Dave Curran came to the MBA programme from NTR plc, a company that invests in and develops renewable energy businesses, based in his native city of Dublin, Ireland.
He worked in NTR’s Corporate Finance unit and prior to that, in its biofuels subsidiary. Dave has a BSc in Business Information Systems from University College, Cork and decided to do an MBA because he wanted to extend his academic grounding in business and to accelerate his career. “Saïd Business School appealed to me for a number of reasons,” says Dave. “There was something hugely appealing in the energy and history of Oxford. The FT rankings were important but more so the cultural diversity of the school. With 48 different nationalities participating in the MBA, I felt it would provide a fantastic cross-cultural learning experience.” And David has not been disappointed. “The opportunity to build friendships has been one of the key benefits of taking the MBA,” he says. “I met a fantastic range of bright, fun and engaging people and this has definitely enriched my life.”
One the most enjoyable experiences of the MBA for David, has been winning the VCIC competition with four of his fellow classmates. “VCIC is a venture capital competition in which we compete against the top schools in Europe (including Insead, Cambridge and IESE),” says Dave. “It was hugely rewarding going up against these other schools and taking the top spot.” Exposure to the broader set of events and activities in the school and university provided David with some unique experiences. “Things like rowing with my college or participating in the venture capital investment competition have allowed me to differentiate myself from other candidates in the job market.”
David is currently working as a consultant for Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm, based in Dubai. “I learned about the opportunity through Career Connect, a database of job opportunities to which the school provides students access,” he says. The MBA gave David the confidence to integrate topics from a range of subjects (economics, strategy, finance, etc) into job application processes. “I definitely benefited from practice interviews with the School’s sector consultants. They also assisted me in refining my CV to make it professional, targeted and concise.”