Reflections on Online MBA from Anglia Ruskin University 🇬🇧
❤️ Acknowledgments: Heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Osamuyimen Enabulele for guiding me throughout this MBA journey.
I would also like to express my gratitude to the entire academic team at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, United Kingdom, for making this journey possible for international students like me. Special thanks to my friend Jesse for all the moral support! My thanks also go to Isuru and to Qaiser for their support with my RPL. ❤️
Table of Contents
1.1 Handwritten notes are very helpful!
I took endless handwritten notes over the 2 years of working on my MBA degree in general. Whenever an idea came to me, I wrote it down, whether it was midnight, in the middle of the day, or wherever I happened to be. I kept writing until I could see my structure improving and my thoughts becoming clearer. The truth is, clarity comes the more you write.
At the start of my dissertation during the 2nd year of my MBA journey, I faced the challenge of having very broad ideas that I wanted to explore, but I realised I needed to carefully refine and narrow them down before I could structure the flow of my work. My business experience spans over ten years, and honestly I did not know how to be precise or exactly what I wanted to achieve with this paper at first. I felt lost at times, but I resolved it by continuing to write on paper. Eventually, my paper structure began to take better shape, and I started to feel more confident in the strategic direction of my dissertation. Over time, I continued refining my writing and improving the overall flow. I felt nauseous while writing sometimes so I took breaks before I get too exhausted writing. Yes, I drank litres of coffee over the years because of this MBA haha!
Next challenge is deciding exactly what you want to achieve in your paper, refining your research aims and objectives, because a research dissertation must be precise and focused. Clarity is key. When you have extensive business knowledge or experience to share, it is very easy to get lost in your own thoughts. Another important reason for handwritten notes is when you start reading research papers to support your claims. Notes help you capture the exact pages and passages from specific articles on the day you read them. Without this, it is easy to lose valuable content that could strengthen your research.
When I took notes, I always recorded the author, year, and page numbers. This way, if I needed to rewrite or reorganise my structure all over again, all my key points and references were at hand. I also noted the day and time I worked on those notes so I could track my progress. These notes, accumulated over 2 years, are very vital resources for me to further brainstorm. Thanks to these notes, I was able to continuously refine my thoughts, and continue writing coherently and cohesively. They were truly helpful in keeping my thoughts organised and my arguments well supported.
1.2 Forever Grateful to my helpful supervisor!
This is my first degree to complete in my life and therefore my first experience writing an academic dissertation. To be honest, I do not know what I would have done without my supervisor. Prior to enrolling at ARU, I sincerely prayed to have a supervisor who would be truly supportive and able to guide me through the dissertation process for this MBA. It was a leap of faith to enrol in this MBA degree, completing a year of challenging modules for the 120 UK credits and then another year dedicated to this dissertation.
I am deeply grateful that I was assigned an exceptional supervisor who not only holds a PhD but is also a lawyer with experience at KPMG and Deloitte, which genuinely impressed me. Having a supervisor with a legal background was a perfect fit for me because I have always felt comfortable collaborating with professionals in the legal field. I am truly proud to have had such a knowledgeable and supportive supervisor!🙏
At times, I felt that the level of scrutiny in the feedback resembled a legal cross-examination😂, but in the best possible way because it pushed me to improve. I appreciated how clearly and constructively I was guided so that I could produce a proper and well-structured dissertation. I am very thankful for the advice I received until I finally understood how everything works, and I have gained solid confidence in my academic writing at the postgraduate level 🙏.
I'm now finishing this race for my MBA degree with my head held high,hopeful and confident in my ability to write a proper dissertation. I owe that progress to the guidance and patience of my supervisor throughout this journey!❤️
1.3 Learning How to do Harvard Referencing properly
When doing reference especially in the Reference list section, the Harvard referencing guide that is provided by the university comes handy. Given my nauseous state every time I write, I still try to do my best to reference the works that I used in this secondary research, the guide is usually at the right of my screen just like this:
1.4 Using your student email to access paid research articles
I am very grateful to Anglia Ruskin University for providing us with a student email that grants access to paid resources, such as those offered by Elsevier Publishing and ResearchGate. It is important to make the most of this benefit. By using your university student email, you can access the paid versions of certain publishers that have partnerships with the university. Given that Anglia Ruskin University is a highly reputable institution in the UK, I was able to access specific papers that I wanted to read for my secondary research for this MBA degree.
1.5 Creating beautiful Powerpoint Slides
Once you access your Microsoft account, you will have your access to your Microsoft tools including the Microsoft powerpoint which also offers the "Designer" feature that can make your powerpoint slide look more beautiful and professional for presentation. Please note that this feature can only enhance the design, not the actual content of your presentation, so it's better you write the contents first with your own words before you design.
1.6 The Journey Wasn't Easy for a Mature Student Like Me
My first draft made me cry a bucket of tears, and I initially felt embarrassed by my lack of knowledge about dissertation formatting, but it is part of learning and growth. I remember having a high fever during my meeting with my supervisor, because the constant stress and high level of cortisol affected my immune system at some point. I was barely eating because of the stress, deadlines pressure and the exhaustion from sleepless nights spent reading papers non stop. No pain, no gain.
My unexpected health surgeries (because of my previous health conditions unrelated to MBA) were tough, going in and out of the hospital for procedures in parallel while trying to keep up with this MBA. I ended up writing my MBA dissertation in the middle of surgeries. The anesthesia often left me feeling light headed, but I just kept going. You have to finish this MBA, whether tired, sad, or motivated. Whatever happens, you simply get it done, and that is what I did. I'm grateful that I was given an extension of extra 5 months, so I was given the chance to finish my dissertation from May 2025 to January 16, 2026. Thanks God everything went well and I'm very happy to finish the dissertation on time.
1.7 Networking with your peers and supervisors
Your LinkedIn account should always be ready for professional networking. I learned to start adding supervisors and peers on LinkedIn, after attending the Q&A tutorials. I find it very professional to do so.
So my friend from this MBA, Jesse, we added each other on LinkedIn after our Q&A tutorial session. His situation is impressive. As a mature student managing a full management role, he completed his dissertation in just 4 months. We never saw each other's dissertation, yet his story of losing sleep while writing was deeply relatable. We shared the same challenges as mature students juggling obligations and life pressures alongside the MBA. As fellow international students completing this MBA online, I felt truly inspired when he told me he had passed and was about to graduate. I am fortunate to have had that kind of peer support during this journey.
1.8 Conclusion
Overall, my postgraduate experience in this online MBA programme offered by Anglia Ruskin University has been a perfect fit for me and for anyone who wishes to upskill and advance their career while balancing work and personal commitments. I highly recommend this programme.
If you're considering taking this online MBA programme, feel free to contact me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kittycat/.