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Stephanie France Stephanie France, Full-Time MBA
The Bradford MBA gave Stephanie France the confidence and tools to set up her own award-winning business, Space2work - a West Yorkshire-based office design and refurbishment service which, within a year of its foundation, acquired Wakefield-based FP Construction.
Stephanie, aged 36, gained three accolades within 12 months for her company - Yorkshire's Young Business of the Year 2007 in the Yorkshire Post's Excellence in Business Awards; the New Business Rising Star of the Year award 2006/7 at the Huddersfield Examiner Trinity Mirror Business Awards; and was named one of the region's 42 'under 42' entrepreneurs by Yorkshire Business Insider magazine.
"I decided to take an MBA because I wanted either a change in career direction or to start my own company and I felt the programme was a great catalyst for either or both options," Stephanie explained.
"For some time I had been hearing the MBA advertisement for Bradford on the local radio station. When I was considering if an MBA was for me, I initially shortlisted a few business schools within a 25-mile radius, or one-hour journey, of my base. Eventually I decided that Bradford was the best all-rounder - it had a good ranking, was excellent value for money and the course content and optional modules suited my requirements. Most of all, I fell in love with Heaton Mount.
"I found that my knowledge of business and management became deeper and I gained a better understanding of organisations and some of the strategies they employ. There was also a large learning curve to be gained from other students - the internationalism was great in terms of sharing knowledge and experiencing cultural differences and similarities. I also realised that my previous commercial experience was a great asset and I had the potential to reach my goals in life.
"The MBA allowed me to have the confidence and necessary ability to start my own business. The core modules and the options I selected gave me a greater understanding of all the areas of business and, while my experience in some may have been relatively new, I had a good starting point to build on and develop. One of the bi-products of the MBA is the ability to recognise strengths and abilities in others - this was particularly helpful when building my existing management team at work.
"The MBA has played a vital role in my personal development and I feel sure that without it I would not be in the position I am in now. Without doubt, it is a challenging programme that requires commitment and dedication. While some may say an MBA is not a ticket to any job in the world, it certainly gives you the ability to obtain the passport for new career opportunities - the rest is up to you."
Bradford University School of Management, Emm Lane, Bradford BD9 4JL
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