Another international cohort of 202 start their Cambridge MBA, representing 41 nationalities, and coming from industries as diverse as healthcare, technology, as well as ambitious entrepreneurs and those from the cultural sector.
This month we welcomed the newest cohort of MBA students to Cambridge Judge Business School. For the class of 2019/20 there are 202 individuals in total, representing 41 nationalities. They step out of industries as diverse as technology, healthcare and the not-for-profit and into the rich Cambridge learning environment and eco-system for the next year of their lives.
With so many nationalities represented, an exciting year of teamwork and collaboration takes off. With an average of six years’ work experience across the board, an average age of thirty, and a good gender balance; together they will bring a wealth of experience, a wide variety of perspectives and a huge amount of cultural context to the year ahead.
We meet some fresh faces and ask them about their career journey to date, what Cambridge means to them and where their ambitions lie in the coming months?
Svitlana Kostenko
Ukrainian born Svitlana has spent the last eight years in California, US, working for an online educational platform followed by a tiny start up as part of the Berkeley Accelerator programme – Skydeck.
“Cambridge Judge means to me people from over forty different countries, it means a lot of history, it means many new friendships and a host of new opportunities. I want my MBA year to help me connect my Ukrainian background, with my almost decade in Silicon Valley, together with the opportunities I will no doubt find here throughout the next year”.
Alexander Mix
Technology and Innovation Scholarship recipient Alexander from Germany, works for A.T. Kearney in Dusseldorf as a Senior Business Analyst.
“I believe the experience at Cambridge will provide me with an excellent team for a year, to both reflect and consolidate what I will learn and kick-start the next chapter of my career. I am looking forward to sparring ideas, gaining an international network, and maybe finding future colleagues and business partners.”
“Cambridge has a special appeal as the MBA programme is embedded within a world-class environment with scientific creation and technological innovation at its heart. The entrepreneurial environment and the excellent access to financial expertise will provide the ideal place for me to bring together my two passions – digital transformation and private equity and finance”.
Kwesi Bonso-Abban
Kwesi from Ghana has come from the Telecoms sector in a product development role but would like to move into consultancy.
“Cambridge is an opportunity to find a new family. It means a lot of networking with people that I probably wouldn’t have had an opportunity to network before in Africa. It means an opportunity to explore myself fully and to find new opportunities to grow”.
Kwesi continues; “Given that my background is in technology and I have a keen interest in the commercial aspects of things as well, I am hoping to transition into either technical consultancy or strategic consultancy after my Cambridge MBA”.
Guneet Malik
Guneet worked as a consultant to the Government of India, within the policy and regulation sector for Invest India, a public sector platform based in New Delhi.
“Cambridge is a big thing for me, it is not only one of the best universities in the world, but my great grandfather studied here in Cambridge, so it is also a personal opportunity to relive the family legacy”.
“The mission of the Business School is something that I closely identify with. It is about impacting business and society and I believe that someone coming from a public policy sector where I have helped governments make better decisions through data; I now wish to see the best practices here in the UK and in Europe and to hone my skills and eventually head back to India in the long term”.
Tomomi Ishida
Tomomi, from Japan, also has a background in the public sector as a Private Sector Partnership Consultant. She has advised the United Nations based in Tokyo on their UN Development Programme, including work to support and develop the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across Japan. Latterly she developed and ran the Tokyo International Conference on African Development.
“Cambridge is a very inspirational place to be in. I belong to a Cambridge College as well the MBA cohort, so I am excited to meet lots of people from many different backgrounds and with many different experiences, I’m excited to experience that diversity”.
“I came here to stretch myself and get out of my comfort zone. I am open to the opportunities and connections I will make this year, especially those in the African market and with a focus on innovation”.
Muna Ali
Muna from Canada has a background in healthcare and biotech as a Packaging Engineer and Validation Technologist for Teva, the large pharmaceutical company based in Toronto.
“The moment I came here I knew Cambridge was a great fit for me. The Cambridge MBA meets my goals in the short term, as well as the long term. In the wider ‘Silicon Fen’ that Cambridge is known for, there are a lot of startups, entrepreneurship and health sector opportunities that I am open to discovering during this coming year”.
Kelsea Alderman
Kelsea from the USA, has worked in the glamourous retail sector, leaving a planning and strategy position at Ralph Lauren in New York, to start her Cambridge MBA.
“After my MBA I am looking to launch my career further forward in the retail sector. I plan to stay in the retail sector, specifically in luxury but to be part of the drive to move the industry forward and to help incorporate some impact and sustainability to the industry”.
“Cambridge is an incredible place to study and I feel very honoured to be here. What Cambridge really means to me is the opportunity to broaden my horizons both professionally, socially, and globally, geographically, to have a wider and deeper access to different parts of the world, and to different people with different ways of thinking – I think that’s something that’s really unique about this MBA programme”.
These are just a few of the individuals embarking on their MBA year – look out for introduction and insight from others on our social media channels and student blog.