Studying an Online MBA at Strathclyde Business School: Student Profile

For those considering a distance learning MBA, but are not sure how the work will fit in with their hectic lifestyles, it may be a useful exercise to consider the experience of a current student. Simon Constable, a current University of Strathclyde Business School online MBA student, is one such student.

He is 42 years old and lives with his partner and four children. He is currently a full-time consultant physician and divisional medical director at the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University hospitals, which are both parts of the NHS Trust.

The time not spent with his family or at the university hospitals is spent studying for his Strathclyde MBA which he began in April 2012 and is set to complete in April 2015.

Why do an online part-time MBA?

“I wanted to do a coordinated program of study around management, leadership and business that I could fit around my job as much as possible. I didn’t want to do lots of ad hoc courses but I couldn’t do a full-time MBA,” Constable says.

Constable completed his undergraduate degree in medicine at the University of London in 1995, and, despite having continued a career in medicine and become a senior clinical manager, Constable still wanted to push himself further. For Constable, the Strathclyde MBA was the key to furthering himself as a leader within his field. “The MBA is all about giving me a toolkit and academic background to help me deliver.”

When asked how the Strathclyde distance learning MBA is preparing him for his future in the field of medicine, he responds, “It’s all about the practical application of academic theory to the business and management environment. The beauty of the distance, flexible and online approach is that you are working alongside your learning and applying what you learn on a continual basis.”

Why Strathclyde Business School?

“I am doing an MBA with a specialization in leadership,” Constable explains. “The University of Strathclyde offers a joint program with the Leadership Trust. The core elements are those of an MBA with experiential electives for leadership development. I had heard of the Strathclyde MBA by reputation and the triple accreditation as a business school was a good starting point for me. From my first contact with them, Strathclyde knew exactly what I needed and wanted and they have been helping me achieve that ever since. It’s very, very flexible and everybody understands the pressures of work and what that means for your ability to study.”

Work/study life on the distance learning MBA

If one thing’s clear from the experiences of any number of part-time MBA students, it’s that, despite the misleading ‘part-time’ course title, your time management skills will be stretched to their limits.

“I manage. Just,” Constable says of his workload. Learn more about how to balance your time while studying for your distance learning MBA.

Applying your online MBA straight away

Being able to apply the newly-learnt skills from your part-time MBA to your professional work is a clear advantage of being able to work and study simultaneously. When asked if he was often able to apply his learning, Constable answers emphatically: “Completely. Constantly. The leadership development work around emotional intelligence and change management has been especially applicable but so has the learning around core modules and management theory.”

“I also try and make the modules as relevant to my work as possible. For instance, I was studying operations management at the same time as a project on performance at work. The academic study was invaluable.”

Not solely a long-distance affair for Strathclyde MBA students

Despite the Strathclyde MBA on which Constable is enrolled being a distance learning course, there are still many opportunities to interact face-to-face with lecturers and fellow students. “Strathclyde offer really helpful, intensive weekend seminars on core material for each of the modules and they are invaluable in setting out the standard expected,” Constable says. “They field some really interesting and engaging lecturers who inspire interest in the subject. I’ve been to some of the best seminars I’ve ever had. More than that however the weekend seminars are a great opportunity to get together with other flexible, part-time and indeed full-time MBA students and share experiences. It’s also a good starting point for some of the group assignments which mirror normal working life.”

Strathclyde online MBA perfect for working professionals

Constable says, “I’ve done lots of different postgraduate courses over the years and this is simply the best one I have done.” And to those still thinking about it – “Go for it!”

The University of Strathclyde Business School is ranked 10th in the QS Distance Online MBA Rankings 2014.