Asim Shaikh, Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Wanting to develop in the area of business management, Asim chose London South Bank University's MBA (Masters in Business Administration)"I had been based in London for the previous 8 years and LSBU was recommended to me by quite a few friends. It was a quite convenient location for me to come here after work."
Working as an eCommerce coordinator for The White Company when he started the MBA, Asim found that the course structure meant he was able to fit in study around work. With classes in the evenings and a focus on independent study, the course helps working students to fit everything into their schedule.
Above and beyond
It was an opportunity for Asim to progress his career and gain further skills, but he also gained a lot of enjoyment from the course. His favourite module was Consulting Skills & Personal Effectiveness. This mainly focused on developing students' personal skills such as presentation, interaction with clients, negotiation and writing business plans and proposals.
"The course lecturer for this module was exceptionally good. Even though he was not my supervisor he helped me a lot to build my confidence and present myself well in terms of meeting people and interviewing during my research. He was also available out of office hours and was a great help. He endorsed me on LinkedIn and gave me a good reference as well."
Staff that go above and beyond for their students are not uncommon at LSBU, as Asim found with his dissertation supervisor, Lawrence Fisher. "First, he helped me in selecting the area I was interested in, which ended up as "Online to Offline Groceries". This looked at online consumer behaviour and the importance of the supply chain to support the operations to add value. He also gave insight and the necessary contacts in the market which helped me a lot during my research."
Networking
There are plenty of opportunities to network with people all around the world and create future job opportunities during the MBA at LSBU.
Asim advises: "Try to interact with colleagues and come with an open mind to the class room. Don't limit yourself to a group you feel comfortable in, instead mix up and try to work and learn from people from different back grounds and sectors. We were able to travel to Valencia, Spain for four days as well as visiting Ford motors, Danone and Vossloh. LSBU is definitely a great networking and knowledge sharing opportunity. Please don't miss it by staying in your comfort zone."
Since completing his MBA, Asim has moved on to work as an Online Marketing Executive for Luxottica Retail in London.