MBA Kilimanjaro Leadership Project

As part of the Rotterdam School of Management “Women Empowerment” initiative 15 MBA students from 11 countries have climbed Africa’s highest mountain, the Kilimanjaro.

The project was designed to address the challenges faced by women when climbing the corporate ladder. Using the climb as a metaphor for business, the candidates worked closely and lead each other through difficult terrain, pushing past significant physical and mental barriers over 7 days as they ascend the 5.895 m. summit. This project wanted to enable women to work with each other better and surpass bound to reach a potential the business world has not yet seen.

Dr. Dianne Bevelander, Associate Dean, MBA Programmes, who initiated the project in 2010, says: “by climbing one of the highest mountains in the world this leadership elective will help the participants break through their own perceptions of their limitations, be it physical or psychological, to realize they do not have a glass ceiling”.

All 15 women successfully made it to the high base camp at Kibo Hut just below 5000m, 10 made it to Gillman’s point and 5 made it all the way to the summit. But succeeding the climb was only a minor aspect in succeeding this MBA elective.

Stay tuned for the stories and insights from this groundbreaking initiative – and in the meantime, read about the project at www.rsm.nl/kili and by following the wealth of insights and information on the student blogs on that page.