Exeter Business School – An International University
The new ‘innovation
cohort’ on the One Planet MBA course at the University of Exeter Business School has attracted students from all around the world. One of them, Yacouba Ouedraogo, comes from Burkina Faso in West Africa. The country was formerly known as Upper Volta and was renamed in 1984 and the ‘new’ name of Burkina Faso means the “land of honourable people”.
Prior to coming to Exeter Yacouba was working for a UK-based charity, TREE AID, as their West Africa Programme Coordinator based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Before he began to work with Tree Aid, he amassed more than 18 years professional and management experience in the rural development sector of West Africa, working with many international not-for-profit organisations.
Yacouba says of his decision to undertake an MBA “I had considered other ways to build on my professional experience but concluded that none of these courses could provide the depth and breadth of business knowledge I could obtain on a full-time MBA programme. My experience with Tree Aid since 2000 has
strengthened my skills
and capabilities in project design, planning, monitoring and evaluation as well as in people management. However, I believe this could be significantly improved through formal education in management and business.”
He continues “An MBA will equip me with cutting edge knowledge on core business issues, theory and practices. It will also strengthen my leadership potential, provide a comparative perspective and give me useful management tools.”
He decided to come to the UK because he was keen to study in an English-speaking environment and in a country where the culture of business is efficient. Furthermore he wanted to maintain contact with his current employer - Tree Aid - which is based in Bristol. He won admission into three business schools and chose the University of Exeter for its programme and its proximity to Bristol.
His experiences do far have been extremely positive. He explains “The Induction Week set the scene for the One Planet MBA. We started lectures in the second week and are enjoying sessions from world class faculty and external guest speakers. We also travelled to London for additional training and guest speakers on sustainability.
Diversity at Exeter makes a difference; for instance our MBA
class has 40 students from 22 nationalities coming from different professional backgrounds and industries. All five continents are represented.”
It hasn’t all been plain sailing though. The One Planet MBA students are being equipped with the latest business thinking, theory and practice. They have the opportunity to make our own contribution and shape the programme for a new generation of business leaders.
Yakouba says that coming from a non-traditional background, he found the core business lectures quite challenging. But as it prompts saw that as a positive as it encouraged him to work harder and develop critical learning skills.
With the high-calibre lecturers, the state-of-the-art IT equipment and the supportive network of classmates, he’s confident of success in his studies.
Yakouba plans to return to Africa at the end of the course. He wants to strengthen the capacity of development organisations in the region to build better partnerships with business. He also wants to promote strategic partnerships between NGOs and the private sector by bringing business acumen and private sector experience into the charity sector.
Yakouba believes his experiences on the Exeter One Planet MBA will ultimately enhance his ability to call into action NGOs, businesses, public institutions, academics and donor agencies to rise to the challenge to achieve lasting performance in the development sector, through strategic partnerships.
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