In my career I work closely with businesses to get them investment-ready. Having exposure to different theories and models and deepening my knowledge through the MBA provides me with a wider skill set and more tools in my tool kit to support my clients.

Fitting in study around full-time work that involves a lot of travel and being a mother can be really challenging! It takes careful time management, getting out in front of the required readings, and being selective about where I spend my time.

I have an open mind about where my career will lead. I’m 53 years old—these days that means that I have plenty of working life left. I was a dentist, and am currently a visual effects artist at Weta Digital. The next career progression really could be to anywhere.

The EMBA gives me the opportunity to really use my brain in new ways. It has been a joy to realise that I can take on new ideas and concepts.

Make no mistake—taking on the challenge of doing any postgrad degree is real, but I was attracted to the way the modules are taught fortnightly on Fridays and Saturdays.

This format works pretty well for me with a wife, three kids and a dog! I miss a bit of Saturday kids’ sport, for example, but it even then it is only every second week. The 12 modules means I can do the whole EMBA in two years pretty comfortably.

Coming up will be an international study trip. Over the two years we also get to do a Dragons’ Den ideas lab, and a not-for-profit real world strategy exercise. We also have occasional Saturday lunchtime talks from leaders like Alan Bollard.

You need to enjoy people or at least want to learn how to enjoy working with others to achieve common goals–there is plenty of group work. Networking opportunities are provided by the school, and I’m making new friends from a variety of backgrounds.

There is also plenty of support provided form Student Learning for those of us who have not seen the inside of a university for a while—essay writing, study, and exam tips. I’m even doing a couple of provided free maths sessions to brush up for the next modules!

When I began my EMBA study I was a research scientist with a PhD in atmospheric chemistry. Since then, I have held a number of central government roles and have recently become a sole trader contracting within government.

The general business skills and knowledge I gained through my EMBA allow me to tackle the wide range of challenges that different agencies within government face, and have given me the confidence to pursue a huge variety of fulfilling opportunities that I never would have considered before.

Fitting in EMBA study in while working was very manageable. Of course, it helped that my wife was also studying for an EMBA at the same time, which made everything much easier to fit in.

We really tested the flexibility of the Victoria University of Wellington EMBA programme when we had our first child and still had eight months of study left to complete. The programme was so accommodating, allowing us to bring our infant daughter to classes and professional development activities to ensure that we could graduate with our cohort. The EMBA really did fit around our lifestyle, even when our circumstances changed significantly.

The opportunities the EMBA programme provided for professional development meant that I had lots of opportunities to use what I had learned in real-world situations.

For me, one of the most interesting experiences was providing advice to a not-for-profit because I could really see how their organisation would be able to benefit from what I was advising them on.