Strathclyde Business School Student case studies

Michael Cooper

Prior to my MBA studies I was working in pharmaceutical compliance with a consultancy company, running my own 'boutique' consultancy firm. A scientist by education, I gradually moved into consultancy in the life science sector providing consultancy in regulatory compliance, change management and business process re-engineering via my own firm.

I wanted to fill in what I perceived to be holes in my business knowledge and, academically, I was interested in learning about the theory of business as well as its practical application.

I chose Strathclyde in part through a recommendation from a friend and partly to do with its strong reputation, value for money and focus on strategy.

The Strathclyde MBA is hard work and is likely to demand more of your time than full time work - expect long hours, seven days a week.

One of the aspects of my time at Strathclyde that I greatly appreciate is the access you have to a wide range of subject matter experts. I found the door of all academic staff open and they were very generous with their time.

For me, the stand-out parts of the course were working on the project and the way in which the course builds and comes together in the third term for strategy. The MBA as a whole has stimulated me to reflect on how I behave as a manager and to reframe and learn from my previous work experiences.

The MBA is also a fantastic opportunity to network. I set up a series called "Doing Business In..." which involved students presenting on how to do business in their home country, which was a great success. I also developed links with many external agencies and am now in the process of establishing a new business venture with colleagues from the MBA course.

Another key venture for me was introducing the MBA Oath to Strathclyde. After reading an article on the MBA Oath, I decided it was something that might be of interest to the class as a whole. I firmly believe that MBAs have a responsibility in senior roles that extends further than just their company's shareholders. As a result of that, Strathclyde became the first UK chapter of this venture which started at Harvard Business School, and this is something I will continue to be involved with as an alumnus.