“For me, the greatest motivation for joining the Part-Time MBA Program was to progress as a leader. I had already advanced in my career, but I was keen to take time to reflect and consider who I wanted to be as a leader. The operational aspects of my job has taken such precedence that I never had time to do this or to consider how I wanted my team to grow. That was an element of the WHU MBA Program I really valued – the huge emphasis on leadership development.”
When Julia joined the Part-Time MBA Program in 2012, her role at Deutsche Bank AG was within IT Strategy. As mid-management, she entered the program at a more senior level than many of her peers. With a background in economics and a Master in Computer Science and Finance, she had already had six years of work experience behind her. “I never took time off and always prioritized work, but had been considering the MBA for some time. The WHU brand in itself was also a strong factor in my decision to join the program: you are investing two years of your time, so it’s key to choose a school with a strong reputation for quality.”
“Going back to studying with all the work experience gained in between, you find that everything makes so much more sense,” she adds. “You connect the theories with your own experience. It was incredibly enriching to study alongside people from different backgrounds. We had engineers, scientists, some who had studied literature before: it was a very mixed group of people from different corporate environments and different stages in their careers.”
Halfway through the MBA, Julia changed careers switching from strategic function to strategy consulting. “I found that the MBA Program was excellent preparation for my new consultant role. During the program, we worked in teams throughout the year on shared outcomes, sometimes with people with strong opposing views. It really helped me to appreciate and value different points of view and to be confident of the outcome at the end. I particularly found the study-abroad weeks and the company visits beneficial during the program. It was due to these company visits that I first encountered industrial goods as an industry. I always had an interest in tangible products and these site visits piqued my interest further, which encouraged me to find roles in this industry.”
Now as Managing Director at BCG Platinion, Julia recognizes the benefits and return-on-investment that the Part-Time MBA Program provides. “I truly feel that the program changed my mindset and helped me to become more open and daring. It gave me more confidence than ever and the ability to navigate working with people from different academic and cultural backgrounds.”
The WHU MBA Program is passionate about supporting diversity in business – find out more about scholarships available