Five reasons why you should study an MBA

1. Acquire new skills and develop business acumen

The first, and more obvious reason to do an MBA, is to develop business grounding. The skills that the MBA teaches are still so relevant to today’s current climate. This is especially for people coming from non-traditional backgrounds, who have a lot to gain from the knowledge the MBA equips you with.

Aaron Holloway-Nahum was a student on our Global Online MBA, 2019-20. Aaron is a Composer, Conductor and Recording Engineer, he founded and leads The Riot Ensemble, and is the managing director of Coviello Music Productions. Coming from an Arts background, he discusses the importance of business skills:

“As a lifetime musician, I’m aware of my basic needs in fundamental business techniques such as finance and accounting, and I enjoyed learning in these areas.  What I’m really excited about, though, are areas like strategy, leadership and sustainability.  It’s been such a joy for me to find an emphasis on things like corporate responsibility because these are things very close to my heart as an artist.”

2. Grow your professional network and build global business connections

The world is becoming increasingly global, and so is business. If you look at all the companies in the world, no matter how big or small, they have international suppliers or international customers, as well as international employees.

Now more than ever, it’s so important to develop cross-cultural communication skills as these skills won’t be just sought after, but a necessity. Carra Torres, a student on our Full-Time MBA 2018-19, moved from her job in New York City to London for the programme. She said:

“The MBA is getting to know people and use those relationships and connections in the long term. I feel like I had so many international opportunities and connections just because I came to Imperial College Business School, as opposed to studying in my home country. On the side of that, as our world gets more and more interconnected, it’s important to learn, grow and work with people across cultures and across the world. This is really the only place you can do something like that in a short window.”

3. The MBA prepares you to be a successful leader

We are currently facing a period of uncertainty as all industries are being disrupted by digitisation and the rise of new technologies. At Imperial, we grow responsible leaders equipped to deal with the challenges for a technology-driven world.

We value soft skills just as highly as hard skills, so developing leaders is a priority across our MBA programmes. We run the Personal Leadership Journey on the Full-Time MBA, Global Online MBA, and the Weekend MBA, and the Executive Leadership Journey on the Executive MBA, which equips students with a leadership toolkit.

This module runs for the duration of the MBA and is a significant part of how the programme develops students to become future leaders of society and business. This is paired with core modules that focus on leadership from within organisations, like Organisational Behaviour.

Sachin Shah, Executive MBA 2017-18, reflects on his transformative leadership journey on the programme.

My Executive Leadership Journey (ELJ) was in a word, transformative. Understanding yourself, learning softer skills, being mindful within yourself and externally, knowing what mindset you’re in, and how you can shift and work with different personality types – I would never have been exposed to that at all.

4. Gain an advantage in the boardroom

As society becomes more international, it is super important to prioritise diversity. Initiatives like the 30% Club are focusing on the low representation of females in boardrooms, which is representative of the gap of women in executive roles.

Our Executive MBA empowers our female candidates to reach those top positions through our curriculum, Careers service and Executive Leadership Journey. Elizabeth Alimena, Executive MBA 2019-20, joined her class as one of our 30% Club Inspiring Women’s Scholarship recipients. She comments:

“One of my motivators for getting an Executive MBA is the energy and increased focus on empowering and promoting women to senior-level executive roles. This has been particularly prevalent in the UK, where the statutory gender pay gap reporting is helping to drive this conversation and action. I was humbled to receive the 30% Club’s Inspiring Women Scholarship, and relished gaining skills from the programme that will give me an advantage in the boardroom.”

5. Advance your career and open the door to new opportunities

For many students, one of the key motivating factors behind their MBA is career advancement. This rings true of all the MBA programmes in our portfolio, however, it provides a district advantage for students on our part-time MBA programmes.

On the Executive MBA, Global Online MBA and Weekend MBA, students study for the programme while continuing full-time work. This means they don’t need to take their foot off the pedal as they accelerate their careers.

While studying on our Weekend MBA 2018-19 programme, Julia Yu also worked for Zara in Spain (the Inditex Group) as a Product Manager. The MBA provided her with the valuable skills that will help further her career. She says:

“I believe an MBA is a valuable asset when aiming for career advancement and personal development. I completed my undergraduate studies in Social Sciences, thus I lacked business knowledge to take my career to the next level. I always wanted to pursue my MBA, however, instead of doing it right after my graduation, I decided to focus on my career advancement. By obtaining additional years of professional experience, I am able to not only contribute to my cohort, but also to my organisation.”