Facts and figures
The programme at a glancePart of School
Programme information
What to expectAbout the programme
The integrative approach used in Agile Consulting emphasises the connections between the fields of finance, accounting, marketing, operations, human resource management, strategy, and more. By starting with challenges and concepts, rather than lectures, you will develop a holistic and realistic way of doing business.
Over the course of the semester, you will work on a series of case challenges—some of them involving visits to companies. You start with a problem that you will examine in-depth over the course several weeks. In time the pressure to work quickly and efficiently will be increased; culminating in a business case that must be solved in just 24 - meaning you get better and faster with each round.
Method
The way we work within this programme:
- No central lectures, but intensive team coaching and (central) interventions by the coach whenever necessary. This is NOT a traditional programme. The students are in the lead and master their own learning process.
- We use agile consultancy principles, e.g. by helping teams pick and choose the best methods or framework for their unique situation, coaching teams to follow best practices, identifying anti-patterns and ironing these out. And last but not least, ensuring the team isn’t working to work, but is working toward developing recommendations that companies will use.
- Performance and presence in class and during team work are essential. Together with fellow students and lecturers you work towards a possible solution of business problems.
- Self-study is crucial and will be facilitated by recommendations regarding literature (books, articles, websites and videos), and each team has the possibility to reserve specific time slots for question & answer sessions.
- All activities will be executed in teams. All teams have the same problem to solve. However, only the best solutions will earn points for the prestigious Agile Consulting Team Award.
- All activities will be executed in teams. So it is an excellent way to boost your intercultural and multidisciplinary team working skills.
Type of assessment
- Presentations
- Reports
- Portfolio
- Individual assignments
Conclusion: the programme is intense, but very rewarding and an excellent preparation for the “real” world of business.
Learning outcomes
If you have successfully completed this exchange programme then you are able to:
- Work under time pressure and in a multidisciplinary and multicultural team;
- Analyse the current position of the company and the key issues of the situation (The strategic position);
- Develop possible solutions for the business problem at hand and decide on the best one (Strategic choices);
- Construct an implementation plan, integrating operations, ICT, marketing, finance and HRM, aligned with your strategic choice (Strategy in action);
- Experience what it is like to be a manager (dealing with time pressure, coping with different personalities and cultural differences within a team, convincing others, making decisions, impactful presenting and defendig solutions);
- Reflect on your personal skills and your business skills;
- Develop a learning practice to support life-long learning.
Calendar
Spring 2026
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Week 1 |
February 9th, 2026 |
Community building & detox |
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February 16th, 2026 |
Holiday |
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Week 2 |
February 23rd, 2026 |
Deep Diving into Business Fundamentals |
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Week 3 |
March 2nd, 2026 |
Experimenting w Business Fundamentals |
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Week 4 |
March 9th, 2026 |
Showtime |
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Week 5 |
March 16th, 2026 |
Teaming up & Business Skills |
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Week 6 |
March 23rd, 2026 |
Live case 1a |
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Week 7 |
March 30th, 2026 |
Live case 1a presentations |
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Week 8 |
April 6th, 2026 |
RSM Case Competition |
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Week 9 |
April 13th, 2026 |
Live case 2 |
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Week 10 |
April 20th, 2026 |
Workshops, feedback and reflection |
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Week 11 |
April 22nd, 2026 |
RSM Star Case Competition |
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April 27th, 2026 |
Holiday |
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Week 12 |
May 4th, 2026 |
Live case 3 |
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Week 13 |
May 11th, 2026 |
Live case 1b: Q&A and feedforward |
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Week 14 |
May 18th, 2026 |
Finetune your solutions & presentation case 1b |
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Week 15 |
May 25th, 2026 |
Payback time: final presentation case 1b |
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Week 16 |
June 1st, 2026 |
Assessment business skills |
Please note the following:
- This is a preliminary calendar and subject to changes, start and end date are fixed.
- Your presence in Rotterdam is essential for the programme.
- The programme will be blended, mostly offline combined with online elements.
Awarding
After completing your exchange programme at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, you will receive a:
- Transcript of records;
- Certificate attesting to your participation in the Agile Consulting programme.
Please note: All students are required to participate in the full 30 ECTS programme. It is not possible to only pick a few courses as it is an integrated programme with integrated assessments. You only receive a certificate if you complete the entire 30 ECTS programme.
Subjects
An indication of the subjects you can expect
Block 1 and 2
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Strategic Manager (8 ECTS)
Strategic Manager (8 ECTS)
Topics
- Strategic management
- Strategic planning : strategic position, strategic choices, strategy in action
- Managing the team
- Risk management and mitigation
Learning materials
- Exploring Strategy: Text and Cases, 11th edition (2017), Johnson, Scholes & Whittington
- Various cases and handouts
Learning outcomes
If you have successfully completed this course, then you are able to:
- Distinguish the company’s key issues in a given business situation.
- Make strategic decisions based on a structured analysis of the company’s internal and external position.
- Formulate strategic goals that make effective use of the company’s core values and resources.
- Formulate specific KPIs to evaluate strategic choices.
- Integrate different departmental interests into coherent and consistent implementation plans.
- Negotiate between different departmental interests, while taking the strategic goals into account.
- Advise the organisation on business model optimisation, including the impact on sustainability.
- Impactfully present and defend the advise to the managing board.
Module code
BSRSTM0001
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Marketing Manager (4 ECTS)
Marketing Manager (4 ECTS)
Topics
- Marketing strategy
- Creating sustainable competitive advantage
- Value chain and value creation
- Sustainable business models
- Competitor & portfolio analysis
- Customer journey & customer experience
- Applying AI and ChatGPT in marketing
Learning materials
- Exploring Strategy: Text and Cases, 11th edition (2017), Johnson, Scholes & Whittington
- Various cases and handouts
Learning outcomes
If you have successfully completed this course, then you are able to:
- Identify company’s several product market combinations and its value propositions.
- Judge the impact of a change in strategy on the company’s marketing mix.
- Justify the choice of (new) segmentation-targeting strategy.
- Create a (new) value proposition, based on the customer’s needs and the competitors in the market.
- Advise on a (more) sustainable business model.
- Outline a detailed marketing mix plan: a marketing communication plan, a (new) product development plan etc. aligned with the company’s (new) strategic goals.
Module code
BSRMAM0001
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Human Resource Manager (3 ECTS)
Human Resource Manager (3 ECTS)
Topics
- Strategic workforce planning
- Organisational growth
- Internal analysis : Mc Kinsey 7 S Framework
- Mergers, Acquisitions & Restructuring
- Change management
- Recruitment & Employer branding
- Employee retention, learning & development
Learning materials
- Exploring Strategy: Text and Cases, 11th edition (2017), Johnson, Scholes & Whittington
- Various cases and handouts
Learning outcomes
If you have successfully completed this course, then you are able to:
- Explain how employees create value for the company and its customers.
- Judge the impact of a change in strategy on Human Resource Management.
- Assemble an effective team for a specific business task.
- Translate the new strategy into requirements for staff.
- Advise on recruitment and employer branding strategies.
Module code
BSRHRM0001
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Operations and IT Manager (3 ECTS)
Operations and IT Manager (3 ECTS)
Topics
- Business Process Engineering
- Supply chain
- Value chain
- Make or buy decisions
- Automation, robotisation and digitalisation
- AI Fundamentals
Learning materials
- Exploring Strategy: Text and Cases, 11th edition (2017), Johnson, Scholes & Whittington
- Various cases and handouts
Learning outcomes
If you have successfully completed this course, then you are able to:
- Identify and map the operations process of the company to show the value creation process of the company for its customers.
- Judge the impact of a change in strategy on the company’s operations process.
- Decide on the best solution for operations while taking the company’s costs and social responsibilities into account.
- Redesign the operations process to align with a new strategy, realizing the new company’s operations objectives.
- Include the use of automation and digitalisation in the company’s strategy.
- Describe the role of (big) data within the company’s strategy.
- Identify the pros and cons of the integration of AI in company’s processes and advise on an AI-strategy taking into account privacy & information security.
Module code
BSROPM0001
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Finance Manager (4 ECTS)
Finance Manager (4 ECTS)
Topics
- Financial ratios (calculation and interpretation)
- Balance sheet and Income Statement
- Forecasting
- Investment decisions
- Scenario planning
- Cash flow management
- Business plan
- Risk management
Learning materials/book list
- Exploring Strategy: Text and Cases, 11th edition (2017), Johnson, Scholes & Whittington
- Various cases and handouts
Learning outcomes
If you have successfully completed this course, then you are able to:
- Explain the financial position of the company in terms of capital inflow and outflow.
- Evaluate the impact of a change in strategy on capital inflow and outflow.
- Capital budgeting: determining which projects the company should pursue based on their merits.
- Evaluate the various options to finance a particular newly identified investment opportunity.
- Develop a solid financial plan for the company or project.
Module code
BSRFIM0001
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Business Manager Skills (8 ECTS)
Business Manager Skills (8 ECTS)
Topics
- Critical thinking
- Decision making
- Bridging theories and praxis
- Building arguments and convincing others
- Managing time
- Performing under pressure
- Working in international and multidisciplinary teams
- Reflecting, giving and receiving feedback
- Presenting with impact
- Cross-cultural communication
- Self-directed Learning
- (Personal) leadership
- Personal branding
Learning materials/book list
- Workshops and handouts
Learning outcomes
If you have successfully completed this course, then you are able to develop and reflect on the following business skills:
- Critical thinking
- Bridging theories and praxis
- Building arguments and convincing others
- Decision making
- Managing time
- Performing under pressure
- Working in international and multidisciplinary teams
- Presenting with impact
- Cross-cultural communication
- Self-directed Learning
- (Personal) leadership
- Personal branding
Module code
BSRBMS0001
Practical matters
What you need to knowLocation Kralingse Zoom
Where you can find us
