Tatiana Melgar, MSc in Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship 2021-22, reflects on the programme and how she and her cohort engaged with businesses in the classroom.
The MSc in Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship gives students a great opportunity to engage with entrepreneurs, business executives and policy makers. Tatiana Melgar (2021-22) tells of her experience with one elective on the programme.
When choosing a Masters degree, I wanted one that would allow me to explore different areas of innovation and entrepreneurship, both theoretically and practically. The MSc in Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship at Alliance Manchester Business School fitted this purpose, including its diverse range of elective course units. Specifically, the Case Studies in Technology Strategy & Innovation Management elective caught my eye. I found the outline and methodology of this unit very attractive. Each lecture included addressing a case study and interacting with executives from various businesses most weeks. Thus, I decided to enrol in this course unit.
As soon as I attended the first sessions, I knew I had made the right choice for my interests. Each session was engaging as they involved discussing and proposing creative solutions for each business case. Moreover, they involved applying current academic and management models and concepts to real company challenges. Therefore, I learned relevant theoretical management and innovation models and put them into practice.
Furthermore, having discussions with executives from different business sectors was priceless. Each session was completely different regarding the academic topic and business sector, which kept me interested in the course. I enjoyed learning from these various sectors and how they managed innovation and implemented strategies.
The guest executives not only shared their experiences with us but also challenged us with complex management problems in which there was more than one viable option to follow. This gave me the opportunity to exercise the ability to think on my feet and outside the box and develop my problem-solving skills. For example, I remember how one of the guest speakers asked us about the risks and what path to follow when a successful start-up grows at significant rates that are hard to manage. Here there were various possibilities. Each had its pros and cons, which forced us to sustain our recommendations and views while analysing each option critically. It made us reflect on the risks we were willing to take as managers and what success meant to us.
Also, being a non-native English speaker, the course helped me gain fluency when talking English at a business level and learn new vocabulary. It is one of the lectures in which, to make the most of it, you have got to participate continuously, work in groups and, for some weeks, read long case studies of specialised business sectors such as legal services and medical equipment manufacturers. These cases allowed me to familiarise myself with current technology concepts, trends and vocabulary that served me well in other course units and gave me a base to talk about these topics in job interviews.
I recommend this elective to students that appreciate practical sessions and discussions and are eager to interact with classmates and guest speakers. Moreover, being in contact with real business executives benefits anyone considering a career related to innovation management or technology businesses. In summary, taking this elective was an invaluable experience and provided me with diverse opportunities and lessons. This course unit offers more than academic knowledge and business experiences because every lecture was a chance to network, exercise soft skills, learn vocabulary and gain English fluency. I think students can learn and enjoy it a lot as I did.
Find out more about the MSc in Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship at Alliance MBS.
