News Archive
Baby Boom at Business School
(20 May 2008)
Dads on parade
While studying on the Durham Business School Executive MBA programme, parenthood beckoned for six students. The six students have not only found success in their studies, during the two-year part-time programme, but in their home life as well.
In total, seven babies have been born to six high achieving and very proud fathers. The Durham Executive MBA - which incorporates visits, lectures and boardroom simulations - has been specifically designed to fit in with today’s fast paced and often hectic lifestyles. It enables students such as Lee O’Donovan, from South Shields and a regional account manager for Filtrona Filters, to strike the right balance as they juggle working full-time with career progression and personal commitments. Lee, one of the six MBA Baby Boomers, has become the proud father of two children since he enrolled on the programme in 2006. Baby Jacob Lee was born 16 May 2006 and Alex John followed 3 October 2007. Lee said: “The Durham Executive MBA came highly recommended and offered the right mix of theoretical based learning and interactive study to develop my understanding and knowledge of business strategy and management. The sheer flexibility of the Durham programme has allowed me to do an MBA full stop! If it didn’t exist part-time I wouldn’t be studying today and hopefully graduating this year! “I’m in no doubt that the MBA has already changed my career prospects and increased them dramatically. I’ve had a lot to contend with during the last 18 months but it’s been worth it! I love my family and enjoy being a dad. I’m developing myself and pushing on in my career for my family.” The Durham Business School Executive MBA programme is specifically designed to challenge a student’s abilities whilst providing a flexible and first-rate learning environment. Combined with excellent teaching strategies and the added benefit of peer interaction, the course has a very high completion rate. It attracts people from a variety of sectors and gives them a broad base of new skills including finance, strategy, decision making abilities and management. Anne Wooodhead, director of the Executive MBA programme said: “The 2006 MBA Baby Boomers have certainly been busy! I’d like to congratulate them all and send their families our very best wishes. These students reflect the true spirit of our Executive MBA programme. In addition to the challenge of studying for a very demanding and valuable qualification, they’ve all held down key management roles within companies throughout the region and produced seven babies between them! “I’m really looking forward to a noisy graduation celebration this summer and for anyone hesitating about the time pressures of undertaking an MBA, here are six examples that are testament to the fact it is achievable, and with a good work-life balance!.” The group of proud Executive MBA dads are: Neil Munnoch, 33 from Newcastle who works for BT Plc, Alex Neuman, 31 originally from South Africa who works for Parsons Brinckerhoff, Lee Durham, 35 from Great Ayton a self employed company director of M2D Limited, Carl Trueman, 31 from Washington who works for Siemens Transmission and Distribution Limited, Jan-Willem Rikkerink, 37 from the Netherlands who works for the Britton Group Limited and Lee O’Donovan.
