Another international cohort of 206 start their Cambridge MBA, representing 51 nationalities, and coming from industries as diverse as technology, healthcare and the not-for-profit sector.
In September we welcomed the newest cohort of MBA students to Cambridge Judge Business School. For the Class of 2018/19 there are 206 individuals in total, representing 51 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 over fifty nationalities represented, an exciting year of teamwork and collaboration takes off. With an average of six years’ work experience across the board and a good gender balance, together they will bring a wealth of experience, a wide variety of perspective and a huge amount of cultural context to the year ahead.
We meet some fresh faces and ask them what attracted them to the Cambridge MBA and where their ambitions lie in the coming months.
Slaven Stekovic from Croatia says:
“Before coming to Cambridge, I did my PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine, and have started a few startups. Now I want to improve my business skills and to understand how big corporations work. One of the main reasons why I am here is to have access to a large network.”
Zhuo’er Wang from China and the US, comes from a background in the corporate beauty industry.
“The most exciting part of the programme for me will be to explore industries and passions that I haven’t been able to experience before. This is the first time I have taken myself out of the US environment in an academic sense. I feel very settled already and I feel that the Cambridge MBA really allows you to discover those other aspects of yourself, that you’ve never even thought about.”
The diversity of the Cambridge MBA is key to the overall experience of the class, much of the learning will come from interaction with fellow classmates. This then in turn enriches the students’ business education and produces leaders with a breadth of understanding.
Jon Elder from the USA, started in large corporate banking covering strategy and management in the US.
“I am keeping an open mind and see myself returning to the strategy management sector, with a focus on how I might position businesses better for the future. I intend to learn about business and myself at the same time over the coming year.”
Andrew Ramsay from New Zealand trained as a structural engineer then migrated into the FinTech sector as a Product Manager with a London-based startup.
“My vision is to go back into the entrepreneurial world, as most probably a startup. My aim is to meet people that challenge me in a way that directs me where I want to be – ideally my challenge is to make an impact in the world in a positive way.”
Lucy Phelan from the United Kingdom has a background in data science across the Management Consultancy Sector. At present she is very specific with her MBA journey targeting new product development and strategic development and planning to return to the data technology sector on completion.
“Previously I was very much a data and technology person working alongside the strategists providing data to back up their ideas. I would like to move up and be the person who comes up with the ideas in the first place!”
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.