"How My Time At Salford Business School Has Prepared Me For A Career In Business Analysis"

The Maxwell Hall and the Maxwell Building Image Credit: manchesterhistory.net

I am Chibuikem Tochi Echegwisi, a professional in the financial sector, who has always sought personal development and career growth. It is a well-known mantra that " when we stop learning, we start dying." I wouldn't want this to be my case, a slow decline into the pit of irrelevance and incompetence. So, to avoid that, I decided to pause my professional career and take up a master’s programme in Digital Business at the University of Salford.

“You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.” -Clay P. Bedford

This is a decision I have not regretted so far because I have been exposed to new ways of thinking and a passion to develop myself. The modules in my course are delivered in a mind-stimulating and informative manner, which would ensure you are fully equipped with the tools to ensure you excel. The support system received from the Supporting Students for Success Department is truly remarkable as the module leaders encourage students to imbibe teamwork and attention to detail. Additionally, a special optional module called "Wordscope", designed to assist students in developing their academic writing has been immensely helpful in improving my written communication skills as well as my presentation skills.

Photo of me at the Salford Business School, Maxwell Building

As my interaction with course mates increased, I began to improve on my verbal communication skills and interpersonal skills. I have also been privileged to work with brilliant minds who have influenced my outlook on group study since I have always been a "study alone" kind of person. in our group, knowledge and ideas are freely shared because of the team spirit we all possess, we believe that we all can succeed together.

My Study Group

The support and feedback received from our module leaders are tremendous. I strongly believe the personal mantra of our module leaders is "My student's success is my success." because they are always willing to support you for success. It is amazing. A module on Search and Social Media Marketing has really been instrumental to the building of my personal brand, I have been exposed to tools that will enhance my visibility in the social media space. There was even an opportunity to interact with a former student, Andy Lochtie, who has successfully founded a digital marketing company called Lumos Digital Marketing. He was able to achieve this using the knowledge gained in Search and Social Media Marketing module offered in the Salford Business School. it was inspiring to see and know that we can achieve whatever we want with the tools we are being equipped with at the Salford Business School.

Photo at the Peel Building

“Education makes a people easy to lead but difficult to drive easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.”

-Peter Brougham

Upon commencement of the master’s programme, I had the vision to delve into the Business Analysis profession. This meant I would need to get the knowledge, skills and certifications required to gain some credence and relevance in this field. Fortunately, The Salford Business School is set on projecting its students for success. This is evident in the free series of workshops students are encouraged to participate in. There have been workshops on Microsoft Azure, International Personal Branding, LinkedIn Masterclass, etc to name a few.

The University of Salford also offers its students free access to LinkedIn Learning, a platform where professionals can take on training in diverse fields. I have been taking full advantage of this by taking on courses related to business analysis such as Business Planning, Confluence, Data Analysis, JIRA, Agile Methodologies, Waterfall Methodologies, SDLC, SQL, Scrum, Project Managing, Project Management, Business Intelligence, Data Warehousing, Data Mining, Quality control, and a whole lot more. In the nearest future, I intend to explore the tools required to give adequate feedback to the senior management on your analysis of their organisational process, as well as those required for project planning and implementation, all on LinkedIn learning.

LinkedIn Learning access provided by the University of Salford

This journey is ongoing, and I am quite enthused about what the future holds. I am convinced that upon the conclusion of my programme at the University of Salford and after maximizing all the opportunities made available by the Salford Business School, I would be better prepared for the swiftly advancing digital space the world has become. Wish me luck!!

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