Vishal Aggarwal Full-time MBA, 2019, from India

Business Development and Growth Manager, Rainbow Bakers and Confectioners

The academics are sheer powerhouses of knowledge and go the extra mile to help you to get the best insights out of each module.

Why did you choose to come and study at Southampton?

The vibrancy of the city of Southampton instantly influenced my decision to study here. With numerous big corporations having their head offices, close proximity to London, viable cost of living and a strong multi-cultural society of people.

What were your highlights at Southampton?

Firstly, the academics are sheer powerhouses of knowledge and go the extra mile to help you to get the best insights out of each module.

Second, the residential tours to Maastricht and Brazil, really amplified the experience of the MBA. These two live projects helped me understand the business world from a very different perspective. With just classroom studies, the course could not have let us apply our knowledge in a real time environment. However, with these two programmes, I could really understand and apply knowledge in a more effective way.

What did you enjoy most about the Southampton MBA?

I specifically enjoyed the diversity in the classroom, where we had eight different nationalities studying and brain-storming in the same room.

Whilst studying the entrepreneurship pathway module, I learned that to design and start a new business, one needs to understand the business from a very different viewpoint. I previously held only one perspective, Profit, but it has now evolved to People, Planet and then Profit.

What have been the highlights of your career to date?

I have been a business development and growth manager for various forms of business. I have been actively involved in conducting market research to stay aligned with the consumer behaviour and designing products and services to maintain a competitive advantage.

How did your time at Southampton help you to grow as a person and develop your career?

My time in Southampton taught me that soft skills such as teamwork, time-management and resilience are absolutely essential alongside other hard skills.

To be a good leader, empathy is something which is a key to make people believe and follow your footprints. In short, I learned the art of ‘emotional intelligence’.

What advice would you offer to someone looking to study the Southampton MBA programme?

The core advice would be to make the most of your time, focusing strongly on academic performance, but maintaining a great balance of socialising, active participation in cultural societies and enjoying British cultural highlights.

It’s all about the experience every day and not feeling pressured.