I chose to study at Oxford due to the brand-name recognition, the global presence, and academic rigour.
The diploma for me was a way to continue growing both personally and professionally. During each person’s career, there are times when you become specialised at what you are doing. For me, the Executive Diploma in Financial Strategy was a way to broaden that specialisation. It was a way to learn how to ask better questions and acquire a new set of skills entirely.
The setting of Oxford was a truly remarkable experience and is exactly that, an experience. It can be read about, listened about, and photos may be seen about it. But to truly know it, you must be there. A setting where fellow students from all walks of life gather to foster a unique appreciation for challenges others see in the world, allowing you to listen and learn in a new and childly curious way. Academic content was exhaustive and presented by professors with real-world experience. The content was consistently critiqued, thoughts were voiced of those for and opposed, allowing all to form their own opinion.
For me personally, the people involved in the diploma were a tremendous asset. Especially in a year filled with uncertainty, many students continued studying the programme, which owed to the greater lesson of it all; nothing is certain in business, but the people surrounding you help weather the ups and downs. The most valuable relationships created are those experienced during a challenging time. I was only so lucky to have joined the programme during a time when the world would experience a dreadful pandemic experience. Faculty, students, and administration alike collectively pushed through challenges to maintain a great learning experience. And because of this experience, many of those relationships will last forever.
The Executive Diploma in Financial Strategy has allowed me to look at things with a fresh perspective, ask better questions, and know where to find better answers. Growth tends to be a pretty common goal of most businesses and my experience on the programme has allowed me to articulate those goals in ways that are communicable, executable, and done in a responsible way.
