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Get a head start as a postgraduate

Head start reading

You may want to use this time to start thinking about your postgraduate degree and your chosen career path. To help get you started, our lecturers have put together a list of reading you can do from home to get ready before you start. Click on your relevant subject area below to find out more.

Business School Campaign Images - Accounting 1200x450 - People in a classroom
Accounting
MSc Accounting and Finance / MSc Accounting and Financial Management

"The Accountancy profession is going through significant changes many of which are being driven by new and emerging technologies. These articles will provide you with a background on the technology changes which have also been incorporated into the new CIMA syllabus.

The changes also mean that as people undertaking studies in Accountancy at Postgraduate level, you should begin to consider what impact this will have on Professional Accountants and what the future of the profession holds" 

Martin Beaver, Course Leader

Finance

MSc Finance and Investment / MSc International Finance

"To get you thinking about your career in finance and how you could develop in future, check out this ‘Roadmap for Investment Professionals’ below from the CFA Institute"

Mingru Sun, Course Leader

KEEP LEARNING AND ADAPTING

Use the career flywheel. An effective career flywheel sustains its momentum through a series of well-executed and well-timed interventions and adaptations on the career journey. Career paths today vary more than in the past, and employers are less likely to prescribe a preferred path. The critical success factors are maintaining a learning and growth mindset, building a “give and get” alliance with each employer, and having healthy work-life integration.

INVEST IN NEW ERA SKILLS

Apply the skills pathway. At the start of a career, build a technical edge. Blend in soft skills for mid-career effectiveness. Add leadership skills that produce value from influences on others. Make connections, and develop lateral thinking (i.e. T-shaped skills). Think of a portfolio of these skills, and take career planning to a more detailed and forward-thinking level.

BE TECH-SAVVY

Navigate and harness technology. The ability to work with technology is a necessity for all professionals. The success of AI+HI applications will be dependent on T-shaped teams with shared team space and shared language. The opportunities for specialist roles in technology to build financial context into technology development and deployment are particularly significant.

MSc Banking and Finance

"During the pandemic, banks have played a crucial part in stabilising the economy and transmitting government stimulus and relief programmes in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, and many European countries, among others. Banks’ healthy capital levels before the pandemic also helped mitigate the negative impacts from the crisis and should pave the way for the global economy to thrive in the future.

For the banking industry, the economic consequences of the pandemic are not on the same scale as those during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008–10 (GFC), but they are still notable. In addition to the financial fallout, COVID-19 is reshaping the global banking industry in a number of dimensions, ushering in a new competitive landscape, stifling growth in some traditional product areas, prompting a new wave of innovation, recasting the role of branches, and of course, accelerating digitisation in almost every sphere of banking and capital markets.

To help prepare for your studies, and to get useful background information on the current banking climate, you might find the following articles worth looking at."

Mingru Sun, Course Leader

https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/financial-services/articles/banking-industry-outlook.html

Management
MSc Management and International Business / Marketing / Entrepreneurship / Finance

"On the MSc Management Suite programme, one of the core modules you will be required to take is The Integrated Business. This module will provide you with the key knowledge and understanding of the integrated nature of business functions focusing specifically on marketing and operations. Specifically, you will explore in detail, the strategic and tactical scope of Marketing and Operations management and the relationships between them.

Furthermore, the relationships between demand generation and management and the consequential operational implications for production and supply chain management will be explored to ensure you fully understand the complexity of matching supply-side to demand-side requirements to achieve strategic fit. The digital business context will form an important theme to highlight its impact on delivering business at speed.  " 

Imran Akhtar, Course Leader

MA International Human Resources Management

The area of human resources is a fast emerging and constantly changing field of study.  This demands that we as practitioners must approach what we do with mental agility.  In a time of ever-increasing globalisation and change, our ability to understand and respond to the impact of this on our people, organisations and operations has never been greater. 

We have an experienced teaching team who combine real work experience of human resource management with academic qualifications, bringing a strategic and conceptual view to the topics covered.  We aim to equip our MA International Human Resource Management students to be able to make a valuable contribution within the HR field of management in their current or future workplace, having acquired both the core knowledge and the necessary skills to deliver excellence professionally and with the ability to act in the role of strategic partner.

Harry Allen, Course Leader

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/strategy/hr/operating-models

https://hbr.org/2020/08/21-hr-jobs-of-the-future

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/strategy/hr/people-profession-2030-future-trends

Postgraduate Diploma International HRM

The area of human resources is a fast emerging and constantly changing field of study.  This demands that we as practitioners must approach what we do with mental agility.  In a time of ever-increasing globalisation and change, our ability to understand and respond to the impact of this on our people, organisations and operations has never been greater.  All our modules give an international perspective filled with professional development to enable you to demonstrate a deep understanding and critical awareness of the current global issues and challenges HR professionals and line managers face. 

As a HR professional we encourage you to share real work experience and draw links to academic knowledge shared during your study.  Never has it been more important for HR to act as strategic partners within organisations and our thought provoking teaching and modules have be designed to support this.  We pride ourselves on building a community of learners with regular feedback forums and personal tutor coaching for all students. 

Harry Allen, Course Leader

MBA
International MBA / Executive MBA / Online MBA

"The results of the Corporate Recruiters Survey of more than 1,200 employers worldwide carried out in 2019 reflects the trends in the wider economy, including the plans of companies to grow and expand and their intentions to hire people with specialised master’s degrees. The MBA came top of the list with 75% of employers saying they planned to hire MBA graduates.

Business Matters, a leading UK based business magazine looks at how studying an MBA can help to shape your career. The article provides examples of some of the popular job roles available for MBA graduates and the skills that top recruiting companies expect from MBA graduates."

Tom Domboka, Course Leader