Aston University: An MBA to impress employers

Today’s business world is looking for candidates who stand out from the crowd. With more than 13,000 graduate schools of business worldwide, plus an even larger group of postgraduate business degree holders, recruiters have their pick of MBA graduates. So, what’s a person to do to beat the competition?

The most important move is to choose a business school with a track record for producing business leaders and entrepreneurs. In the UK, one university fits this bill: Aston University.

With triple accreditation (AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA), the quality of education at Aston University is obvious. Rather than leaving students concerned about the relevance of the curriculum, these accreditations confirm that an MBA – also offered online – from this UK university is one of the highest quality, recognised by employers worldwide.

While this triple accreditation places Aston University in the top one percent of global business schools, this alone does not explain how it stands out among the one percent.

To understand why Aston University graduates are employers’ go-to candidates, let’s take a look into the web of relationships it weaves with the business world.

From start-ups to leading international firms and SMEs, Aston University seeks, cultivates and maintains strong relationships across the business sector. Its MBA is the result of the school’s close work with partners, incorporating their expertise to ensure the degree prepares students for the challenges of modern-day business. This means rich and empowering learning experience through innovative and experiential teaching methods. The curriculum reflects the modern global business environment, as well as being tailored to each students’ specific interests and career aspirations.

These factors, along with the reputation it has solidly built over the years, signals to recruiters reading CVs that an MBA from Aston University belongs to a highly skilled graduate with future leadership capabilities.

Take, for example, the experience of Parveen Rai in a one-week field trip to Toulouse, France. Rai gained insights in not just one, but several established and varied businesses including Airbus, Continental and Château Canet. But that’s not all.

“As well as having the opportunity to go to lectures at Toulouse Business School, it was an opportunity for the cohort to broaden their minds to the role of culture in business.”

Such experiences, coupled with Aston’s innovative and practical teaching practices, developed Rai’s soft skills and leadership capabilities. Today, she is a non-executive director on three boards, continuing to grow her businesses and learning from high level business leaders. She’s also the first Asian female board member at Coventry and Warwickshire LEP, getting involved with government work such as policy making, forming decisions on funding for growth projects, infrastructural, digital and housing decisions for economic growth.

Her businesses now profit from her investment in this MBA, too: “Having broadened my thinking in leadership and business, my aspirations for business have also grown. Venturing into more construction within the property sector will grow my company tenfold over five years. Entering into Government work has also encouraged me to use my skills for real impact for economic growth, not only locally but nationally.”

Rai isn’t the only Aston MBA graduate going places; demand for MBA graduates remains high. The GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey Report 2018 found that 81 percent of responding companies planned to hire recent MBA graduates in 2018, compared to the 70 percent that hired them in 2017. Demand is strongest among start-ups and companies in the healthcare, technology and energy/utilities industries.

A notable number have capitalised on this, landing high profile roles with leading international firms across a variety of sectors, including investment banking, management consultancy, manufacturing and rail transport. Recent graduates have been successful in securing positions with blue-chip companies, such as Morgan Stanley, KPMG, Standard Chartered Bank and Amcor. Studying here means access to the Aston Alumni network and the chance to connect with these former graduates.

Wellington Chiwara is one such former student. The Scrutiny Panel Member, Accord Group, Birmingham, credits his expertise in e-commerce today to the module he had the chance to pursue at Aston. The module armed him with practical skills and he had the opportunity to get involved in a live business project.

“The consultancy project gave me real insights into how consultancy work could open further opportunities for me to venture into. During my stint with the organisation, I was working for, I was offered an opportunity to shadow the labour relations manager. I was able to gain insight into the operations of that organisation, including the problems that had prompted them to commission a research project,” he said. 

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