Karim Boguspayev, director of sports and social events for the Lancaster MBA shares some of his favourite moments from this years packed social calendar
We spoke with the director of sports and social events for the Lancaster University Management School MBA to get some juicy details about the School's social calendar. We all know an MBA isn't just about work, so what did this hardworking crew do to unwind?
Karim Boguspayev was elected by fellow Lancaster MBAs to organize fun extra-curricular activities to balance out their intense study commitments. He was awarded the Lancaster high potential scholarship, an award presented to candidates who can demonstrate exceptional leadership qualities from their career and personal life to date, and this MBA certainly knows how to balance work and fun!
“You have to mix study with time for friends, family, fun and relaxation”, says Karim, and there have already been several memorable events throughout the year. He shares his favourites with us.What are the main activities that you’ve been involved with during the year?
The two main sports we’ve been really involved in are football and cricket. We have our own Lancaster MBA football and Cricket teams that compete with other MBA teams in the UK and in Europe. I’m captain of the football team and we played at the Manchester Business School MBA tournament earlier in the year. We also made it to the semi-finals at the HEC Paris MBAT in the spring.
Our cricket team competed at Cranfield University’s MBA cricket league and won the tournament. The sports events are a good opportunity to meet with MBAs from other teams and network with them.
Our biggest event is usually the Christmas party followed by the annual MBA ball held in Windermere at the beautiful lake district. We also organize other relaxed activities like bowling or short trips. For these we welcome other postgraduate students so that MBAs get a chance to mix with non-MBA students. We’ve just had the Gradfest, an outdoor festival with live music and food, and despite the weather it was great! After a few months of poor weather in the UK, you just stop noticing the rain and enjoy yourself regardless.
We also had a charity day where teams were assigned to different one-day projects with charity organizations. The one we did was with the Wildlife Trust in Bolton.
Did you think Lancaster would be this fun?
Lancaster exceeded my expectations both in terms of the education and the experience of life as an MBA in general. I’m very interested in sports so it’s been great to be able to get involved in them both inside and outside the classroom. One of my consulting projects was with the Football League UK. The group manages around 72 football clubs and it was almost my dream come true to work with them even though I didn’t get the chance to meet anyone famous.
I joined the Lancaster MBA because I wanted a chance to develop soft skills as well as gain expertise in management and being in charge of these social activities helps me put some of the things we learn into practice.
Do you have any more social activities planned?
We’re planning a big outdoor party in a week or two and a big closing party in September. We also have alumni networking sessions on July 19. We held one in London three weeks ago and it was successful. Lots of employers came.
What will you be doing over summer?
I’m doing a project with Reebok as a summer consultant. I’m very happy about this because of my interest in sports. It’s great because the projects are assigned by interest and the company may also choose MBAs based on their skills and experiences.
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Student Reviews
Lancaster University Management School
An exceptional educational establishment in the North West of England.
This university has been a fantastic life experience as well as a great academic one. I first decided to go to Lancaster University Management School due to its exceptional business education facilities and have not been disappointed. I recommend the university to anybody that wants to put themselves in a strong position for a career upon graduation.
Student Ambassador
Overall, the instruction is decent, however it also depends on your department. The people are friendly, in my opinion. The sporting events are enjoyable, and there is a good sense of community. Although the city is quite remote, it is nonetheless attractive.
Lancaster University honest review
The education system in the university is excellent especially that of the Management School. The campus has great facilities for students to study and live in a relaxed manner. The students can engage in various activities through the socities.
Great opportunities to think beyond
Lancaster University provides a lot of good opportunities to think beyond.There Entrepreneurship in residence program helps students to meet and seek guidance about entrepreneurship and the challenges.Their Work in progress program help to fabricate your startup idea and further to pitch to the potential investors.Apart from that there are lot of programs like Enactus, guest lectures and guidance from seniors to help and shape your career needs.
They provide lot of opportunities to shape up your employability skills.
A top university in the UK for management science!
If you’re interested in management science studies, Lancaster University is one of the top universities in the UK. The faculty is renowned and have a sterling reputation for research in management science. Candidates specifically interested in Forecasting would find the Centre for Marketing Analytics and Forecasting especially relevant to their field. Besides, the ROI is good as the overall cost compared to other universities is less.
Great university for academia – not great for 'entrepreneurs'
Please keep in mind that my review is nuanced by my expectations of an Entrepreneurship degree :) I came to Lancaster University because it was one of the top universities to have a course in Entrepreneurship. After 4 years in this degree, my most valuable experience has been my placement and not the actual course. The course is heavily focused on impractical elements, which is a bit odd for an Entrepreneurship degree. There are some modules that involve hands-on work but the faculty support for such things has not been great. My course also involved a lot of teamwork which has been fantastic and really prepared me when it comes to dealing with the diversity of opinions. In terms of career prospects, the management school does A LOT to host events, workshops and support sessions to help you build up your employability skills. Although, I wish there was more acknowledgement of SMEs/startups as a viable career option. The entrepreneurship team which is meant to support budding businesses is really stepping up their game with tons of guest speakers, workshops and pitching opportunities. The location is a concern if you're not in STEM, Law or Accounting and Finance. Business requires networking with the broader community. However, for Lancaster students, the best bet is a trip down to Manchester or London. On the flip side, living in Lancaster is much cheaper! Overall, if the purpose of your university experience is to receive top academic education and have great facilities at your disposal, Lancaster is a great choice. But if you want to be in business and entrepreneurship, I would look elsewhere.
