Alexandre Dziouba
Three years after migrating to Australia from Russia and settling down in my job as a metallurgical engineer in an automotive company I became interested in undertaking some business study.
Our training department has offered me a MBA distance learning program with Heriot-Watt University, as several managers from the company were already studying it at the time.
It took me four and a half years to complete nine courses, starting and completing a new course every six months.
The distance learning was a new concept for me and I found it completely different to the traditional university education as in my first university in Moscow.
However, in my situation only the distance learning could provide me with the combination of full time employment and study at a pace determined by me.
I found that all the courses were comprehensively prepared and excellently presented in the course textbooks.
As in any study, sitting an exam was a stressful experience every time and I found that the use of the past years examination papers was an essential tool for a successful preparation.
The highlight for me was a graduation ceremony in Edinburgh, which I attended at the end of 2000.
The MBA program has significantly broadened my knowledge and I do recommend it to anyone interested in high quality business studies.
Andrew Parker
My time studying with Edinburgh Business School was enjoyable and fulfilling. The approach to learning – self-paced and (largely) independent – very much suited my own learning style. And the content was more than adequate to meet my needs – comprehensive, without being overly technical. This was important for me, because at the time, it had been many years since I had completed my undergraduate studies, and I would have found overly complex study material overwhelming.
Completing my studies provided a beneficial fillip to my career as well as to my self-esteem, and I am very glad to have undertaken the course, even though it demanded a big investment of my scarce personal time. If I hadn’t undertaken my MBA studies and were to contemplate doing so now, I would have no hesitation looking favourably at Edinburgh Business School, despite my living on the other side of the world. I am now considering undertaking a DBA, and the first place I will be looking is Edinburgh Business School.
Brian O'Doherty
I had previously commenced an MBA degree part-time at the University of Wollongong in NSW in the late 1980s, but because of work and family commitments found myself unable to continue with this study, after completing 2 years of the 4 year course.
I subsequently commenced the distance MBA course with EBS in 1996, completed 2 subjects, and then had a break for a couple of years from study, again because of work commitments.
I was able to re-commence my course in 2001, and completed the distance learning MBA from EBS in 2003, finally. Along the way, EBS granted me credit for most of the subjects originally studied at the University of Wollongong in the late 1980s.
Without the flexibility that the EBS MBA granted me, I would not have been able to complete my MBA studies. When I re-commenced my studies in 1996, there were no MBAs being offered by Australian universities with such flexibility.
Cheryl Dooley
At the time I completed my MBA I was travelling on almost a weekly basis and so a correspondence course, with minimal face-to-face requirement was my only option. I also wanted an MBA with a good reputation and the EBS MBA course was the only option available that provided me with both a prestigious degree option and minimal work downtime. With only the exams face-to-face I could continue my busy schedule without interruption.
I also found the way the modules were presented enabled easy use when travelling and my MBA study was completed in many different countries, and on many flights.
The final thing I found most useful about this course was its practical nature. The modules very much relate to the real world and have been referred to on many occasions since my MBA was completed.
Christine Cossor
As I have always travelled with my work, I found that doing a conventional MBA that required regular class attendance to not be a viable option. I heard about the Edinburgh Business School and decided to try it.
I found the modules to be well written, explained in easy to follow language and with plenty of practical applications. I still refer to the modules occasionally when I need to refresh my knowledge on particular topics.
The range of subjects is good and continues to grow to keep up with the advancements in the market.
I also attended one summer school, at the University, and found this to also be extremely useful and it was good to meet some of the lecturers.
Pressure of work, and family commitments meant that I took longer than some to actually finish the course but felt no pressure form the university to complete quicker than I was able.
Overall, I found it to be a very practical and relevant MBA.
I am now continuing with the University and have enrolled on the DBA programme.
Clive Darryl Simon
I wanted to do an MBA to allow me to escape from being "pigeon-holed" as the technical expert to be wheeled out from a dark corner when the proverbial hit the fan in a manufacturing process, or when a product's performance needed to be improved. Thus I saw the Heriot-Watt MBA as a degree I could continue to study, even if I moved around the world. Furthermore, I felt that getting a degree from a well known British university would provide both good quality courses and a perception to employers that this was a worthwhile degree. HW's various accreditations and achievements (such as articles which showed it being listed in the top 10% of European MBA courses) helped cement this perception. While waiting for our emigration papers to come through, which took almost 2 years, I started studying towards the HW MBA.
Just studying for the MBA, rather than actually having it, allowed me to achieve my objectives. Quite quickly in Australia I was appointed to senior technical management positions, with commensurate salaries, in the pharmaceutical industry (at AstraZeneca and Faulding) looking after large teams. I internalised the courses and applied them to my work, which yielded excellent results, particularly in areas such as human resources performance management, production management and marketing. For this reason, I found Heriot-Watt to be an excellent choice of course provider because by stringing out the courses (I did roughly 2 a year) it allowed me to initiate projects at work complementary to the topic I was studying at the time.
In Australia, having an MBA, irrespective of where you study, is no guarantee of getting a good job and more money. Prospective employers and clients are more interested in how you have applied your learning to achieve complex objectives, and how you work with other people. However, I believe that because my world-view changed from that of a technical practitioner to a general manager, I was more successful in interviews.
I felt that the HW MBA covered all the fundamentals required for a business course at postgraduate level. After comparing the coursework with that of friends and family who also studied postgraduate business courses at excellent universities, I generally thought that it matched theirs in the fundamental areas in both content and complexity. My exploration, using the web, into the curricula of other universities around the world seemed to confirm this.
In today's market, I feel that it is more important to have the skills, experience and motivation to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves, rather than to try and plan a detailed direction, particular in the early days of setting up a new business. My career path has certainly deviated dramatically from my boyhood dreams of being an academic research scientist. It has been a pleasure for me to be associated with such a fine academic institution, and I would recommend the HW MBA to everybody.
Cyril Jankoff
In the early 1990s, I worked as a consultant and part-time university lecturer and corporate facilitator. I had degrees in law and accounting, but felt that I needed a “more rounded" education. I felt that without an MBA I was being left behind and not getting the best jobs. I thus sought a MBA. However, due to a very busy schedule I was not able to attend a regular MBA school, and sought an MBA that did not need intensive attendance at a university. After a considerable search I found the Edinburgh Business School distance MBA. To me it was the way to get a quality MBA, which was well recognised globally and one that also considered international business issues. I have never regretted the choice and use the knowledge gained daily. Since graduation I have completed a doctorate in Education and now I feel very able to provide my clients, and students, with high quality multi-perspective knowledge.
Glenn Murray
I had worked overseas in the United States for 2 years, was married with a young family, and in my career had moved from the "profession" working in the public accounting field into a management finance role. I wanted to broaden my depth of management knowledge and decided that the management education as contained in an MBA course is what I needed.
Due to my work and family commitments a full time course was out of the question, and even a part-time course would have been difficult to complete. The only option was to undertake a distance learning program.
I chose the Heriot-Watt MBA due to its comprehensive and extremely well thought out distance learning program backed by self-contained materials that made learning interesting and compelling. The discipline required to complete distance learning is hard to manage and achieve; the methods used by EBS overcame most of the issues that would have prevented me successfully completing the course.
The timetable was flexible and the examinations testing – I have retained many valued learnings from my MBA experience.
Kate Sommerville
I started the Heriot-Watt MBA in 1999 and graduated in Scotland in July 2004. I chose the Heriot Watt course as I needed a flexible distance option where I could study at my own pace; sit my exams anywhere in the country. I had heard a few other mining people had done this course so I added it to my selection criteria.
My criteria for selecting an MBA:
- Distance education to work in with FIFO/remote lifestyle
- Can sit exams wherever I’m living
- Can pick which unit I wish to study whenever, can defer if I need to
- Core subjects and some optional subjects
- Reputation as a good/credible course
- GMAT not prerequisite (although I did a workbook on it – to see if I could pass it)
- Not too expensive (I paid for it all myself – did not want to be tied to a company)
What I liked about the MBA:
- I could be flexible with my study, defer exams easily, and sit my exams in Australia in a professional format (I could have sat in many places around the world).
- There was never any question that the work was my own – as it was 100% exam and exam conditions at a real university.
- Links with local and international students. I liked having an Aussie distributor – she was like a coach. I also liked the water cooler website where I could jump on and have discussions.
- The professors would jump on the water cooler and chat too. It felt like a bit of a community.
- The materials were self sufficient, had plenty of case studies and questions to apply learnings. I always found I could immediately apply what I was learning in the workplace.
- It did seem pretty exotic – and gave me an incentive to finish and travel over to collect the degree.
- Accomplishment – you could not cram, you had to be organized, the exams were challenging and my hands were dead at the end. You have to work to pass!
When I graduated I liked:
- Going over to the uni where all my exams ended up. It was an amazing celebration – to realize all these people sat at home like me, trying to work 12 hour days. Also meeting people on the water cooler and the professors.
How this MBA helped me in my career:
MBAs are an organic beast – it's what you do with your learning that matters. I did not have plans for what I was going to do with it – I was just filling gaps from being an engineer. One week after my last exam I got my dream job in the same company with a pay rise that covered all the money it cost to study. In one of my first meetings I did a strategy and a person (one step from CEO) loved the strategy format (it was a template from the MBA). I also summarized my influence unit (with permission) and gave a paper to AusIMM New Leaders – which was published in a magazine shortly after. Even some senior people came up and commented how useful it was. I was also a Telstra business woman of the year state finalist (2003). I have no idea how much is me – or how much was the MBA. But I do know the MBA opened up my mind to see other functions in a business and really understand how a business fits together. I could use the tools to improve the places that I worked in. In the last 12 months we took over a company that was in usual "for sale" state – now I am there to help fix it up. So I am using everything I have learnt!
I regularly talk to graduates and young professionals and now have a standard sheet for giving them advice on how to pick an MBA and when to study. It seems they all want to do one.
Not all people live in one place or cities – this MBA has given me access to a high quality international education offering – whilst I was toiling away at a mine in the outback.
Mark Hurley
The MBA course that I completed at Edinburgh Business School was conducted in a format that suited my employment commitments. I travel frequently and would have been precluded from completing an MBA that required commitment to attending lectures. I found the course to be challenging and worthwhile. The study structure requires a great degree of self discipline and separates those who are driven to succeed and self sufficient.
Paul Curryer
I studied my MBA via Heriot Watt graduating in 1999. As an extremely busy executive frequently travelling overseas, the EBS MBA offered to me the best form of external study that was truly portable and allowed me to study wherever I happened to be in the world. The course work was very challenging however the learning experience I gained made it all the worth while.
So why did I chose the EBS MBA with all that was on offer at Australian universities? Perhaps the most significant factor in my decision was the worldwide recognition on the quality of EBS and its standing within the international business community. Working for international companies, I needed my MBA to be readily recognised wherever I worked and certainly EBS had this reputation. Indeed a number of large international companies used the EBS MBA as their executive development program that could be taken up by their people in modular form and at a pace they could handle that did not detract from the everyday business.
I also found that in Australia, many of the MBA programs were what were known in business as soft MBAs. They avoided the traditional heavy finance and quantitative subjects that originally formed the MBA programs used worldwide. Indeed at the time, there were no traditional MBAs on offer by Australian universities that followed this content that was on offer as modular external study. This was an important factor to the company I was working for who was funding this study development program for me.
I would certainly support the application of EBS as I believe the availability of their MBA programs for international companies will be invaluable to Australia.
