What is it like to start the Full-time MBA?

"I was looking to be a part of a family and I have found mine at WBS.” Full-time MBA participant Azziza Hasan shares her experience of the first month on the Full-time MBA programme.

Whilst walking around Warwick Business School (WBS) on my first day, I felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement. A new chapter was about to begin, as the previous one was closing. I left behind friends and family, a great role at a financial institution, and a network I built around me to pursue the Full-time MBA.

Truth is I was at a point in my career where I didn't know what was next. There was a yearning to learn more and be challenged. Pursuing an MBA was always in the back of my mind, so I began to do my research on the programmes available. Initially, attending an MBA in the States was my path but then a global pandemic started. I had the time to re-evaluate the reasons why I was pursuing an MBA and establish an understanding of what I wanted to gain. Instead of learning international business in a classroom why not learn first-hand? The idea of going abroad was developing and this is when WBS came in. As I completed my research WBS stood out. The programme has a great reputation and I could tell they cared about their candidates.

So, here I am, walking to the registration desk getting ready to pick up my name badge. The first day of induction week begins. In the conference room I saw individuals from around the world, to put this into perspective the cohort is made up of 113 candidates that represent 40 nations. As the week continues, the nerves turned into excitement and I was ready for a new chapter. Don’t get me wrong the week was intense and I was questioning what I am doing here but those feelings faded. I spent the rest of the week bonding with my classmates and creating new relationships that will last a lifetime.

This leads to week one, the official start of classes. Who knew MBAs required so much reading? But like we were told during induction we must work for our degrees! So, the work begins. We met our professors for this term and had crash course of what was about to happen over the next 10 weeks. The thing about WBS is even though we were told about how much work we are going to have to do on an individual level everyone in the room is here to help and support each other. The professors teach us 50% of what we're going to learn but the other 50% is learned through my classmates. From lawyers and pilots to consultants and engineers to bankers, we all have knowledge we could share and learn from each other.

So, what’s next? Besides completing my modules and dissertation, there is a lot ahead of me. The programme has amazing resources and teams to help us, from classes to networking to career coaching. My next eleven months is going to consist of taking advantage of the resources and figuring out what my next move is. Learning from the professors with amazing backgrounds and classmates that have backgrounds I could dream of.

I can’t tell you where I will be in a year, but I can tell you wherever I am it is because WBS was there to help guide me. I was looking to be a part of a family and I found mine at WBS.

Find out more about our Full-time MBA programme here.