Changing direction with the MBA

The MBA helped Pragya Shukla change not just career direction, but also her outlook – here, she explains what she got out of it. 

I came to study the MBA because I felt I lacked business knowledge. I was looking for a Business School that would help me develop business acumen (without making it too difficult) as well as grow as a person. 

Strathclyde provided me with a unique opportunity to learn about business fundamentals using case study methodology from some of the best instructors in the field, it gave me the chance to network with and learn from classmates with diverse backgrounds.
 
Strathclyde Business School prepared me well to solve business challenges and to lead organisations of the future. I especially remember how initially I found self-reflective tasks difficult. 

As a person, I didn't have the habit of reflecting back at situations and things, I believed in working hard, looking forward and moving on. However, the self-reflective exercises made me realise that I could be more productive - by reviewing each task, it helped me identify gaps in my own work and my capabilities and also made me question myself, which I feel made me realise and identify the work/industry that would give me happiness. Self-reflection and improvement not only helped me complete my MBA successfully but also helped me change as a person. 

One of the reasons I wanted to do an MBA was because I had heard from many people that doing an MBA changes the wiring of your brain; it changes how you look and perceive things and situations. I think they are right; it does change and develop you a lot. It was after a lot of thinking and understanding that I realised that I was happy, productive and enjoyed working in a start-up culture. I also realised that I wanted to grow a career in an organisation working towards achieving strong sustainability goals. This helped me narrow down my post-MBA goals. 

I also enjoyed the strategy modules a lot, they were full of brainstorming sessions with my peers and they gave me the opportunity to learn and look at things from different perspectives. I was also given the opportunity to associate and work as a Strategist with two social start-ups - which aligned with my post-MBA goals. 

Even though my MBA class was affected by the aftermath of COVID, we were still lucky enough to enjoy an industrial visit and we also had guest speakers every month which guided us with understanding the UK (industry specific) market. 

We also took part in an online networking event which helped me a lot. Even though it was a virtual event, I was able to connect with senior people from different industries and plan a few coffee meetings. I was fortunate as two of the senior alumni I connected with became my professional mentors - I am still in touch with them and occasionally grab a coffee with them. 

The University was there at every step and guided me through the tough times of COVID and hybrid learning. 

I come from a place where Mental Health is not taken seriously and so when I had the opportunity to run virtual workshops during Christmas vacation, I created a virtual mental health workshop. It was a great experience as I met some PhD students working on similar topics of mental health, some students struggling but unsure about their mental wellbeing, and some senior students who had faced mental health problems and were working to overcome them. 

While I have travelled to the UK a few times, Glasgow was a new experience to me. I moved here with my family which includes my husband and my then 4-year-old daughter (now 5 years old). SBS staff, both management and teaching, were helpful and understood my childcare needs. I looked at and tried the Strathclyde Nursery for a few days before my daughter started her school and the support around it was splendid. 

I think my overall experience with Strathclyde was very good, which was one of the biggest reasons I fell in love with Glasgow, others being it’s a beautiful city, beaches a 30 minute drive away, the Highlands a 60 minute drive, the city is big but not crowded and also I observed that Glasgow is focusing on green tech and sustainable organisation a lot so I applied for jobs here. 

My one year MBA completely transformed my career. The course carefully knits together all aspects of business and general management, enabling you to interlink strategy, corporate finance, marketing and a lot more. These are all very essential components of business decision making. My view has widened and become holistic now. 

I now work for a R&D Green Tech start-up as their Operations Manager, my role involves creation and implementation of people processes and policies in the organisation and I am also a part of the expansion team so I have to create a Business Case and have recently used MIRO to prioritise the expansion tasks. 

Overall, I found the whole MBA experience diverse and beneficial. It gave me the platform to network and meet different people which again helped me with my job and overall growth. 

I would definitely recommend the Strathclyde MBA: for one thing, I did my homework before coming to Strathclyde and its Glasgow location offers twin city benefit (Edinburgh is so close), and for another, Strathclyde has a strong network and I have personally connected with a few alumni who have guided me. I also found the career advisor services of Strathclyde very helpful. 

Overall, I am happy and satisfied with my decision of pursuing an MBA at Strathclyde. It has helped me become a better version of myself. Originally a dental surgeon, I changed from a human resource professional to an operations strategy manager for a research organisation with the MBA. I couldn’t have done justice to my new role without the SBS programme. 

About Pragya Shukla

Pragya Shukla is operations manager with Solasta Bio. She previously worked as an HR manager before completing the MBA at Strathclyde Business School. She originally trained and practised as a dentist.