How can you use an MBA to accelerate your career?

For the last 14 years IMAGE Media has been proud to partner with UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School to offer one female candidate a 100% scholarship to join the full-time MBA or part-time Executive MBA. The UCD Smurfit School is hosting an event specifically for women interested in undertaking an MBA, to help you find out more about advancing your career.

“When we feel we are reaching our potential, we excel, we soar,” says Dr Danielle Courtney. “The Smurfit MBA is exactly what you need to break beyond your expectations of yourself. Remember, you have constructed the box in which you have placed yourself and defined its limits. But you can change. What you must do is recalibrate and go for it.”

On April 21, UCD Smurfit School will host a panel discussion specifically for women interested in undertaking an MBA.

Chaired by Dr Orla Byrne, Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship on the Smurfit MBA, panellists will include current MBA students and alumni who will share their experiences and highlight the importance and impact of the MBA on their professional and personal progression.

UCD Smurfit School MBA — The UCD Smurfit School

“We have identified three key areas of action which we found women perceive to be barriers in completing their MBA,” said Professor Gerardine Doyle, Director of UCD Smurfit School and Associate Dean, UCD College of Business. “These are lack of flexibility, cost and lack of confidence. This online event will play an important role in showcasing how women can help women to overcome these perceived obstacles.”

The panel includes notable MBA students and alumni including:

Micaela Connery, MBA Alumna 2017

Co-Founder and CEO of The Kelsey, a non-profit organization with the mission of accelerating and advocating for housing that is inclusive of people with disability of all incomes.

Dr Danielle Courtney, EMBA Alumna 2020, IMAGE Scholar

Medical doctor with an interest in gut physiology, gastrointestinal health, plant-based nutrition, research and disease prevention.

Caitlin McBride, MBA Student, IMAGE Scholar

Media and communications specialist, author, journalist and broadcaster.

Susannah Morris, Executive MBA Student, Fora Scholar

Experienced community pharmacist and business analyst at ION.

“Following a career change from healthcare to fintech, the MBA was an obvious way to fill any real or perceived knowledge gaps and build a network with other top professionals,” said Business Analyst at ION, Susannah Morris. “The knowledge I’ve gained has been invaluable for advancing my career in a fast paced global company. It has also given me the confidence and a springboard to investigate new ventures and opportunities.”

Susannah also noted that the prospect of fitting study around a full time job and a hectic personal life was somewhat daunting. “It’s worthwhile but it’s hard work. You’ll need support from your friends, family and employer—so prepare them, and yourself, for that.”

For Dr Danielle Courtney the MBA opened her mind to the possibilities of ‘other’. “As you work through your career, you become progressively more pigeon-holed, not by anyone’s fault or that of your own, but as a natural course of events,” she explains. “You forget that you have the potential to learn, relearn and become a better-equipped and more able-bodied person.”

“Completing the MBA has opened doors for me professionally and personally and continues to do so. In addition, I have made lifelong friends from the programme, people I am grateful to know and who are a wealth of knowledge from multiple fields.”

“At UCD Smurfit School, we empower future business leaders to have an impact in the world of business and beyond,” said Professor Doyle. “We are actively working to advance gender equality, representation, progression and success for all, and a key to this is ensuring that there is a cohort of strong female leadership coming through business education.”

The globally-ranked UCD Smurfit School MBA provides an unequalled opportunity to unlock and develop leadership potential, accelerate careers and build global networks.

“We want to ‘inspire more’ in all we do, encouraging women to think beyond preconceived notions of glass ceilings or barriers in anything they pursue,” concluded Professor Doyle.

This event is open to the public and will take place over Zoom on Wednesday April 21 2021 from 7:00-8.30 pm. Register here.

Learn more about UCD Smurfit School’s highly ranked MBA programmes here.

To find out more about the 2021 IMAGE MBA Scholarship and apply, click here. The closing date is June 1 2021.