Francisco Javier Ballesteros Mejia
It is with a deep sense of sincerity that I would like to share with you my feelings of high appreciation and genuine academic respect for the EBS graduate programme. I wanted to pursue an opportunity to refresh and update my Analytical Toolkit in International Business and Finance. Yet what I had found was a well-thought, strongly structured course of studies that has got me further down on the path of accomplishing career success and professional reward. I had never imagined it would be this intellectually challenging and fulfilling.
I would certainly highly recommend the programme to anyone but, in particular, to those in my own circumstances: in a nutshell, those in a permanent desire for professional improvement and self-satisfaction.
Françoise de Valera
When I first signed up to study the EBS MBA in 1993, straight out of University, I found I wasn't ready for it. I struggled to link the course to reality, as I hadn't experienced many of the situations in which the concepts taught would apply. However, I knew I wanted to complete it and that it would be highly beneficial for my career. It wasn't until 2005 when, as a senior manager within the telecommunications sector, I realized that the time was right. I graduated from the MBA programme the following year.
The prime benefits I have obtained from the course are additional confidence in my business skills, new analytical tools and a sense of speaking more of a common language with my peers. The confidence piece is critical – I now know that those around me are unlikely to know that much more than I do about the principles of running a business, except what experience may have taught them (highly valuable too, of course) and am able to make informed, considered decisions and unpick flawed arguments without worrying about whether others made their case based on some business concept I might not have been aware of. Shortly after completing the MBA, I was promoted to Chief Operating Officer, in charge of a 50 million GBP business. (I am the only female officer in our organization).
The flexibility offered by the distance learning course was crucial to my being able to complete it. I travel extensively with work and have little free time. When I do have free time, the last thing I want to do is study. The distance learning approach and not having to submit assignments allowed me to use travel time to study the course when my schedule allowed which, coupled with some study leave (5 days per exam) which I was able to negotiate with my employer, allowed me to complete the course without affecting my quality of life. While my employer would probably have funded the course for me had I asked, my late grandfather had given me the money to complete the course back in 1993, so I owe it to him.
I highly recommend the course.
