Alumni
Joao Conde Buzio - Finance & Investment Management (with Distinction)
Career History/Educational Background
After completing in 2004 a degree in Economics at the New University of Lisbon (Portugal), I did a 6-month internship in a Financial Services company in Portugal.
In September 2004, I started the MSc in Finance and Investment Management at the University of Aberdeen, after which I was hired by a major international company to undertake their Graduate Programme in the City (London).
Why Aberdeen?
The reasons why I chose Aberdeen were of various sorts but two were of particular relevance. Aberdeen brings together two very important aspects for me, i.e. it provided quietude to concentrate in my studies and fabulous places to celebrate my successes.
The University campus has an authentic academic environment with green spaces surrounded by 500-year old buildings which I found quite inspiring. Additionally, the campus provided me all the required facilities to excel, such as high-standard libraries, numerous computer rooms, a language centre, a gym with in-door swimming pool, among other amenities.
Simultaneously, students from many countries choose Aberdeen to study and the interaction with such an amalgamation of cultures is at a minimum invaluable. Plus I got to live the immense Scottish culture in a very genuine city like Aberdeen.
Did you enjoy the course?
I did enjoy the MSc in Finance and Investment Management. The course is very well-structured and even if a student does not have a financial background, he/she can still follow the course through and produce, at the end of the line, a good piece of independent research.
Even though part of the course was dominated by classes and exams, there were plenty of high-level assignments. The dissertation stage was, in particular, very rewarding as I had to control many variables and manage complex information in order to develop a research project.
However, I was not left alone as I was assigned to a Professor who gave good sound advice and followed my progress through.
What next?
After completing the MSc, I was offered some opportunities to work in the City (London) and I ended up joining the Risk Management Graduate Programme of Willis Limited – a major international company in the Financial Services sector.
I believe that the skills provide by the MSc played a pivotal role in getting on the fast-track to a potentially successful career.
Mark Tabrett – MBA (with Distinction)
I originally studied for my undergraduate degree in Maths and Economics at Aberdeen University because I wanted to stay in Scotland to study (having grown up in Aberdeen too!) and it has always had a strong reputation as one of Scotland’s leading universities. I enjoyed the four years which I spent studying here and made a large number of close friends in the process, so when I decided that I wanted to continue studying for an MBA, Aberdeen was the obvious choice for me to make.
I had decided that spending one year studying for an MBA would be an excellent investment in my future. Many people normally return to university to study it part-time over three years, but I thought that doing it before I began working would mean that I could focus on my career goals with the knowledge that it will give me an advantage as I progress. I had read about how the MBA had been growing in recognition throughout the UK in the past few years and how beneficial this course was for people, like myself, who one day aspire to become business leaders. Executives and managers who are already at a very senior level in their organisation are also known to return to university to study an MBA as they realise the potential gains they can make by doing so, both for themselves and their companies.
Studying the MBA was definitely a challenge for me and the others in my class. It became clear very quickly why it is so highly regarded by employers. The courses covered many key business areas and offered a wide variety of different courses to study during the summer school depending on what your interests were. However, the MBA did not just cover the theory of how to run a successful organisation but also developed interpersonal skills through group discussions and projects, which often involved presentations to the class of our results. The workload was large and there were deadlines for coursework on a regular basis so it was not an easy year (although time management and dealing with heavy workloads are important everyday skills which are needed in industry and I certainly developed these during this course!). Despite the amount of work involved, I found it to be an extremely rewarding year which I enjoyed thoroughly. I made some good friends during my time there so we could discuss any areas that someone maybe felt that they hadn’t understood fully.
The class was diverse in culture, with many students coming from outside of the UK, which meant that there were lots of different opinions when discussing various topics and issues. Aberdeen University is very open to international students and aimed to offer these students support during their course. The class was a mixture of those who had worked and were returning to study and those who had never worked before, again bringing different approaches to our tasks. I felt that this exposure to diversity may very useful in future due to increasing globalisation and the convergence of business practices between different cultures throughout the world.
Since leaving university I have joined KPMG - a global accountancy firm - in Aberdeen and am training to become a Chartered Accountant. My job requires me to understand my clients’ industries and assess the risks which they may face during their financial year. Although I am not in a senior position yet, I already feel that my MBA has helped me in the early stages of my career; I am involved in meetings with colleagues and clients on a regular basis and the knowledge which I acquired has helped me to understand the business issues which are being discussed much more easily than I would have otherwise been able to. To demonstrate my point earlier, KPMG offer managers and senior management the opportunity to study an MBA as the firm realises the benefits that this could have for our existing and new or potential clients.
Overall I would definitely recommend the MBA at Aberdeen University to anyone who is aiming to achieve success in their career. It is a demanding course but very rewarding both academically and personally. It is an excellent opportunity to develop yourself at one of the country’s most reputable and long standing universities with a class of graduates who share many of the same long term career aspirations as you.
Scott Harvey – MSc Property (with Commendation)
Aberdeen University's reputation for property is widely regarded as the best in Scotland. This reputation, together with Aberdeen's rich educational history resulted in my application, attendance and subsequent graduation. I have also always wanted to work abroad at some point and Aberdeen's course structure had a somewhat international edge that appealed to me, including a fieldtrip to Lisbon, Portugal as part of the curriculum.
The course was fantastic in every regard, with a professional aspect that I feel prepared me for my impending career. I have no doubt that Aberdeen University helped in me securing work experience during the Easter break with Cushman & Wakefield, a top three global real estate services provider. During this I learnt that many of those working in the Edinburgh office had graduated from Aberdeen University in the past, and I managed to survive the application process, resulting in me being offered a place in the September graduate program intake.
I am currently in my second year with Cushman & Wakefield, currently in the Capital Markets Group specialising in office and industrial investment across Scotland. I sit the APC (finger-crossed I'll pass!) in October and I leave to go abroad to one of our 200 global offices in January for a 3 month placement, I can't wait!
Bogi Hojgard, MSc Finance & Investment Management
I took an undergraduate degree in economics from Aberdeen University (2:1) and applied to around 15-200 jobs (in the UK), got a couple of interviews but no job. I then went back to the Faroe Islands and worked for a year before coming back to Aberdeen University to do my MSc in Finance and Investment.
I posted my CV on Monster.co.uk, and in May I was contacted by a recruiter who had seen my CV and asked if I would like an interview for an Financial Accountant job with Schlumberger in Aberdeen. I agreed, had the interview and was offered the job (mid 20k), which I accepted.
While I was waiting for my written references to come through, I was called up by another recruitment company. The recruiter had noticed that I had written my undergraduate dissertation on the cost benefit of increasing Faroese reliance on renewable energy, and apparently this fitted well with a potential job at E.ON UK (owner of the Powergen brand) in Coventry. This job sounded far more interesting than accountancy and paid significantly more. I was offered an interview, had it and got offered the job in Coventry, which I took.
I have been working as a Business Analyst in a department called New Business. The department investigates opportunities in generating low carbon electricity in the near to medium future. This involves examining the economic viability of methods such as combined heat and power (using the waste heat from power generation for industrial purposes), carbon capture and storage, and new nuclear build, though excluding established renewable technologies such as wind, hydro and solar, since these are the remit of the Renewables business.
Lee San Low MBA (with Commendation)
Career History/Educational Background
I worked as a CIMA qualified accountant since 1995, in various industries in Malaysia such as hotels and resorts, manufacturing of building materials and semiconductors, and IT. I joined the MBA programme in 2004 and graduated the following year with commendation.
Why Aberdeen?
I initially joined the Management, Innovation & Change programme, as the University of Aberdeen is the only UK university that offers this course, and it has a long history of excellence. I then switched to MBA during the first semester. I love Aberdeen because it's a city that could offer highlands and a beach but not congested with pollution.
Did you enjoy the course?
Yes, I did with crazy schedules especially during summer school. The teaching and admin staff were fabulous. This course allows me to update what I had done 10 years ago, and introduced me to other business aspects. I find this most useful as it changed how I approach my work. Accountants are always thought to lack business acumen, I guess this course taught me to look at things from the business angle and understand when risks are taken. The difficulty is to balance prudence and risk taking.
What next?
I have been working with Accenture for about 2 years and will be joining Conoco Phillips in June 2007. I am looking forward to work with an oil & gas company and hope to specialise in oil & gas tax. I think it's strange to say this, I would like to return to the University of Aberdeen to complete what I initially set out to do - MSc in Management, Innovation and Change.
Bin Mao, MSc Finance & Investment Management
I obtained my first degree in Economics in Xi’an Jiao Tong University and came to Aberdeen in Aug 2003 to study a Masters in Finance and Investment Management. I was awarded a Research Scholarship from the College of Art and Social Sciences at Aberdeen University in order to pursue a Ph.D. degree. In October 2004, I began my PhD studies in the Finance Department, the topic of which was ‘Testing the Performance of Financial Asset Pricing Models’.
The Business School of University of Aberdeen is steeped in history and prestige. Its learning environment is very challenging and you will participate in both individual and group work. This will not only give you new knowledge, but also transfer you from passive study into active study, and give you all the tools required to discover, analyse and solve problems effectively. The skills that you will learn at Business School are highly valued in industry and further studies giving you excellent career prospects. For example, those skills helped me to get a job from KPMG, which I will start once I have finished my PhD in the summer.
Life in Aberdeen is a very dynamic and unique experience. You can make friends with people from all over the world, taste different foreign foods, and learn different cultures. Don’t worry that you will feel homesick or lonely; there are so many things to do during the weekend in Aberdeen that you don’t have time to miss home! Summer is the best season here! During weekend, you can travel around Scotland to see the magnificent nature beauty, or have a lazy walk in the forest, or visit mystery castles, or have a barbecue next to river, or just have a cup of coffee and listen to music…… Don’t afraid about winter, it is not too cold,. There are lots of ski resorts around Aberdeen where you can easily enjoy a weekend! By taking advantage of pivotal role in the international oil and gas industry, you can also travel to rest of Europe from Aberdeen very easily based on excellent travel links. In short, you are really experiencing a life which you never had before. Almost every moment of every day, you are learning new things.
Finally, what I would like to say is, in a foreign country, when you are facing everything by yourself, your tears and smiles will finally bring you the most precious treasure which will be with you for the rest of your life.