‘My course leader still shows such an interest in my professional growth’

Sapna Tiwari is from Mumbai, India. She studied MSc Project Management (now Strategic Project Management) and graduated last year, securing a job as an analyst at Cognizant Worldwide after university.

‘Now I am at work balancing multiple tasks and projects every single day, I can see how my teachings have really shaped the way in which I work. The theoretical knowledge from my course comes into play at work every single day.

Kent Business School was a firm favourite choice for me when I began applying for university places from my home country of India. Even before the admission was confirmed, I had a call from Dr Lina Simeonova, the Project Management course leader. No other university had been in touch, and it really attracted me to Kent as a university that would support and nurture me.

Straight away, I found the course exciting. It included hands-on projects and detailed coursework. I loved the fact that our professors are industry specialists, so they have hands-on experience of what they are teaching us.

My favourite module was the one focused on Agile Project management taught by Lina as she would utilise her previous experience while making a point, that way I could relate the topic easily. It offered fantastic practical knowledge.

I was also overwhelmed by the support of the Employability Team. They helped me write my CV and covering letter and even did run through interviews which set me up for finding the perfect career.

Last year, I started work with Cognizant Worldwide as a Junior Analyst in the Capital Markets segment. My client is a leading regulatory firm and I am working towards enhancing their existing business process via delivering business solutions.

I am working on many different projects at a time and my MSc is never far from my mind. All our lectures had a case study where we would give our point of view, this has helped me in my working role. Having an understanding on how the project cycle works has given me confidence to give my inputs in our meetings.

Lina is someone I can still rely on. She’s always updated to what’s going on with me in terms of my work. She shares a massive interest in my professional growth, so I always go back to her when I have news to share – which is really special. I’ve also been involved in alumni events at the University since graduating, including being a panel member at the recent London reunion.

Project management is a vital area of business. All organisations are trying to improve themselves and to do so, they take small steps towards growth, each such change becomes a project or a milestone. It’s so important that businesses get it right and they need the right people to fill these roles. Taking an MSc in Project Management opens the door to a large number of job roles in open sector.’

Interested in studying Strategic Project Management like Sapna? Find out more here.