Danielle Courtney

Winner of the IMAGE MBA Scholarship 2018

I graduated from Trinity College medical school in

2012 and, since then, have been working full-time as a doctor in the Irish healthcare system. Since graduating from university, I’ve been looking for fulfilment in my career in order to improve the lives of others by facilitating them to be their most healthy and empowered selves. The logical next step for me was to combine my medical knowledge with a new skillset that would give me the edge I felt I needed to promote my ideas. I wanted to gain a more universal view of the impact of health beyond the individual. The Smurfit MBA programme was on my radar and, when a natural break came up in my career, I decided to go for it. The IMAGE scholarship has enabled me to be financially secure in achieving my goals. When word got out that I had been successful in my application, I received an endless stream of congratulations from those in the know and my friends and family. This was an immense boost to the journey I had embarked on. The introductory week in August was an inspiring start to my time in Smurfit; not least because we were given a taster of the path to come but also because it gave us the chance to meet and connect with new classmates.

If you have an inkling that a Smurfit MBA might be the ticket to expand your horizons, build on your skillset and submerge yourself in the world of business, I do recommend you take the plunge. While you initially have to be certain this is indeed the right path for you, clarity in the decisionmaking process doesn’t always come straightaway. Talk to people who have done it or are in the process of doing it – they will be invaluable in giving you an open, honest synopsis of what is expected of you. Good luck!