Deciding to pursue an MBA

As an undergraduate, I decided to become a chartered accountant. The journey was certainly not an easy one, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. During my three years of internship, I worked for 16 hours a day to fulfil my commitment towards four hours of university study, nine hours of work and three hours of self-study every day. The hard work certainly proved fruitful and I earned one of the most respected degrees in India. I went on to work with one of the largest private sector banks in India in their asset securitisation division and later moved on to technology consulting with a boutique firm in Mumbai.

While working in my previous job as a consultant, I realised that to survive and thrive in today’s world, technical skills are not sufficient to climb the ladder in long term. Most of my work involved pitching firms’ services to clients to win contracts, presenting solutions to project managers, collaborating with colleagues to deliver solutions to clients and as well as continually networking during my weekends.

I lacked expertise in these skills and wanted to fill these gaps. I knew Bayes Business School (formerly Cass) would be the perfect place for me to build my executive presence, pitching and networking skills. I am glad to be part of a diverse cohort of individuals from fashion design, gaming and oil and gas among other sectors. Bayes Business School’s location in the City of London gives me an added advantage where I am close to one of the oldest financial centres and I can leverage the Bayes network to meet and network with industry leaders.

Real-world learning

Four months into the course and I have already learnt so much from my peers and professors. During our first academic week, we discussed how one of the biggest management consulting firms found itself in trouble after securing its biggest contract in South Africa. All the issues were discussed in depth and what could have been done to avoid the decision-making bias. Contributions from my peers during class discussion totally changed my perception of how different actions can be construed in different cultures.

I had the opportunity to listen to guest lecturers ranging from a renowned author to the CEO of a multinational motorcycle company. Hearing from our guest lecturers has allowed me to gain insights on turnaround strategies, competitor analysis, leadership and how to lead in difficult situations.

At the end of each teaching block, our Integration week provides ample opportunity to apply these learnings in a real-life simulation of a fast-paced corporate environment. My team developed a business plan to revive a health club chain out of the Covid-19 crisis using concepts from Strategy, Accounting and Organisational Behaviour modules. For our second block, we created a blueprint to launch a product in a new geographical market by applying learnings from Economics, Finance and Business Analytics modules.

Moving ahead in my career

The Careers and Professional Development Team at Bayes Business School is an excellent resource for supporting my career aspirations and enhancing my professional skills. My MBA cohort had a networking skills workshop at the beginning the programme to better understand how important networking is and how to properly network under different circumstances. I constantly speak to my Careers Team contact to discuss networking and developments in my career search.

I am grateful to have joined Bayes Business School for my MBA. While this 12-month program is fast-paced, this rollercoaster ride is worth enjoying. I have learned the most important lesson of my life here: time is a luxury. There are so many things to do—participating in University and School events, managing and organising events for student societies, networking and focusing on my academic commitments. Each day brings with it new set of challenges and I am thankful to Bayes for preparing me to face them in real world.

Jay Adatiya, Full-time MBA (2021)