Student Perspective | Agata Zwan | MBA

It has been totally worth it, and a fruitful experience.
6th August 2021
Agata Zwan is on our Master of Business Administration programme. She has lived in Gibraltar for many years and has been wanting to study for an MBA for some time; she was delighted to discover the course at the University of Gibraltar.

Why did you choose to study at the University of Gibraltar?

I have been living locally for many years and had looked at MBA programmes before. At that time there was no local university, so the only option was to study remotely and follow a UK course. However, I was not keen about online learning; I think that face to face learning has many benefits. If the University had been in existence at that time, I would have enrolled there and then, however I had to put that idea on the shelf for a while.
Then last year, I was talking to my manager about how I was thinking about changing position and taking on more responsibilities. He was the one that actually brought up the idea of doing an MBA locally, and I immediately wanted to know more; I had no idea that there was an MBA programme at the University of Gibraltar. I had a look at the course and in the end, we both signed up together!

What has your experience of studying the MBA been like so far?

I didn’t have any expectations about the programme, but I was very much looking forward to going back to education. I love studying and learning and I was looking forward to an academic approach to business whereby you carry out your own research, delve deeper into a topic and so on. I am happy that it has been built around the UK accreditation too, and that the degree is recognized in the UK.

What has your experience as a student at the University of Gibraltar been like?

It has been great, but definitely time consuming! However, my employer is extremely supportive. We are given study days from our employer and those have been very helpful. The first few terms were manageable; however, the last six weeks of the course were quite intense as we had to work hard to apply ourselves and did a lot of research, but this is reflected in the grades. Regardless, it has been totally worth it, and a fruitful experience. I’ve made so many friends within this small community in Gibraltar. It has been a good experience to understand different perspectives in the workplace and we’ve had an insight into how the government works for example, as well as speaking to people from private companies, and it makes for interesting conversations.

What support have you received from the university so far?

The support has been really good! We can always go and speak with the head of the business school which is great; it’s not everywhere that students can actually do that. We always receive good feedback and help with any questions or concerns. There is also a library system in which you are able to take out books even out of hours, such as at the weekends. The receptionists are also extremely helpful! When we had group assignments, we would go to the university to practise as we needed a quiet space to do so, and the infrastructure of the university was great for this.
The main advantage for me is that we have had in person classes throughout the pandemic; that was amazing. There are many benefits to face-to-face interactions, and it was a great achievement that the university managed to do this safely. Another benefit is that the classes are small, and in this way the support you receive from your lecturers is very personal. They are happy to help you before or after a class, or they will accommodate our questions into the lectures themselves which is helpful. We always have an opportunity to ask for clarification. Furthermore, the engagement within the classes is greater as everyone works within a different sector and has plenty of information to exchange with others – the lectures are never just one person standing and speaking to you; they are always dynamic because the classes are so small and personable.

What are planning to do once you graduate?

I don’t have a specific plan at the moment. I am gaining many skills from the course, and I am going to try to apply them in my workplace. Also, in my personal life, we have been learning about investment, how to trade in the stock market etc. and this was not something I knew much about before. Now I know how this works, I feel confident about investing some of my savings into the stock market. The way I am now managing my own finances is based on the financial knowledge that I have gained from the course.
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