Most ambitious businesses have similar goals, and wider reach and international growth are two of the most common. Little wonder Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) takes great pride in offering a wide range of cutting-edge postgraduate programmes specifically designed to develop professionals who are equipped to translate business visions into action.
Lancaster’s MSc International Business and Strategy, a 12-month, full-time course provides graduates with the competencies needed to operate in multi-national firms. Dr. Allan Discua Cruz directs the programme after a successful career in analysis, strategy and research in both public and private sectors. Decades of experience have shown him that organisations always need professionals able to tackle effectively complex business challenges on a global scale.
“The next generation of international business strategists will have to address not only short-term, day-to-day challenges, but also take decisions that will have an impact for the long-term sustainability of business and communities around the world,” explains Dr. Discua Cruz.
The International Business and Strategy, endorsed by Ernst & Young (EY), combines a global business perspective with up-to-date strategic thinking, and includes hands-on case studies around internationalisation and strategy, simulation games, and personal development.
Students have opportunities to gain real-world experience through the insight and acumen of LUMS’s Entrepreneurs in Residence network. Members from around the world and from across a variety of business sectors are ever-willing to bring industry to the classroom.
Students apply their new-found knowledge through the International Strategy Summit module, and Dr. Discua Cruz says: “It is an opportunity for students to put to the test what they have learned through a simulated board of directors exercise led by staff with substantial experience in the business world.”
The industry knowledge provided by the programme means graduates can take their first steps or return to the business world with confidence. While some opt to start or grow small businesses, others land lucrative roles in multinational firms such as IBM, KPMG, EY, and Danone.
Outcomes are just as outstanding for MSc Marketing graduates. Approved and accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), this programme produces marketing professionals able to capitalise and stay on top of new and emerging trends while meeting the challenges of sustainability.
They build key employability skills to help them stand out in a competitive job market ––such as teamwork, ethical integrity, commercial awareness, critical and reflective skills, presentation, leadership and networking.
“We invite students to immerse themselves into the world of marketing, deep-diving into cutting-edge research and real-life case studies to build the critical expertise needed to succeed in the marketing profession,” explains programme director, Dr. Sandra Awanis.
Dr Awanis researches international marketing ethics, cross-cultural consumer behaviour, consumer finance and global public policy. As well as running day-to-day programme operations and managing student experiences, she offers a breadth of knowledge in the “Markets” core module, examining the environment where marketing professionals conduct their businesses and how they work.
The topic is one of three foundational components of the MSc Marketing degree. The others are: marketing and consumers. The first helps students conceive marketing tools and learn the art of fully leveraging them; the latter teaches them to conceptualise the role of consumers in the marketplace –– what they do and how their behaviours can be understood.
The programme adopts a global approach to ensure its learners understand how these foundational components vary across the world. “These lessons are key for providing our graduates with international exposure on the global and contemporary issues in marketing,” says Dr. Awanis.
All MSc Marketing students build on their professional interests by immersing themselves in courses on digital marketing, branding, international retailing as well as marketing’s role in society, each with practice-based learning opportunities to boost employability.
“For example, the digital marketing module allows students to explore both established and emerging forms of digital marketing, such as social media, digital advertising, and augmented reality,” says Dr Awanis. “The deep-dive dissertation allows our students to engage and collaborate with experienced marketing professionals on a live project to address real-life challenges and issues that they are currently exploring.”
It’s clear why LUMS performs strongly across a broad range of business school rankings and is held in high regard by the Financial Times, Forbes, and The Economist, among others. Here, future-focused competencies take centre stage when it comes to producing tomorrow’s business leaders. If you’d like to be one of them, click here.
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