Adrian Fry MBA part-time,  2017

IOT and Applications Manager at Cisco

I’d recommend the Southampton MBA to anyone who wants to push boundaries, meet interesting people and come out of the experience more well-rounded and able to think more deeply.

As an engineer working in a high-tech company, I decided to study an MBA to understand what it was to be a good manager before I took a managerial role. I also wanted to expand my horizons outside the technology bubble to appreciate what it meant to be a good manager generally.

I chose to study at Southampton as the MBA programme is highly ranked and accredited. I attended a taster session with two of the Business School’s academics, John Marti and Edgar Myer, who delivered an example lecture. They spoke about people management in a way that resonated with me and whet my appetite for learning.

The topics we cover on the Southampton MBA are not always part of my day job, which is great as I’m learning new things and expanding my knowledge. It’s also a real benefit to study with people from other industries as mixing with these students gives me an enormous depth and breadth of knowledge. My MBA has helped me to understand business challenges and explain situations to other managers in the office from both an academic and practical viewpoint. Now, when my colleagues are describing an issue which they don’t quite understand, I can explain different ways to approach the problem. I’ve developed a big picture understanding.

The lecturers are academically brilliant, and can explain how things work in the real world with a level of flair that keeps us inspired and interested. The module that I’ve enjoyed the most is consultancy. In a group with other students, we worked on a real business problem at a risk management company in London. We were supported by John Marti, and were able to put the skills we’d learnt on the MBA into practice. It was excellent to work with a real company and apply the models we’d learned.

I’m two-thirds through my MBA, and I’ve developed so much confidence and knowledge of all areas of business management. I would be able to apply my learning to starting my own business, or to working in a multi-national organisation, as I do currently. A lot of my senior management colleagues hold an MBA, and now I’m able to talk in their lingo which has benefited me greatly.

I’d recommend the Southampton MBA to anyone who wants to push boundaries, meet interesting people and come out of the experience more well-rounded and able to think more deeply. It’s also worth adding that I have four children, and I’m able to balance my full-time job, my family and my MBA study. If you’re looking for a challenge that can open doors, the Southampton MBA is for you.