My experience of doing the MBA is unlike most other people. In fact, I could probably win a medal for the longest time between enrolment and graduation because life certainly did present me with some surprises—not least a cancer diagnosis and then the joy of having a baby. But the MBA taught me strategies to respond to change and I was able to put them to good use during my studies.

For me, adaptability and resilience were huge takeaways from the course, but UL was also immensely supportive. I had some significant life events and could have just dropped out of the MBA—it would have been the easier option! Thankfully, I was able to work with the lecturers and wider team in UL—they enabled my resilience and allowed for flexibility when times got tough; they were on hand with patience and encouragement so I was able to complete the course in my own time and absorb the learnings that have benefitted my career ever since.

Back in 2008, however, I had no idea of what was to come. Initially, I looked into doing the MBA because I wanted to broaden my expertise, which up to that point had been heavily centred on science. My undergraduate degree is in food science, and I had a master’s degree in biotechnology, but I had insufficient understanding of business in areas such as marketing, taxation, finance and strategy.

During quarterly meetings when we discuss long-term strategy or potential partnerships, I felt ill-equipped to respond because I didn’t have the business knowledge that I have now. That was one of the main drivers for me to study, but I was also encouraged by the course structure.

At the time, I was working for a large medical device manufacturer (Abbott Vascular in Clonmel). Thanks to a collaboration with the University of Limerick, there was an MBA course running on site via evening classes, so convenience added to my motivation, and of course I received sponsorship which also made things easier. In essence, I was looking for a sound business overview and a chance to develop my leadership skills.

When I started the course, I found the leadership modules fascinating. They looked at team collaboration and communication with a module on international management focusing specifically on cultural differences and how that impacts the way we do business. Today, I’m working in a global role so I draw on those insights constantly.

Finance was another key focus during my first year, with an emphasis on corporate social responsibility and the impact of global business on less developed regions. This provided a synergy with our international workshop, which was in South Africa.

During this module, we were tasked with raising funds for a charity working to provide children with HIV retroviral medication, so we were able to visit the school in question and we also attended lectures at Stellenbosch University on entrepreneurship in South Africa and on the legacy of apartheid. It really gave me a new perspective on things and introduced topics I never would have considered before.

After finishing the first year, however, I decided to take a year out having moved to a new job (with Millipore). During this break, I planned to get settled into my new role, but sometimes life just has other ideas—it was around this time that I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

After undergoing treatment for a year to combat this form of blood cancer, I returned to year two of the MBA, but after completing summer school I found out I was pregnant. Things paused again while I was on maternity leave, and then I returned to UL to complete the last piece of the puzzle—my thesis.

In the normal course of things, you start your MBA, complete your block release studies, attend summer school and participate in your international workshop, followed by your thesis. Altogether, this takes two years, but that’s not how it happened for me.

Ultimately, I graduated in 2014, six years after I enrolled, having returned to the course multiple times. Thankfully, the UL team were brilliant. Furthermore, the course gave me tools to accommodate the various changes in my circumstances without sacrificing my career strategy.

I have always been a people manager, but it was interesting during the MBA to discover different styles of leadership. It helped me think about what kind of leader I wanted to be. I absorbed those learnings, and I was able to apply them in my everyday life.

More recently, with the move to remote working, I’m still able to call on those leadership skills to support global management of remote teams. And not just teams within my organisation—sometimes as a global pharmaceutical company, we work in partnership with other organisations, so we need to build a rapport. The MBA enables me to understand how other companies do business and identify compromises where we can align.

Looking back at the MBA leadership modules, we focused on seeing things through different lenses and learnt how to communicate effectively. We explored communication styles and how best to communicate to develop those win-win situations. That’s something that has proved vital in my career.

But the MBA also gave me the confidence to achieve my goals in terms of career progression, and tools to actively seek out people that would champion me. When you are looking to progress your career, there are three people you need to have on your side: your mentor, your sponsor, and your advocate.

Your mentor is the person you can discuss career strategy with, or that helps you when making difficult decisions; your sponsor can support you, help to connect you with senior leaders and increase your visibility within the organisation; lastly, your advocate speaks on your behalf and can help to promote you when new opportunities are under discussion at senior levels. UL gave me the critical thinking tools and confidence to identify these people in my life, and to go after what I wanted in my longer-term career plan.

Today, I work in external manufacturing having progressed from quality control, which is largely lab-focused, to quality assurance. I oversee quality assurance, working with global teams, so I call on my learning all the time. I like my role and see myself staying with the company, but I’m always adapting to change and working with new people and that’s something that the UL MBA equipped me for.

The UL MBA puts a real emphasis on group projects, but I had to jump into the group work even more than most people because I was in and out of classes so often. I don’t think I worked with the same group more than once. My classmates were fantastic though, and the support from the lecturers was amazing.

All told, the experience really developed my people skills and ultimately made me more capable. If there’s a theme for my studies and career, it would be adapting to change. It seems like that’s all I’ve ever experienced—from changing jobs to overcoming a serious illness, then having a baby, and when I returned to work, COVID impacted my role.

Throughout it all though, the MBA has been a useful touchstone, providing clarity for improved decision-making and enhanced communication and management skills which have helped me progress. It’s a great course and I would recommend anybody to do it—maybe not take as long as me to graduate! But if you’re thinking about it, go for it—you won’t regret it.