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Doing an MBA has equipped me with more tools to make better decisions

Jordan / MBA

Rana Almaqatash from Jordan, has been working for three years since graduating from her Bachelors in Engineering. Since then, she wanted to make a next step with her education, Rana said: “I remember when I was applying for my bachelor’s degree, I was curious about both engineering and business. Though I chose engineering, my interest in business strategies never died. After gaining good experience in the technical aspect, I wanted to take a next step in my career path and of course pursuing something in business was on the top of my mind. I, therefore, started to apply for British universities and chose the University of Gloucestershire because of the good reputation of the Business School specifically.”

Course Rana is now doing the MBA course and said it has expanded her knowledge: “Doing an MBA has equipped me with more tools to make overall better decisions. The way the assignments are expected from students instil a level of critical thinking and professionalism. I would say my year at UOG has been tremendously useful and expanded my knowledge in various aspects.”

Working while studying

Rana used her work experience in Jordan to find a part-time job in the UK. She is a SAP consultant and thinks that working while studying has helped her to better understand how to balance between stress and tight schedules, Rana said: “Coping with studying and working is not the easiest. However, this year has helped me to better understand how to cope with stress and tight schedules, which I believe is a skill that we never master but continue to develop.”

Sport

Rana has been motivated by the University’s sport facilities to get involved with more sport, Rana said: “I think the sports facilities are the most fascinating thing at the University. I became more interested in sports just because of the sports facilities. I play tennis and do rowing with the Rowing Society. So, I can say the facilities the University offers have motivated me to do a lot more of sports.”

Challenges

“I would say the most challenging thing was the weather, especially when I was doing rowing at 6am on the river with the society. Also, coming to a new country and a new city, where you know zero people is definitely a challenge. I had to build everything from scratch. This hasn’t been easy, but somehow I believe it’s worth it as I have got a new comfort zone now in a totally different country.” said Rana.

Life in Gloucestershire

“Gloucester is really a nice city especially the Gloucester Docks, there are a lot of restaurants in there, so if the weather is nice, you can sit in and enjoy yourself.” said Rana.