MBS in International Entrepreneurship Management

jfh

Hi,
i know this course was covered in a previous thread a few months back and rather than bump up an old thread, i'm starting this one. hope that's the OK?

I would like to get some feedback from past/current students of this course.
this is a course i've been interested in for a while now, but couldn't give up a full time job. it now looks likely that i'll be unemployed by christmas so it's now or never.
if someone would be so kind to reply to my queries, i'd really be grateful;
whats the general mix of the class? i've graduated a few years back with IT degree, no real business experience. will i be surrounded by budding Richard Bransons?
do you need to have a business idea? got a few just nothing concrete,don't we all.:D
is it possible to work part time or is the course very intense?
know there's a few open questions there but please if you have the time, can you give some info. thanks j

Mossin

Hey I was class rep for this course last year and am currently completing my thesis, and tbh the other thread on this course on this forum covers what you need to know pretty well.

However, recently I gave similar feedback to a student who is starting the course this year [afaik].

Here is a transcript of our email conversation, which hopefully will give you a greater insight, and will save me from re-telling everything once again:

Hey...[name ommitted] I am thinking about doing the Masters in International Entrepreneurship Management next year. I have just completed a higher degree course in construction management and have taken an interest to this course. I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about this course? Did you find it worth doing, as in has it helped you much with your future career? Has it raised your awareness to future aspects of improvement for your business/organisation/employer? What was your overall perception of the course structure as in did you find it difficult, challenging or interesting? I would be very grateful if you could answer these few questions for me as I don't know of anybody who did this course and would information from students with experience in this course. Thank you for your time!

My response:

I dont mind giving you details at all, after all, as class rep. I was helping students all year and the summer hasnt dwindled that enthusiasm!

Let me say for starters, that in my class this year there were at least 2 [possibly 3, I cant remember exactly] who had completed Construction Management, and we not out of place whatsoever in the course. In fact the diversity of courses and age groups within the class makes it all the more interesting, as it enables different insights into the course.

The following link has quite detailed information about semester 1. I posted it on an internet forum at the end of the semester as somebody was looking for information similar to what you are: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055774689&highlight=international+entrepreneurship It also has information on the second semester in the thread. I really dont want to have to re-type the same information again, and its pretty detailed there, and it also has some comments from another classmate of mine, so you are getting the benefit of 2 peoples comments rather than just mine

Now to answer your next questions....yes, I feel it is worth doing. It has definitely helped me understand that I will work for myself, but that it wont be easy to get to that point. It does offer plenty of good insights into how to improve a current business, and the class will help with suggestions, as long as you ask! If you dont ask, you wont get anything from it!

The course is designed to offer you the best supports and information to build your own business from scratch and make it an internationally exporting company. It goes through everything from marketing, Human Resources, innovation, business plan development, consulting, management, business economics and family businesses, just to give you examples of what is on offer.

The course is definitely challenging. The full-time course is 3 days a week [wed, thurs and fri] and are pretty intense days, with about 18 hours crammed into those 3 days. Lectures tend to be double lectures, or else have a few one after another, but the lecturers are really great, and they accommodate breaks between classes. I cant speak highly enough of the lecturers to be honest, they are great!!
They encourage class participation, which gives great insights at times. There are numerous guest lectures from local businesses, and even some from the UK, all of whom export and are still thriving even in the economic downturn which are really interesting stories to listen to.

There is an abundance of course work, but that means that often there are no exams, and means that you can get really good grades by doing project work [but be very careful who you get into groups with!!!]
Semester 1 tends to be taken up writing a business plan, but dont get too caught up with it, cos u have 4 other modules which need just as much attention. I know! I managed seriously good grades that semester, by balancing the workload. Having college 3 days a week is great, but it means you MUST work on stuff at least 3 out of the other 4 days. It is a necessity if you want to keep on top of the workload in my opinion.
I tried doing very little at the beginning of the 1st semester, and I didnt catch up until the start of week 7 [out of 12 teaching weeks]...but its manageable, as deadlines tend to be later in the semester.

Next Questions:

What you wrote was interesting and showed you are very enthusiastic about the course. You gave a good insight to the course on the link that you suggested to me. There's obviously going to be some areas of the course that can be boring but overall it does seem interesting and challenging. I think I will enjoy doing it as I can see there is a lot more practical work then theoretical work, which I must say I'd prefer any day!
I see a lot of the course work involves teams, groups and members of the class... I am only 22 David and Briga says the ages vary from even 40+. The varied combination of ages will be interesting and everyone will bring their own experience to the group activities, I was just wondering do you think I could be limited with ideas because I haven't experienced as much in the industry as much of the class?
Another question I have is that we will be doing a lot of work outside of college hours, do you think it's possible for me to get a right balance between keeping a part-time job down, and still enjoy a bit of a social life in Limerick?

My response:

I'm glad the information has been useful to you. It is a good course, and one that I recommend, although there are aspects which are tedious and sometimes boring, overall it is worth doing. The lecturers work together as well with the aim of altering the course for the better, and there may be a few changes in course content for next year if thats true.

There is a lot of practical work alright, but a fair amount of it is based on theory too, so just be careful there, as the UL referencing system is something that catches a lot of students out!

Your age will not be a limiting factor, and I will categorically tell you that right now! There will probably be students younger than you, as there was this year. I was 24 starting the course, so I dont have that much more experience of industry that you may have. You will know what you know, and you will bring your own ideas, concepts, and experiences to the table and they will be valued by others in the class. There are students who may be 40+ but to be honest it seems that they lived in a different era! Its just trying to get a balance within the class, and it seems to work. There are foreign students in the class too. We had 5 Asian students who are really nice, and can be good to work with as they work well. They are quiet and efficient! Dont ignore them if they are in the class, cos its difficult for them to integrate ya know?!

As for working and doing the course....I work in Thomond Park for rugby matches, so they were pretty sporadic throughout the semesters. It was all that I was able to manage during the year, but thats mainly because I like to have pints most nights of the week, even if its 1 or 2, I like to enjoy the atmosphere out around UL. Saying that, there are people in the class who do balance working a lot on their days off from college, and sometimes during college hours, and still manage to get great results. One of the girls is probably going to get a first class honours despite working to the bone on days-off. So it can be done.

I assume that you are moving from Cork to Limerick, so you will have to get out and enjoy the city and social life. I will tell you that I didnt go out nearly as much during the past year as I used to in my Undergraduate in UL. The course is a lot more intense than lecturers and Briga inform you. They tell you its a balance, and other nonsense, but in reality its intense with work. I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just telling you how it is. I'm hoping to graduate with a 1st class honours myself, so I'm hardly going to say it was a walk in the park. At the end of the day, you will make what you want from the course. Some of the class were content to just pass each module, whereas I aimed high each time and got rewarded as a result.

I hope these questions and responses, coupled with the other thread can answer your questions. If you still have queries, dont hesitate to ask.

jfh

Hi Mossin, doing a good job as class rep, you have been more than helpful.
all the advise is much appreciated. there's alot there so i'm going to mull over it today and may get back to you if i have any other query,
best of luck with the thesis & thanks for taking the time out to reply.

jfh

mossin, i've had a read your post and have one final query you might be able to answer. i don't suppose all the students go on to start their own business, what other careers would this course lead to.
what would you hope to get out of it yourself?

caesar

You can contact the postgraduate careers office to find out where past students of the course have ended up...but Im not sure how long the course has being running.

I just had orientation there on tuesday and meet Briga and the rest of the class, I think one or two were missing though. Were you planning on applying for the course for this year and giving up the job....I cant make out from your post.

Mossin

jfh wrote: »

mossin, i've had a read your post and have one final query you might be able to answer. i don't suppose all the students go on to start their own business, what other careers would this course lead to.
what would you hope to get out of it yourself?

Not all students go on to start their own business, I dont think that'd be feasible, but the course at least prepares you with the knowledge to do it in the future.

I know of a few from my class who are doing their own thing, but not many can afford to do it either.

I personally have some ideas, but have no financial backing to go with them unfortunately, so by the end of this month when I submit my thesis, I'll be job hunting 24/7.

jfh

hi caeser, my work contract is going to end 1st november, i've been looking around for work around clare/limerick and nothing. i'd have to relocate to dublin, that's why i'm looking into this course.
didn't realise that one would contact them them to find out how where past students fared out. thanks

fire_man

is there still time to apply for this course?

Mossin

fire_man wrote: »

is there still time to apply for this course?

Contact the course director: briga.hynes@ul.ie to find out. She may still take some late admissions.