required mindset in this field. There are plenty of online resources available, such as podcasts and newsletters that will help you advance in this field and prepare you for the application process. Professor Giulio Buciuni gave us a great piece of advice during one of our initial classes: "It doesn't matter who we are, where we are from, and what we do. Entrepreneurship is a social game. To increase your credibility, you need to connect with the right people, learn about the industry, and work your way into it to obtain that knowledge."
