Strathclyde Business School Student case studies

Ahmed Kandil

I decided to do an MBA to enhance my knowledge and help me move to a higher level of management expertise by strengthening my practical capabilities - especially in strategy which Strathclyde is famous for.

I chose Strathclyde as, at the time of my enrolment, Strathclyde was the only UK university that offered the full programme in Dubai with attendance at a campus which was important to me; I wanted to have the interaction with professors and colleagues. Strathclyde also had a great reputation and in my opinion is one of the top university providers of the MBA programme.

I found my whole experience of the MBA programme – the teaching, facilities, academic support – to be of an excellent standard. It took me three years to finish the bulk of the MBA programme but I spent longer working on my project as it needed lots of study, investigations, travel and writing. However, spending the extra time on it was well worth doing as it led to a high score and assisted me in getting an MBA with Distinction.

My favourite parts of the academic syllabus included marketing, operations management, supply chain management and strategy. However, I most enjoyed working on my project – green supply chain management – which gained an outstanding score. A project I worked on with my colleague under the supervision of Dr Sean Ennis is in the process of being published as one of the very few books on green supply chain management with strong case studies.

My MBA studies have influenced my business maturity and given me robust tools which enable me to have a strong grip of all management aspects which in turn has given me the chance to be promoted to a higher management level in the company.

Pre-MBA I was Sales Director of Bene AG Middle East and during my studies I was promoted to Managing Director, Middle East & Africa for Bene AG.

As my region expands a lot - almost each and every major city in the Middle East and some African countries - the programme has made the process of expansion more solid and accurate, especially from a strategy point of view.

I would definitely recommend the programme – in fact, I already have done so to several people – due to the value of the programme in general, the history and reputation of Strathclyde, the high quality of alumni and students, and the fact it has several international centres in addition to its Glasgow campus. The fact it is hard work to obtain the MBA qualification makes it more valuable and stronger than lots of other MBA programmes.