Barry Cole completed a degree in Accountancy at the University of Kent. After a short spell working as an accountant, however, Barry decided that this was not the career he wanted and so returned to the University to take up an MSc in Management Science.

With a solid career in IT strategy, I knew that if I wanted to progress I would have to find a way to build my credibility in the business environment. I had the luxury of taking a year's sabbatical to do a full-time MBA at Kent Business School. Without doubt, the part of the programme which has had most impact on me is HR and organisational behaviour.

I am currently working in London as Project Manager for OTIS, the world's largest manufacturer of elevators, escalators and moving walkways.

What made taking on this challenge worthwhile were the people surrounding me" - Sarah Hassan, Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management graduate, 2005

As VP of IT Solutions for M-Real, a European paper manufacturing company, I was attracted to executive modular programme of The Kent MBA because of the planned weekly modules and the added value to my company.

After leaving Kent I have spent 12 years improving the NHS. Not an easy challenge. Working in several hospitals I have applied management techniques and approaches to reducing waiting times, improve productivity and reduce waste.

James recently graduated from Kent Business School's Franco-British 'Transmanche' graduate programme with an MSc in International Management (Consulting) from the University of Kent and a Masters in Strategy and Business Organisation from the Universite du Littoral (France). The Franco-British dimension of his studies ties in with his bi-cultural upbringing.

George discovers the new Kent MBA winning a scholarship to attend a one week elective on supply chain management.

At the end of the day, I really enjoy studying with people from so many different nationalities and backgrounds.

I have just finished the MSc in Management Science with Computing course at Kent Business School after completing my undergraduate course in Chemical and Environmental Engineering. Shortly after starting my first job as a Quality System Officer, I realised that the career of a chemical engineer wasn’t going to be right for me and so I chose to pursue Management Science with Computing, a specialist programme with a focus on management and programming, but with a particular emphasis on analysis and decision-making using mathematical and modelling techniques and at the same time with emphasis on object oriented programming.

Overall, I can only say that the 10 days at KBS was a great experience and was much more than attending a module entitled ‘Performance Improvement’ within our German MBA programme. Apart from the friendly and open minded professors, staff and KBS students we met, there was an excellent mix of case studies, theoretical background and presentations. All topics were presented in a modern flexible manner.

In completing a tremendous three years of academic as well as personal growth with the University, I was awarded with the BSc. (honours) in Computing and Business Administration. The different academic modules taught by both the Kent Business School (KBS) and the University’s Computing department, not only gave me the credibility to work in various business areas but also provided me with the kind of exposure and experience I needed in order to realise a direction I really wanted to focus on

'...One thing that sets the Management Science program apart from others is it’s relevance to the real world. From 1st year students are introduced to uncertainty in the real world and how to cater for that in their approach and in their thinking. Over the duration of the degree the coursework leans more towards real world problem scenarios, there are no right answers just feasible solutions.'

After an exciting first 2 years at Kent I managed to secure a 1 year internship placement with BP in their Procurement and supply chain management (PSCM) function. The application process was difficult and demoralising as only 4 companies replied to me despite completing over 15 applications! However, it was worth the effort as my internship year within BP was by far the most important career choice I have made.

UK Commercial Manager with minimum of 7 years experience in a sales or marketing position.

RBS Insurance is part of the Royal Bank Of Scotland Group.

Huddle is now looking to recruit graduates who can bring energy, enthusiasm and management skills to this fast-growing company. Kunal Contractor talks about his career as a graduate there.

The Kent Business School struck the right balance in terms of student numbers and was therefore able to offer a lot of individual attention to each business school student. The teaching was excellent and the courses were highly practical. The analytical and Excel skills that I obtained during my university studies play a vital part in my day-to-day work at the FSA. I would highly recommend the University of Kent and in particular the Kent Business School!