The Weekend Executive MBA at Imperial College Business School has helped Sarah Fortuna combine a career at Hewlett Packard with studying for a degree that she expects will accelerate her career in marketing.
Italian Sarah is a consumer marketing manager at Hewlett Packard in London, covering the EMEA region. She was unsure of whether or not to embark on an MBA but meeting students at the Weekend EMBA Open Day helped her decide.
Sarah believes that: “An MBA is the biggest investment you can make if you haven’t bought a house yet”, and she wanted to do some serious research before making her decision. She started her search for a business school by speaking to friends and colleagues who already had MBAs and doing some research online.
Since Sarah wanted to stay in her job, her search was narrowed to schools in London. Her next step was to attend Open Days at the schools she had short-listed. It was important to Sarah to find out exactly how much work was involved and to gain a more realistic feel for the student life.
At the Open Day for the Imperial College Business School Weekend Executive MBA Sarah was able to meet lecturers, students and alumni and ask questions during the presentations and at drinks.
A key question that was answered for Sarah was the difference between a full-time MBA and an EMBA, specifically in terms of work experience and her personal career trajectory. Sarah has over ten years of experience in marketing and communications and has worked in several locations around the world.
For Sarah, Imperial folks were the most open and energetic of all the schools she visited she visited. She said, “An MBA is a big undertaking so the people you work with make all the difference. At Imperial, I could see myself as part of the group and the students were so full of life!”
The Open Day also provided information that was useful when Sarah was arranging her time commitments with Hewlett Packard. MBA students who want to remain in their jobs need the support of their employers, she said. “You need to communicate your plans clearly and get their support. They might not give you financial support but they might help out with the workload and flexible working hours".
Sarah has now been a student at Imperial College Business School since April 2012. She is getting ready for the next step in her career as Head of Marketing or a Marketing Director. She wants to, “Dive in before the halo effect of the MBA wears off”!
The next Open Day for the Imperial College Business School Weekend Executive MBA will take place on February 9 at the school's South Kensington Campus. Participants at the session will be able to take part in a case study lecture and group exercise, meet academic staff, students and alumni who can answer their questions, and take part in careers workshops.
Click here to get more information and to register for the event.
Read more stories about Executive MBA programmes and Part-time MBA programmes
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