UEA

Tony Polack, MBA Strategic Carbon Management 2010

Tony studied the full-time Strategic Carbon Management MBA in 2010.  Having been made redundant in 2009 he faced a tricky challenge about his future career… 

‘I had spent 17 years fundraising for environmental charities and in the education sector.  Whilst I enjoyed those roles I also felt I’d like to branch out and take my career in a new direction if the opportunity arose.  I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next, I just knew I wanted to be better equipped to take on something entirely new.  Although I had a lot of experience in marketing, when it came to writing up my CV I realised I didn’t have a great number of qualifications on paper to be able to compete at the highest level.’

‘I had studied Environmental Sciences at UEA in the 1980’s and saw that Norwich Business School offered a Strategic Carbon Management MBA.  It was only when I started that I realised how tough it would be juggling a home life with a full-time education.  After a few weeks, it was clear that working for a masters level degree was not the same as a full-time job.  I gained a huge amount of support from my student colleagues, from the teaching staff at the business school and soon found myself thriving as a student once again.’

‘We were the first cohort to have the benefit of a new dedicated building in which to work, the Thomas Paine Study Centre.  The study centre is close to the centre of UEA; the campus has a very friendly feel to it as does the city of Norwich itself.  The resources at Norwich Business School were truly excellent, a first class teaching space, good IT resources and support as well as the University’s well stocked library.  It may sound silly to say, but there were free tea and coffee facilities in the business school building and as most of our lecturers had offices on the same floor, we would share the kitchen space.  It meant that all of the teaching staff were very approachable and available for comment and support.’

‘Norwich Business School created an atmosphere in which people were encouraged to share ideas but in which individualism and creativity was also rewarded.  Has the year in full-time education been worth while?  Answer: yes.  I enjoyed my year as a student, worked hard and achieved a good mark for my efforts. Since leaving in December 2010 I have tackled a rich variety of tasks: some contract work for two previous employers as well as some education work - an entirely new experience for me.’

‘My new qualification has already opened new doors for my career in exactly the way I wanted it to.  What’s more I’m in still touch with a great many of the people I studied with and that in itself is a good reason to consider an MBA in mid-career.’