David Rees

UK
Teaching Assistant, University of Stirling

At the end of my MSc Management provided a good opportunity to reflect on what I gained from the course. As a mature student, with two decades of I.T. roles behind me, I hoped to learn the management theory which underlay much of my experience in business. This has certainly occurred, but I've learned considerably more. The first semester provided the theory I was seeking -- the second semester built on that theoretical framework to tackle three substantial topics: Project Management, Operations Management and Strategic Management; the last two being subjects completely new to me. Much of the material in both semesters is stretching, and the assignment workload is heavy. The saving grace in all this are the lecturers and support staff: they are without exception both knowledgeable and helpful.  Perhaps the high point for me was the Business Game, where teams of students compete over several weeks to run a company. This is tough (most teams went out of business) but tremendous fun, and a great opportunity to put theory into practice.  It's been a good year, and I'm glad I decided to study Management at Stirling.