60 seconds with: Professor Sir Adrian Smith
In the first of a new series of short interviews with key stakeholders, we speak to Professor Sir Adrian Smith FRS, Vice-Chancellor of the University of London.
What makes the University of London Global MBA stand out from its competitors?
One unique aspect of the programme is its focus on specialisms.
Many people doing MBAs have already done something. They might have done economics, they might have done law… But there’s a whole panoply of things you need to put together in a modern business environment – law, finance, entrepreneurship, innovation, accountancy, leadership…
Our focus on being able to specialise and pick within this range makes it special. That’s a recognition that work environments are changing – becoming more complex.
And the workforce too?
Yes. Another unique feature of the Global MBA is the flexibility to those who enrol.
This has been carefully designed with career professionals and employers in mind, to whom flexibility is a key requirement.
This is really designed around those who are working career professionals.
Does this help to attract professional bodies?
In addition to world-class academic input, another special feature is professional accreditation and development, which is crucially important.
This is why we’ve joined forces with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
Both of those organisations will offer graduates of the MBA the opportunity to present themselves for professional accreditation.
Professor Smith was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of London in 2012. His former roles include Director General of Knowledge and Innovation in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), and Principal of Queen Mary University of London, which now provides academic direction for the Global MBA.