How one Bayes graduate used her Executive MBA to switch careers.
Nargis Hemat
Nationality: British
Programme: Modular Executive MBA, 2022
Pre-MBA: Specialist Lead Research Manager,London’s Royal Free Hospital
Post-MBA: Associate Director of Clinical Operations, MSD UK
Current industry: Pharma/healthcare
“I didn’t want to go step by step. I wanted to take a leap!”
Nargis Hemat had been working in healthcare research at London’s Royal Free Hospital for more than eight years, when she began thinking it was time for a new challenge in a different sector. Having steadily worked her way up through the ranks to become a Specialist Lead Research Manager, there was just one thing holding her back from making the next move.
“I didn't want to start [over] and have to make my way up in the pharmaceutical industry,” she says.
It’s a scenario which will be familiar to many. Having invested time and energy building a career in one sector, switching sectors might not be feasible, if it means having to start again from the bottom rung of the ladder.
The solution for Nargis was the two-year Modular Executive MBA at Bayes Business School. Taught over one long weekend every month in a blended format, it gives students the flexibility to keep working while studying.
Nargis enrolled in the programme in 2020, which meant her MBA experience was heavily impacted by Covid-19. Alongside what she learnt on the course, the pandemic also taught her the critical skill of adapting to whatever comes your way.
“It’s a constantly changing world. There are changes to processes left, right, and centre. It’s important to foster adaptive leadership to ensure that your team can embrace these changes and build that resilience as well.”
“The EMBA gave me the opportunity to jump into the pharmaceutical industry”
In autumn 2023, Nargis moved into a role at pharmaceutical company MSD, where she now works as Associate Director of Clinical Operations.
With the knowledge and skills from the Modular Executive MBA, Nargis achieved exactly what she set out to do – switching sectors and jumping into a more senior role.
Nargis spoke to Business Because about her experience studying and working in healthcare during the Covid-19 pandemic, and how the MEMBA helped propel her career to new heights.