What does having an MBA qualification mean for business today?

From an individual’s point of view, the MBA is the most significant qualification for catalysing your career. Whether it is taking your career to the next level or completely reinventing yourself and changing course, the MBA equips you to do so.

From a company perspective, in an era of disruption where we are confronting the realities of the fourth Industrial Revolution, an MBA provides invaluable tools and insights into the new world of work, organisations, and the economics of innovation. 

For employers, investing in high quality human and creative capital is the most important component of a winning company strategy especially during high levels of disruption, where the ability to adapt and be agile is quintessential.

What type of people are ideally suited to the Sussex MBA?

Our students come from a multitude of different disciplines and economic sectors including finance and insurance, engineering, services, oil and gas, and the charity sectors. The diversity extends to its multinationalism with our current intake being roughly half British and the other half made up of 18 different nationalities extending from Japan all the way through to Colombia and in between.

All our students have a minimum level of management experience as we want to create an environment of action learning, where students can draw on their experiences and contribute to the learning process. This is facilitated by world-class faculty drawing on cutting-edge research.

When we are reviewing applications we are looking at what candidates will bring to the mix and how it will enliven the learning environment as a whole. In addition to this, we recognise that business is not conducted in a vacuum and that we need to create leaders that recognise the role of business in society and want to make a difference, as that is part of the Sussex ethos.

What does the Sussex MBA offer to managers in the Sussex area?

Having a high quality MBA is important for the regional economy as it provides the sorts of human and creative capital which is essential to the development of the Sussex area and the creation of new innovative sectors. We work closely with leading organisations in the region and are always looking for opportunities to create meaningful partnerships that deliver. We have a journey philosophy with our partners and this is reflected in our key strategic partners who have supported our MBA for many years by sending us their key next generation leaders as part of talent management processes. We take this responsibility very seriously.

Doing an MBA at Sussex offers graduates the opportunity to network with other key leaders in the area, as well as nationally, and internationally and to capitalise upon the reputation of the University of Sussex worldwide. 

Our accreditation and partnership with the Chartered Management Institute means when you complete the course, you’ll be eligible for a CMI Level 7 qualification in Strategic Management and Leadership.

And the University of Sussex Business School has wide acclaim – we’ve been ranked 50th in the World for Business and Economics by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2018, and 3rd in the UK for annual research income (Chartered Association of Business Schools 2016/17).

So we offer global reach but important local relevance too.

How has the Sussex MBA made a difference to people’s careers?

We have seen the Sussex MBA make a difference in so many different ways. For some it has expedited the process of promotion in leading multinational companies, whilst for others it has provided the confidence to change careers or to start their own businesses. For example, a former pilot started his own business as an advisor to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the European Union. A different student recently got promoted to Vice President in a large multinational in financial services whilst still in the process of completing our MBA!

How do your students fit an MBA around their busy professional lives?

The Sussex MBA is structured around the recognition that we are dealing with busy professionals who are go-getters and we provide a supportive environment for such people. Our MBA has a flexible modular structure of two blocks of two days per module (on Fridays and Saturdays). On average this entails only taking two Fridays off a month from work to attend lectures and then accessing e-learning tools to reinforce that learning. We have a collaborative ethos where students learn through classroom teaching, group work, e-learning, and individual support from faculty members. Participants will be challenged in real-life and highly interactive simulations, case studies, role plays, and presentations. We pride ourselves on being accessible at all times to our students and providing a personalised approach.

Tell us about some of your teaching staff and their experience?

We have leading faculty which is diverse in its expertise and experience. Our faculty comes from different countries and with industry and consulting experience and many are engaged in world-class cutting-edge research. Just to mention a few key areas of expertise of our faculty which is appreciated by our students: manufacturing procurement, risk management, supply chain innovation, digital transformation, resilience, virtual teams, work-life balance, emerging markets strategies, diversity management, biotechnology, diagnostics, financing innovation, healthcare, intellectual property, managing change, financial markets, performance management, sustainable development, design innovation, entrepreneurship policy and firm growth, and the list goes on. 

Given the unique structure of the University of Sussex Business School we believe that the School can ‘vertically integrate’ in a way no other UK business school can. The school can take organisations through the policy issues that confront them, modelling options that arise from developments in the policy landscape – and then suggest organisational responses based on the latest research. 

For more information about the Sussex MBA visit www.sussexmba.com. You can study either part-time or full-time, so you can tailor the MBA around your interests and learn in a way that suits you. Starts end of September, or for part time, choose a start date that suits you.