Prior to joining the LUISS MBA program, Rafael Da Cruz Bezerra studied electrical engineering in Brazil and France. Then he worked in Brazil and Mozambique in Procurement and Internal Control for Vale S.A., one of the world’s largest mining companies. When he decided that an MBA was the next step toward a Finance career, Rafael wanted to study on a prestigious course in Italy and found LUISS Business School.

Describing his LUISS MBA experience, Rafael said, “What I like best about the program is that with the small class size we have really bonded together. In addition, I have enjoyed the marketing courses, even if my focus area is Finance.

The most memorable part of my year so far has been participating in the Finance Competition in Milan. There my colleagues and I saw that our course preparation was equal to that of other business schools like London Business School, HEC Paris or Insead. I recommend participating in competitions like this as well as exchanges or electives with other business schools. These experiences are very rich, much more than I anticipated. They are great for networking and giving a broader vision of where other business schools focus. They are also good to see the strengths of our own school.

Living in Rome has also been an important part of my experience. My one word description of Rome is ‘monumental’.  Everything here is in a different scale and always very impressive. After this first impact you start to realize that there are a multitude of Rome’s, with so many places and facets to discover. I live just outside Rome in a little town called Paliano, and I come often into Rome. It is a great city in all senses: culturally, night life and personal life (people are extremely friendly).

One more piece of advice for prospective students is to learn a little Italian to really discover Italy. It is so much more than the big cities (Rome, Milan….) and with so much to offer, not just in business.

My MBA experience so far has been great. My goal after the MBA is to have a career in Finance.  In the meantime I am working hard to enjoy every minute of these 15 months through my classroom learning, through exchange experiences and through living in Rome.”

17/07/2017