Quick fact: you have two weeks at the start of the semester to decide what electives to take.
Every semester we have 4 electives. In semester 1, 3 out of 4 were compulsory. This semester, only 1 is compulsory, so we can choose 3 other electives we like. Some of those that were on offer this year include Data Analytics, Global Supply Chain Management, Sustainable Supply Chain Management, Megaprojects Leadership and Strategy, B2B Marketing (note: this list is subject to change every year). The choice is great and remember that you have two weeks at the start of the semester to attend any of them to make up your mind. I myself went to every one of them and decided to go with Global Supply Chain, Megaprojects and B2B.
Quick fact: being an Ops student you have an option to take one elective from any of the other AMBS programmes (subject to approval).
You are not limited to the list of electives above and can choose one from a different programme. Ever dreamed of maybe learning more about Mergers and Acquisitions, which is an elective on MSc Finance? This is your chance, and this is actually quite common to take an elective outside of MSc Ops. I did it in semester 1 and took Business Performance and Strategy from MSc Management because I wanted to learn more about how to analyse companies' performance to complement my operations and supply chain studies. Some of my friends are interested in sustainability development, so they chose to take Sustainable Supply Chain Management and another elective on sustainability from outside of MSc Ops.
I remember myself being curious about what each of the electives were like and what past students thought of them, so this is what I would say about some of those that I have been to. A quick disclaimer – this is very brief and subjective.
Data Analytics: demanding if no prior experience but rewarding
Global Supply Chain Management: very practical; some lectures involve useful game elements, so you get "hands-on" experience
Megaprojects Leadership and Strategy: no exam, but a lot of group work which makes the elective quite demanding. A lot of guest lectures and in-class discussions, so very rewarding if you are into project management and infrastructure
B2B Marketing: very interesting coursework – you work with a representative from Microsoft on a real-life problem
And one last thing, if you are applying to MSc Ops, you probably know that the course is accredited by CIPS (Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply). Remember that if you want to get a CIPS accreditation you need to choose specific electives which will be specified to you by the programme director. The optional semester 2 electives required for CIPS this year are Global Supply Chain Management and Megaprojects Leadership and Strategy.
