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Lalji Vekaria, Executive MBA student and Financial Controller at MillerKnoll shares his journey to Imperial College Business School. He discusses the concerns he faced about returning to the classroom after being out of the education system for a number of years, advice on coping with exams and the transformational change he has achieved so far.
Why did I want to study an Executive MBA?
I decided to enrol at Imperial College Business School and study the Executive MBA (EMBA) programme in 2022, after doing some due diligence into the programme and the Business School and also talking with one alumnus. I also talked with friends and relatives and recruitment agencies about the opportunities after an EMBA. My aim was to make a transformational change to my future career and lifestyle.
My concerns about returning to education
My main concern in applying for this programme, was whether I would fit in with the other cohort members, as I’ve been out of the education system for a number of decades. There would also be a big age gap between myself and the other cohort members as I’m a grandfather. The thought of having to take exams again after so many years was very daunting.
However, from day one of the induction in February 2022, the EMBA 2022 cohort did not bat an eyelid about my age. The support given by the cohort is simply amazing. What became very important was to create trust within the cohort and so team assignments, dinners and networking events organised by the Business School helped foster this very quickly.
So, no matter what age you are, it is very important to establish trust and understanding within the cohort from the start.
Coping with the exams
Exam preparation should start from day one by making notes during the preparation for the lectures. We also have the support and assistance given by the teaching staff leading up to the exams in July 2022 and this was welcomed by the whole cohort. We also organised our own sessions to compare notes and share ideas prior to the exams. For Organisational Behaviour we had a case study to prepare for, so this was easier to manage the revision. For Marketing Management and Managerial Economics the Professors compiled the key topic summaries to consider for the revision and so I was able to make notes on these. For ACRA, as I’m an accountant, I was able to tackle this without too much revision, however, I advised the other cohort members that practicing the different questions was the best preparation.
The relief in passing the exams taken in July was tremendous - the whole cohort passed without any re-sits needed!
Block two experience
We began Block two with less trepidation as we only had two exams compared to the four we took in July. The retreat in Windsor for the Executive Leadership Journey was welcomed by all and the takeaway for me was the fact that we had the Olympian, Greg Searle, talk about his experience and more importantly talk about fixed/growth mindset. It was truly inspirational to hear his career progression and what it takes to be a winner.
Berlin residency
Having completed the two exams (one of which was a case study) in January 2023, we departed for the Berlin residency and our hosts at The European School of Management and Technology (ESMT Berlin). The Imperial College team organised our stay there with great thought and preparation. I was pleasantly surprised that one of the speakers had done research into the cohort members as he remembered where we worked and also about our companies. This made the interaction between the speaker and the cohort very easy and the discussions very rewarding. It was very interesting to learn about the hidden champions in Germany and how these companies are able to attract employees even when located in remote parts of the country. There are also opportunities that Germany needs to explore and exploit.
Transformational change
The transformational change(s) that I mentioned earlier that I was looking for, happened very early on. I have not had any exposure to marketing strategies. Therefore, I found this module very interesting and rewarding and an instant connection with the company that I work for who are in the premium furniture brand market. The question of brand value and the use of the same to grow the business was very interesting.
In block two we had the Responsible Leadership and Corporate Success module and one of the assignments was Purpose to Impact. This made me think really deeply as to what I really wanted to do in the future and how I got to this point. As a result of the assignment, I changed one of my electives and changed it to a climate/sustainability related one. This for me had a very powerful and transformational impact on the future direction that I want to take in my career.
The Executive MBA programme at Imperial College Business School has given me guidance on the most efficient ways to tackle difficult situations. To be more curious is a good quality to have, and then it's a question of how to ensure the company and employees benefit from the findings
Blog written by Lalji Vekaria
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