TIAS Students Make an Impact at Thales Group in Portugal
“Because we were so well prepared during the master, it went really well.”
INTERVIEW
Portuguese company Thales Edisoft immediately shared our advisory report with the entire Thales Group and promptly started working on social bonding between employees from the Portuguese and Dutch Thales branches,” says Djino Spahic. He reflects on the impact of the business assignment he completed with two fellow students during the study trip European Business Systems, a module of the Executive Master of Management and Organization (MMO) at TIAS. Thales’ challenge focused on how to effectively shape knowledge transfer.
Not reinventing the wheel In daily life, Djino is Manager of Client Onboarding for Financial Economic Crime at Rabobank. In this role, he combines thorough investigative work as a gatekeeper of the financial system with welcoming new clients and their activities in a client-friendly and efficient manner. He chose a Master of Science to learn how to bridge the academic world with the practical challenges of his work. “As an operational manager, you're often inclined to jump straight into problem-solving mode instead of zooming out and exploring whether someone else may have already invented the wheel.”
Shaping knowledge transfer During the study trip of the Executive Master of Management and Organization (MMO) to Portugal, students are assigned in small teams to Portuguese organizations to work on a real-life challenge. For Djino’s group, Portuguese company Thales Edisoft—part of the global Thales Group, a leader in aerospace, defense, and information technology—presented a challenge around knowledge transfer.
“Knowledge transfer is already complex, and then you add a language and cultural barrier.”
A major societal issue “When we started diving into the issue of knowledge transfer, we quickly discovered this is a major societal challenge in tech companies,” Djino explains. “Especially when it comes to intangible knowledge that lives in the minds of older engineers who are gradually retiring. What made the issue even more complex is that Portuguese Thales collaborates intensively with Dutch Thales and branches in other countries, where each country is responsible for a different part of the technology chain. Knowledge transfer is already tricky—and then there's the added challenge of language and culture.”
A rewarding outcome After conducting a literature review, Djino’s team engaged with engineers at Thales Edisoft and distributed a survey among them to gain real insights into how to connect theory to practice. “We brought those findings into a joint workshop with engineers and TIAS classmates from diverse professional backgrounds. Through co-creation, we came up with some great ideas. The most promising ones were included in our advisory report to Thales Edisoft. The fact that the company immediately started organizing cultural exchange sessions between engineers from different locations was the most rewarding outcome for us. In addition to developing a strategy for knowledge transfer, that was one of our key recommendations.”
“Your mindset shifts during the program. You benefit from it from day one.”
Why TIAS?
Djino chose the Executive Master of Management and Organization at TIAS for its strong academic foundation, the variety of modules, and the central focus on Business and Society. “I want to understand what’s happening in society. Are we talking about the Sustainable Development Goals? Corporate Social Responsibility? The modules are also up-to-date. In IT, for example, you don’t just get old theories—you explore current challenges like IT strategies, cloud computing, DORA, and GenAI. Whatever comes up at a dinner party—you’ve probably come across it during the MMO.”
Easy to combine with work
“Your way of thinking evolves throughout the program. You start applying it from day one. On top of that, the format—three days of classes every five weeks—is easy to combine with work. At the same time, I’ve seen classmates take a more flexible route. You can complete the master in a year and a half, or stretch it to three years. TIAS really works with you in a professional and supportive way. I think that’s fantastic.”
Key takeaways Djino highlights three key insights from the Thales project: understanding the complexity of collaboration in international organizations, the importance of asking the right follow-up questions, and the need to clearly define mutual expectations and scope in a project plan. “After the first meeting, we were able to get to work right away. I’ll definitely apply that lesson in future projects.”
The biggest challenge Djino’s biggest challenge in the project was working with two fellow students—each from completely different professional backgrounds—on a problem for a major international organization he initially knew little about. “But because we were so well trained during the various modules—starting with a literature review, then field research, and finally reporting—it all worked out really well.”
What suits you? Are you interested in the Executive Master of Management and Organization of TIAS or do you want to discuss the possibilities for the most suitable learning path? I am happy to help you discover which learning path suits your ambitions, learning goals and phase in your career.
TIAS is the business school of Tilburg University and Eindhoven University of Technology.
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