Deciding to invest in your future and commit two years of your spare time to study the Global MBA part-time is a big step, even though it will benefit the rest of your professional career.
If you’ve been out of education for a while, you may be feeling anxious about how you’ll cope balancing work, life and learning. Here are our top tips to help you prepare for MBA study with Hull Online.
1. Organise your study space
Whether you choose to learn from a home office, your living room or bedroom, it is important you set up a suitable study space free from distractions and interruptions. You will need an internet connection and a desk or table for a laptop or PC. Allow yourself to sit in a comfortable position which avoids putting too much strain on your back or neck, particularly if you use a mobile phone.
If you’re working in a shared environment, let colleagues, family or friends know you need peace and quiet to watch your lectures online, interact with peers and tutors, read and digest new information, and complete your coursework.
2. Organise yourself
For part-time students, good time management is essential to help you balance your work-study-life commitments and succeed in all your goals. If you’re in full-time work, that extra academic workload accounts for a substantial amount of additional time to factor into an already busy schedule.
You must also remember to schedule regular breaks from your screen and time away from your ‘desk’ each day to recharge. Get into the habit of identifying daily or weekly tasks, prioritising them and setting achievable goals. This will not only improve your self-discipline, but also help reduce potential stress.
Plus, if you do complete your to-do list on time, you’ll gain extra time for something else.
3. Get used to reading
As part of your MBA study, you’ll be required to read up on topics outside of formal study time. If you aren’t a natural bookworm, you may want to get into the habit before you begin your academic studies.
Try browsing well-known business websites to ensure you stay abreast of current news and the latest trends within the world of business, finance, and entrepreneurship. We recommend you get started with AllBusiness.com, Bloomberg, Business Insider, Financial Times and Forbes.
4. Practice your networking skills
One of the most exciting aspects of studying online with us is the opportunity to grow your global network, meeting and collaborating with tutors and course mates from different countries all over the world.
Just like any other skill, networking gets better with practice. It pays to persevere because networking enables you to connect with people who can act as a sounding board, give you good advice, provide new insights, open up professional opportunities and endorse your abilities.
So, ask questions and be curious, start a conversation with new people at work and try to identify the connections, shared experiences or differences between you that you can discuss further.
5. Brush up on your presentation skills
At Hull Online, we take pride in providing you with a dynamic and stimulating online learning community, with access to world-class faculty and responsive support. As part of your personal learning experience, you’ll participate in a range of peer learning activities and ongoing assessment, for which you’ll get regular, timely feedback from tutors.
If you want to create a good impression when creating and giving presentations to showcase your work – something that can only benefit your workplace too – why not spend some time learning the tips and tricks of Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint via Microsoft Learn.
6. Get ready to write
As part of any postgraduate study, you will need to complete various written assignments to show your understanding of the subject and demonstrate critical thinking.
When writing any academic essay, paper, report or assignment, you will need to highlight your use of other author's ideas and words so that you, not least to avoid plagiarism and give the original author credit for their own ideas and work, but also to validate your arguments and show your tutors that you have read around the subject.
7. Think about what you want to achieve
Most students decide to study their Global MBA to improve themselves and further their career. However, it is worth setting some time aside to give some real thought as to the detail of what you want to achieve from your studies.
Why not make a list of your personal and professional goals? Is there any knowledge in particular you wish to gain from your course and for what reason? Are there any new skills you’d like to develop or existing skills you want to improve?
If you can tell your tutors up front what you want to achieve from the Global MBA, they’ll do their best to support you.
8. Get your finances in order
If you haven’t yet considered how you are going to fund your Global MBA, to set your mind at rest, you should work out your finances as soon as possible. Our course fees can be paid in instalments and we require a £250 acceptance fee to secure your place.
You can speak to a course adviser for more information on postgraduate funding options. If you are from England, Wales or the USA, you may also be eligible to apply for a postgraduate loan.
9. Relax!
Relaxing should be one of the easiest things to do, yet some people find it incredibly difficult. We live in a hectic world where the pressure to be productive feels constant and there’s always someone prepared to do more. As a result, we have trouble switching off and ‘doing nothing’ can make us feel guilty or lazy.
Yet, taking time out is absolutely critical. Each time you begin your academic studies, your mind needs to be fresh and re-energised. So, think about the ways in which you can relax – be it through exercise, socialising or even meditation. There are lots of online resources out there: get started with Calm, eXHALeR, donothingfor2mintues and happify.
Ready to explore further?
Get key insights into what it's like to study a Global MBA with Hull Online in our interview with Programme Director Dr Sarah Shaw:
