My Imperial MBA: Back to school after 20 years’ of industry experience

When Alejandra decided to pursue her MBA, she wanted to ensure she was choosing the best school.

She said: “As a quality professional and practitioner, I know that global standards and recognitions matter a lot, so I did my search using the most recognised global university rankings like QS, as I knew I wanted to try an option outside of AMER.

“I would only choose an option where diversity matters, so with those criteria I chose the top-ranked options in Europe, which in turn brought me to Imperial Business School.”

Alejandra says she knew she had to demonstrate her technical expertise as a female engineer living in a Latino world. She said: “Now that I am in a senior leadership position, my MBA couldn’t wait any longer. This is a must for any leader who wants to continue growing.”

Alejandra says there are pros and cons to being a mature student like most things in life, but she does think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

She says she can relate topics from most of her MBA sessions to previous career experiences and challenges, which she imagines could be difficult for someone who hasn’t been in the field as long.

“As a mature student, I really prioritise and dedicate myself to my studies. This is not to say that a younger student would not, but having a senior leadership position is a 24/7 job. Plus, being a mom of two teenagers, among multiple additional compromises, every minute I dedicate to my MBA comes with 100 percent dedication.”

But what can mature students bring to the table compared to students in their 20s? Alejandra says the major difference is experience. With more than 20 years in the field, she says she has multiple real-life examples for topics covered in class.

She said: “I can bring real-life examples, not only from textbooks, but experiences from a time I struggled with a production factory bottleneck, or adjusting my leadership style to working in a global environment and leading teams in different parts of the world.”

Alejandra hopes to achieve professional career growth post-graduation, but the most important thing she wants from the MBA is personal growth – something she is already seeing as her way of thinking has changed since starting her MBA.

She said: “Even though I had worked in global companies for many years, having a multicultural environment, not only in terms of nationalities but also industries, really makes you realise the wealth of opportunities waiting for you.”

Alejandra credits the Personal Leadership Journey on Imperial’s MBA for changing her way of thinking and encouraging her to grow.

She said: “The whole programme is great, but there are two exercises that made me see things in a different way; Interview a Leader and the Career Change Pathway. Both exercises made me feel stronger and that I could really decide the destiny of my future, so post-graduation I foresee a world of opportunities that I will be ready to explore.”

Alejandra’s most important piece of advice is to not delay the start of your MBA as when you’re in a leadership role you may feel as though you don’t have time to spare – and even less with an MBA.

She said: “I’ve heard this comment from many colleagues: How do you manage to pursue an MBA when we are so busy!?

“My advice is this: An MBA will help you grow. Focus on what is critical; there is time for everything. Quoting Stephen Covey, ‘The key is not to prioritise what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities’”.