Soccer fever in Manchester as over 100 MBAs from schools such as Oxford Said, Lancaster and Edinburgh battled it out at this year's International Football Challenge.
Manchester Business School hosted its annual International Football Challenge for MBAs again this year, bringing together over 100 MBA students from Oxford Said, Lancaster University Management School, Cambridge Judge, Edinburgh, Warwick and of course Manchester.The competition was intense, with the Manchester team losing in the final round during penalty kicks to… Oxford Said, the team who took the title last year!
Additionally, the top scoring player and the best goalie of the overall tournament were awarded bragging rights as well as tickets to Manchester City's next game (Manchester City being the city's other great, though somewhat less famous, football club!)
“A big reason why people come here is because they want to experience Manchester football,” said Nicola Bertazzoni, Manchester MBA and the tournament organizer, said. “It’s completely in line with the spirit of the city.”
The tournament didn’t just get bigger and higher-stakes this year. A girl-friendly game was added to the competition, with over 20 female MBA students participating. Manchester student Monica Rashkin played in the game and hopes to expand it to a full female tournament during next year’s International Football Challenge.
Rashkin and Bertazzoni have set high goals for next year’s competition already: not only are they looking to recruit more female players, but also want to reach out to more business school students in Asia and the US (where Rashkin is from).
They are also looking for sponsors for next year. They've already lined up Vincent Kompany, the Belgian footballer who is captain of Manchester City, and a student on Manchester's Executive MBA, to appear in a few recruitment brochures!
Sadly, due to his insurance policy, Kompany said he wouldn’t be able to actually play in next year’s competition though. But if he could, it’d be fair to say Manchester would take the title next year!
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.
