Dimitra Chormova

Obtained a PhD in plant biology from the University of Newcastle. Pursued a career in academia at the University of Edinburgh, where I was involved in and completed successfully two large-scale science projects in plant biochemistry, delivering ground-breaking results published in high impact factor journals and presented at international conferences. Continued my career specialising in cell wall biochemistry at INRA, a world-renowned research institution in south of France. Throughout my education and work experience I gained a highly transferable skills set that can be used in a variety of roles and sectors. Dealing with and designing complex experimental and analytical tasks, operating efficiently within a team context, building and maintaining relationships with different personalities in multi-cultural environments.  

My MBA was a learning experience, has played a significant role in shaping and reforming my personal and professional future goals. Initially, I believed that I would face difficulties going through the degree since I did not have a relevant business background. Nevertheless, I realised that this was not the case. My personal and professional qualities gained through my education and career helped me to undertake the degree with my skills rather than with my knowledge. Additionally, through the course I realised that my competencies were highly transferable within a business context; this made me feel confident about myself, and about my abilities. Overall the course was a highly experiential and challenging learning journey from the beginning until the end. 

The last part of the degree involved conducting a significant piece of individual research and analysis, followed by the writing up of a dissertation. The main inspiration for choosing this subject was the two strategy consulting modules of the course. I decided to research the main reasons for the increasing number of micro-distilleries in Scotland, especially given the recent popularity of gin and the renaissance of the retro era. However, during my education and career in science I had the opportunity to conduct high quality quantitative research based on designing and statistically analysing experiments. Through these processes I managed to develop excellent analytical and problem solving skills on a quantitative level. Deciding to apply a qualitative approach in my dissertation was a challenge, but at the same-time an invaluable learning experience. Through this experience I understood the importance of different philosophical research concepts, and I discovered the power of narratives. Conducting qualitative research made me realise the significance of different experiences and the way people express them in order to make sense of the world, particularly through the use of language as the main tool of communication. The insights are something that I will find invaluable as I undertake the next stage of my career journey.