Master’s Degree – Prerequisite To A Successful Career!

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We live in exciting times: from home automation and autonomous cars, to all-screen phones and artificial intelligence, technology is making our lives easier and more productive.

With advancements in automation and telecom, companies are getting leaner and more centralised. There is pressure to be able to make quicker and more informed decisions, becoming more efficient and profitable and being able to provide higher returns to their shareholders. As a direct result of this, companies are looking for a more skilled and qualified workforce.

With jobs that are available in organisations moving up the value chain, companies are looking for specialised, proficient candidates to fill specific roles within the organisation. In today’s global market, one’s citizenship hardly matters to a world class employer looking for the best talent. With options ranging from working remotely to traveling to any destination within 24 hours or simply relocating, companies more often than not find the people they are looking for.

Today, a master’s education is rapidly becoming the entry degree in many professions. This has come about in part because the degrees are specific and utilitarian. A company looking to hire in project management or public healthcare will look to hire candidates with Master’s degrees in either Project Management or Public Health Management.

A Master’s degree implies that a candidate has taken the extra step in getting qualified, gaining extra skills, and specialisation. Having worked on projects, assignments, and dissertations, candidates tend to be more disciplined, structured, and task oriented.

They tend to be trusted with more responsibilities and will bring that experience and knowledge to the company. Such candidates will be an asset to the company and very seldom a liability.

In 2014-15, in the United States, there were nearly 800,000 Master’s degree graduates, a number that has been growing exponentially. In this scenario, most of the candidates applying for any above entry level position will already have at least one Master’s degree, if not more specialised qualifications. A Bachelor’s degree alone would disqualify them in the first stage of recruitment.

Explore the number of specialised Master’s degrees offered by Robert Kennedy College in exclusive partnerships with top British universities.

Robert Kennedy College Students attend Residential Week in Cumbria

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Robert Kennedy College in an exclusive partnership with the University of Cumbria, held the residency programme for our online MBA students. Held at the University of Cumbria’s picturesque Ambleside Campus, the residential week covered the module “Tackling Global-Local Challenges in Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability.”

The residential week gave the students an opportunity to complement their online learning with a conventional classroom experience. And the diverse group of students coming together from different countries, cultures and backgrounds and professional experiences, made the week all the more enriching. The residency was attended by more than 25 international students from countries like Canada, United Arab Emirates, Nigeria and South Africa, to name just a few, for a face-to-face opportunity to enhance their learning experience.

The students participated in various activities and classroom sessions in this action-packed week as well as learning about research methodology for their dissertation. The unique experience left them feeling invigorated and inspired to put the techniques learned during the week into practice. And more importantly, the week gave them an opportunity to connect with their classmates, to forge new friendships and establish relationships with faculty and directors.

“The residential week is an integral part of the course. It’s the only chance the students get to meet one another face to face as opposed to engaging with each other online. The week is really varied. We have a number of education sessions from different guest speakers and faculty throughout the programme. We also have a number of experiential activities and we spend a day enjoying the landscape.” said Emma Watton, Senior Teaching Fellow, (Lancaster University), MBA Leadership and Sustainability Programme graduate.

Students also had the opportunity to explore the idyllic settings of the Cumbria campus and participate in various outdoor team-building activities.

Professor Jem Bendell, Director of the Institute for Leadership and Sustainability, commented, “The residency brings professionals together from around the world. We went with the students on a trail walk that William Wordsworth took and heard about his poem where he talks of letting nature be our teacher. This is something quite unique, a heritage we can explore and find ways of building that into our teaching practice”.

With students from every continent, it was a truly international experience and an opportunity to network with colleagues from all over the world. This unique learning experience left every student with lifetime memories.

 

RKC Student wins PMI 2017 Student Paper of the Year Award

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The Project Management Institute’s Education Foundation (PMIEF) has awarded Neil C. Robinson, a postgraduate student at Robert Kennedy College, University of Salford, its 2017 James R. Snyder International Student Paper of the Year.

The award was presented to Neil at the annual PMI Global Conference in October, held in Chicago, Illinois, USA, for his research paper titled Life is a Project: Project Management as an Enabling Life Skill in Cross-Cultural Transition.

Neil’s paper was inspired by the outcomes of the Life is a Project (LIAP) education initiative, teaching project management life skills to a group of ESL (English as a Second Language) adults in London.

During the course of five volunteer-led workshops, participants were assisted to articulate and develop plans for personal life projects as well as collaborating as a project team in the planning and delivery of a practical community-based project initiative – a fund-raising event in support of the British Refugee Council. Neil and the LIAP programme were also featured in a local UK news article.

Neil’s paper introduces the concept of project management as an enabling skill for individuals in the process of cross-cultural transition. He explores theoretical models of cultural adaptation, research into psychological and socio-cultural impacts of cross- cultural transitions, the challenges of being a non-native English language speaker.

The paper concludes with a view on the merit of project management skills in a cross-cultural context and thoughts on further development of the concept.

On receiving this award, Neil said “It’s a great honour and validation of the effort expended to have this work recognised by PMIEF.” In an email to the university, Neil also thanked the university and Robert Kennedy College for equipping him “with the requisite academic research and writing skills to produce this piece of work!”

As a mature student himself, Neil believes it is never too late to learn, “Education really can “open doors” and with programmes like this (Online MSc Project Management), it’s never too late to “follow the dream”. Just do it.”

Celebrating 19 Years of Swiss Quality Education

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Prof. Dr. iur. David Costa, Dean Robert Kennedy College and Stefano Costa MBA, Finance Director Robert Kennedy College (RKC), visited NASDAQ New York to commemorate the success of RKC for providing Swiss Quality Education in partnership with top British Universities since last 19 years.

“Having the name of Robert Kennedy College at the center of Times Square, New York was mesmerizing and surreal but more imperative was this unique opportunity to extend thanks to our staff, students and graduates throughout the world”

During the 19 years the college has served thousands of students across over 130 countries. Thanks to proprietary state of the art technology, outstanding teaching and superior student care, the college has pioneered the concept of blended and online learning throughout the world. #RKC instructors are graduates from some of the best universities worldwide. With over 5,000 students from 130 different countries, we are a truly international establishment.

Our online masters’ programmes combine Swiss quality education at a distance with residencies at the college’s premises in Zürich, Switzerland and in England at the campuses of our exclusive partners, the University of Cumbria, University of Salford and York St John University. Thanks to the unique blended learning format, students are able to experience face to face live classes during the one week residential without disrupting their busy careers.

At RKC you are not just a student number. You are part of our online learning community engaged with faculty members and other students. Get more information about our programmes here.