Post by Ovidiu Nicola, MD, MBA

A close friend and colleague had four words for me, two years ago: ‘You need this program.” The timing was not random. The European Commission’s 2024 Country Report on Romania was clear: Romania’s public administration is marked by a lack of skilled staff, low digitalisation, excessively bureaucratic processes, and a pressing need to attract, develop, and retain qualified people. Not an opinion. An official diagnosis. I had three companies behind me. All three had invested in my development. All three ran the same trusted formula: 70/20/10. I was grateful for every bit of it. But at some point, I decided to stop waiting for the company to shape the next chapter. This one was mine to design. What Prof. Mireille Radoi built is something I hadn't seen before: a single learning space where private corporations, banking, energy, defense, and intelligence communities sit alongside state institutions. Not in theory. In the room. The formula didn't just get upgraded. It got reimagined Each year, one week of immersive study abroad: Berlin, then Brussels. Two cities that don’t just teach strategy and policy. They embody it. This was not an evolution of the 70/20/10 model I had known across three companies. It was a different order of learning entirely. And for the first time, I wasn’t waiting for a company to invest in my development. I was doing it myself. Two years of business intelligence, cross-sector complexity, and real-world pressure. And it felt like closing my eyes. This is not a program for everyone. It asks you to step outside your comfort zone and leave behind the bubble you’ve spent years building around yourself. If you’re not ready for that, the exit is the right choice. I was ready. Gratitude is too small a word today: 📌 Monica Ana (Pienar) — you started this. Without that conversation, none of it happens. 📌 Prof. Mireille Radoi — for the vision, the architecture, and the courage to build something genuinely complex. 📌 Prof. Narciz Balasoiu — mentor, compass, and the steady voice through the final mile. 📌 Prof. Irena Chiru — for your leadership and the grace you brought to it. 📌 Oana Mustatea, MScPharm, MBA & Alice Olaru — close friends & colleagues. You kept me on track when every step counted. 📌 Rihri & Sophy — my girls, my anchors. Every finish line I cross has your names on it. Done. Grateful. Ready. #MBI #MBA #BusinessIntelligence #BBS #FABIZ #Graduation #Leadership #Romania #ContinuousLearning