Study Online MBA in Germany

John and Sylvia Lankhof

As a young married couple with international careers in a global company we needed a serious yet flexible MBA. The flexibility of the Heriot-Watt MBA was really put to the test for us when we moved in 2003, 3 years into our MBA together. We had started with the birth of our first son in 2000 as a husband and wife team on our MBA. When news came in 2003 that John had an opportunity to take an assignment in Japan we did not want to say no. We knew this might happen, and for this reason had opted for Heriot-Watt; we were doubly pleased to find out that the Examination Centre in Osaka would be but a 15-min JR ride from our home in Ashiya. Being able to continue so easily was doubly helpful for Sylvia as she took on a PR and Finance role at a local school, to test her hard-won new skills.

Heriot-Watt delivered serious study and global flexibility.

Dr Manfred Mueller

"I am living in a case study" was my answer whenever I told people about my distance learning MBA at Edinburgh Business School. Being in the lucky situation of working for a company in the IT arena, publicly listed both in the US and in Germany, I was dealing with what was taught in the various MBA courses day in and day out. I soaked up all the course material like a dry sponge. It was incredibly relevant to my situation and I was immediately able to apply most of it – not only in case studies like my "on campus" fellow students, but in real life (with all the consequences). The programme helped me to deal with a variety of situations, from explaining our financial results to investors and analysts, to overseeing a new product launch, to putting together a new marketing strategy for our worldwide locations, to leading due diligence on an M&A project. I haven't regretted a single moment of sacrificing weekends and leave days over three and a half years. It was worth it up to the very last minute. I was so convinced about the program that I recommended it to three friends, who all in the meantime have graduated and received their MBA degrees. I'd definitely do it through EBS again.

Uwe Joachim

Starting an MBA course was like standing in front of a mountain. Why on earth should I do this exercise? I decided to embark on an MBA degree programme when I realized that my career needed a boost. My first university degree was more than 10 years away. The world has changed fast since. So why not use the spare time in hotel rooms and airport lobbies for something more inspiring and challenging than reading the same news magazines and watching the same news channels over and over again? What I needed was a flexible and modular structure that allowed me to make swift progress but balance my family life at the same time. There are certainly a number of such programmes on offer but eventually EBS provided the best mixture of high educational standards and ability to carry the study to where I actually work. Having moved more than eight times over the past ten years the latter was the most decisive factor. Buying the modules was like going to the local book shop. Starting to read was easy too (which is not necessarily the case for a non-native speaker) and – hey – it was fun. I chose to start only with one subject to see what it was like. I passed my first exam half a year later with a reasonable pass rate. Subsequently, I did two modules every six months which is manageable for someone who has a demanding career and a family with two small children. While it may now sound as a smooth exercise it was not always the case. I had to change jobs in the middle of my study and relocate from one country to another. And this was when the EBS MBA really paid off. It proved to be as portable as the sales brochure said. I postponed one exam by half a year and changed the exam location. Everything was extremely well organized and could be done without any disruption.

Is there anything I would do differently now? Well, I would certainly choose EBS again. I would, however, spend more time on joining learning groups, either physically or virtually because there is much more infrastructure that I initially thought. But then this is yet another advantage of EBS. You can following your learning style as you please. If you excel in studying on your own and follow your own pace – like I am – the modular format is for you. Should prefer to work in groups or at least meet other students from time to time you can have it too. I was able to finish the last exam three years after I started and exactly six days before our third child was born.

What I finally do recommend is that you join the graduation ceremony. That was the time when I realized what a solid university Heriot Watt University actually is.