As a working professional, the thought of taking time out to study can seem quite daunting. There is a lot to consider when taking a career break to go back into education. While taking time out to develop your skillset, expand your horizons and develop your network can leave you in good stead for your future career, it’s not practical for everyone to press pause on the world of work. At Imperial College Business School, we recognise that, which is why we offer an MBA without compromise and with the opportunity to study at our London campus, the Weekend MBA.
The Weekend MBA is one of our four MBA programmes and has been designed with working professionals in mind. It provides the best of both worlds, by studying part-time you don’t need to take your foot off the pedal in your career, but you still get the opportunity to have an on-campus MBA experience.
The 21-month programme, where you study in London one weekend a month, gives you the opportunity to develop your business and management skill set, expand your network with ambitious students and world-leading faculty that could open new doors in your current career or help you carve out a completely new one.
Mihaela Moldovan is an alumnus of the Imperial Weekend MBA, class of 2021. Coming into the programme with 10 years of entrepreneurial experience in a fast growing technology company based in Romania, she had learned and grown professionally by being hands-on in many business situations and experimenting with various business functions. Although satisfied with her, career progression, Mihaela says she saw the MBA as an opportunity to gain new perspectives and learn new business concepts and best practices from a world leading university.
“When I started researching different business schools, Imperial College Business School stood out immediately with their focus on entrepreneurship and a unique innovation ecosystem. On top of this, the school offers various MBA programs customized to fit professionals at every stage of their careers. I chose the Weekend format as I wanted to pursue my studies but keep my professional activity going simultaneously. Looking back, I think the mix of learning and working is a fantastic way of applying the MBA knowledge immediately and getting its benefits right away.”
Developing your skillset and returning to education is an impactful way to leverage a new role, which many of our students have experienced. 58% of Weekend MBA class of 2020 changed companies during or upon completion of the programme and a further 34% successfully changed sector.
Michaela reflects on her career journey on the Weekend MBA:
“Throughout the MBA, I had the time to reflect on my strengths and interests and devise a longer-term career plan for myself. Once I had gained that big picture, I could coordinate my action towards my objectives and changed roles going from Operations & Finance to Strategy & Innovation. Looking back, I can say the MBA helped me better understand my strengths and provided the space and tools to reflect on my career objectives and the steps needed to reach them.
If making a career change sounds like something you want to do, then at Imperial we have the support that will allow you to demonstrate all the new things you have learned. As part of your programme, you will go on a Personal Leadership Journey which offers practical exercises, workshops and one-to-one career coaching sessions carefully crafted to enhance your leadership capabilities and address areas for development. Our Careers team encourages you to think about your career goals from the get-go and with our help you can make the steps to achieve them.
Outside of the classroom, there are so many opportunities to develop new skills while studying at Imperial. Michaels says, “the Weekend MBA offers for each student the flexibility to tailor the extracurricular experience depending on time availability. In my case, I’ve decided to enjoy this experience to its fullest by moving to London and being as connected to the school as I could.”
An MBA is an investment in yourself and your future, however, there is a cost that comes with that. While the Weekend MBA gives you the luxury of being able to continue earning a salary while you learn, there is still the question of fees that must be addressed.
There are many solutions available to find a happy medium that accommodates everyone’s personal circumstances:
Scholarships – There are several scholarship options available at the Business School. It’s recommended that you apply early as they are only available in the first four application rounds.
Loans – you can apply to borrow part or full of programme fees. Visit our website to find out which providers we recommend.
Corporate sponsorship – With the help of our Recruitment team, you can build a business case that showcases why funding your education would bring value to your organisation.
There’s no denying that making the decision to do an MBA is big. However, the rewards can be huge. The Weekend MBA gives you the option to mitigate the risk of taking a career break and allows you to continue in your current trajectory while still learning to become a great leader and gain the skills necessary to excel in your career.
We are also delighted to announce that we will be offering an application fee waiver (£135) to WeAreTheCity members who apply for our Weekend MBA April 2022 intake. Fill out this form and a member of our Recruitment team will be in touch to provide guidance on the admissions process and how to give your application the best chance of success.
