Dr. Kerry Sullivan is the Senior Lecturer of Finance at the Pan European Executive MBA programme, offered by the University of York Europe Campus CITY College

Can we say that the role and significance of the Executive MBA program changes taking into account the tremendous changes taking place in the lives of all of us?

Currency is the key to an MBA. Although any programme of this nature has core subjects with a established principles and thinking. What is most important is that new thinking and research informs that content. The last 18 months has seen business adapting in a myriad of ways and we always ensure that our course reflects that. Changes in patterns of working mean future and current leaders have to adapt to different ways of delivering their strategies. The staff ensure the programme reflects the most recent developments and deliver that currency.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the lives of all of us. What changes have taken place in your life as a lecturer and are there any positive ones alongside with negative?

Academics are arguably used to working internationally and collaboratively at a distance so the remote working was less of a change to us than to many other professions. For me it was the intangible contacts that one makes in a face to face environment at a conference for example which was lost. Often a casual conversation can spark ideas that bear significant fruit. Similarly, the lack of face to face contact with our students has meant that they have missed the classroom digression which can sometimes add great value to their education. However, I believe that the wider public has recognised that research is critical. Scientists and modellers have gained wider respect as a result.

Some people claim that if you don’t have the entrepreneurial or managerial nerve, the Executive MBA program cannot help you become a successful entrepreneur or manager. What will you say to those people?

That  instinctive eye for an opportunity is something that may be natural. However, to make ideas work you need structure, systems, control and accountability these are at the heart of the skill sets the MBA delivers.

There is an opinion that in the modern world skills are as important as knowledge. Does the Executive MBA program provide skills to the students as well?

There are obvious skills students enhance and develop on an MBA: Finance, Marketing, Teamwork etc. But one critical outcome is the development of confidence in the business environment. Students look at businesses much more holistically and they grow in self belief. That self confidence can be priceless for going forward.

What do the Armenian students stand for – both positively and negatively?

The students here have some wonderful attributes. Their breadth of language skills are always impressive to a native English speaker.

Their enthusiasm to learn is always a joy. Their exposure to some broader and newer international business trends can be limited though because of their working and cultural environment. But seeing them learn and adapt makes coming here worthwhile to all the visiting lecturers.