Scott's Story

Choosing Cambridge

As an ex-Army Major with limited commercial experience it was important for me to select the best path to a new career. The one-year MBA programme suited my desire to both learn and practice quickly. The Cambridge brand and quality of academics are second to none, so the choice of school was pretty easy. However, one of the real strengths of the course is the peer group. Cambridge has a reputation for selecting a balanced group of students for its programmes and the benefit of such an international course quickly became apparent. Lastly, the college system provides a great way of meeting other students from outside the MBA programme who are often involved in world leading research, or just a good bunch of people to play sport with!

Accelerated learning

Coming from a non-business background into an MBA also made me look for a programme that I thought would allow me to start at the beginning, then accelerate my learning as I became more familiar with the material. Cambridge provides that opportunity through a broad and challenging set of foundation courses, immediate and consistent opportunities to work with peers on real life projects, and a range of electives that stretches even the deepest subject matter expert. A great balance for a one-year programme.

Consulting projects - skills and contacts

The live consulting projects were key for me. They provided insight into entrepreneurial and corporate ventures which would otherwise remained foreign until after the programme. This exposure not only helped build experience but provided a real life laboratory to observe and practice some of the tools and techniques of the course. Having moved into the financial services sector after finishing the MBA, I found the projects to be a very useful repository of 'commercial experiences' during the initial stages of my new career. The individual project provided both very useful background and specific knowledge for my new career, and provided the networking opportunities which eventually led to my role.