UNIVERSITY OF WAIKATO; FINAL YEAR
Originally from Northland, Jason Dawson spent 20 years living and working across New Zealand and overseas in general management positions. Specialist skills include communications, crisis management, HR and technology, and he’s worked in local government, investment banking, recruitment, dairy and, shortly, tourism.
He relocated to Hamilton approximately four and a half years ago and has never looked back.
Dawson first considered an MBA about five years ago because “many successful business leaders I’ve met throughout my career had an MBA and spoke highly about it.”
His primary motivator was to seek external endorsement and verification from a recognised tertiary institution on his business and leadership skills. Another key driver was a life goal to complete his tertiary education.
“Initially I received some support from my workplace when I started my MBA journey. The rest I’ve completely funded myself,” he says.
The Waikato MBA was a natural choice, he says. “It has a good reputation and class times that suit my lifestyle; they offer weeknights and weekend classes.”
Dawson had also contacted a couple of graduates who spoke highly of the lecturers, the businesses students were exposed to, and the level of professional expertise.
Currently halfway through his final year, Dawson completed Part 1 of his MBA during 2015 and combined the first two years into one to attain a Postgraduate Diploma in Management Studies.
He says the last year takes everything up another notch. “It really challenges you to look beyond and within yourself as a leader. What I enjoyed the most was the intellectual stimulation you get from lecturers, other business leaders and your classmates. It opens your eyes to see things differently in the wider business world.
“You also establish a strong professional and personal network with your class, lecturers, alumni and university staff.”
Dawson believes the key to studying success is to be disciplined about scheduling study time each week outside of work and classes “to stay ahead and prevent the last-minute rush of assignment deadlines and readings.”
You need to be ruthless with your time – work, study, community and family – he says. But ensure you make time for family and friends as well.
“It’s crucial to have a strong support network and family and friends are your number one support.
“But remember to enjoy the journey as much as the destination, as time really does fly quickly!”
Dawson has gone from a senior GM’s role and running his own consultancy business through to securing a chief executive role.
“The MBA gave me the courage, confidence and inspiration to seek new career opportunities, work for myself, build personal resilience, be more strategic and build an extensive network of business leaders across many different sectors.
“I thought doing my MBA was to prove something to the world; that I can ‘cut-it’ as much as the next successful business leader. However, in the end I figured out the only person I was really trying to prove it to was myself.” There’s no doubting the fact that New Zealand’s MBA landscape is extremely competitive. But each provider has a unique offering. Waikato, for example, allows students to study one or two nights a week or every second weekend in Tauranga, Hamilton or Ngaruawahia. The University is also building a new campus in Tauranga due to be ready in 2020.
The Waikato region is dominant in agri-tech and agribusiness, Dr Colleen Rigby points out. It has two major DHBs and a number of high performance sports facilities. “This means you gain access to top knowledge about various industries from those who are doing it well.
“We also pride ourselves on the applicability of the learnings. What you learn on the weekend can be applied in your workplace on the Monday.”
Rigby describes her teaching staff as ‘pracademics’ (not pure academics) with real life business experience. “At Waikato we have lecturers who have worked for the UN, for global businesses, for the Asia Development Bank and in major consulting firms. They bring their vast experience and knowledge into the classroom.
She says an MBA programme should include both leadership and management development. “We run a significant leadership development programme which includes assessment, feedback, workshops and lectures on leadership. This year we have had some excellent senior leaders as guest speakers. Our students tell us the program is life changing. It changes the way they think, learn, interact and lead.”
The University of Auckland’s Kevin Lowe points to his School’s strong brand as its USP. “As a Global Top 100 business school we operate under a huge halo of perceived quality. We have a gorgeous facility, and attract world-class faculty.” He believes the fact that more than 86 percent of their students only applied for the one MBA programme speaks volumes for their programme.
Massey University, which operates out of Auckland, Palmerston North and Wellington, offers New Zealand’s longest continuously running MBA programme with thousands of alumni working in New Zealand and overseas. Its programme is delivered to a national cohort from all over the country.
The Massey MBA director, Associate Professor David Tweed, is a Massey MBA graduate himself and believes passionately in the programme.
“The Massey MBA is focused on those who aspire to be senior generalist leaders, or who want to add an outstanding credential to validate their management experience,” he says.
The design of the programme establishes business foundations in the first year, on which core themes of strategic thinking, effective professional practice, business value SIFTING OPTIONS
He predicts that MBAs will increasingly specialise in various sectors going forward, to increase their diversity. In New Zealand that might be tourism, food safety or agriculture – industries that New Zealand is good at.