From a lab coat to leadership: A Residential Week to remember

I had been considering doing an MBA for about two years before I joined WBS. The idea came from my experience setting up and running a clinical Genomics lab - quite a big shift when I moved from academia about four and a half years ago.

Although I learned a lot along the way, I felt that to grow in my career and better understand certain areas, I needed a more structured, formal education. I also knew I wanted to stay in my field but also expand my skills and keep more career paths open. What drew me to WBS was not just the Global Online MBA format, but also the unique electives - especially in healthcare, which only a few top universities like Warwick offer.
 

I understood we’d have some in-person weeks at Warwick, but I didn’t expect the experience to be this incredible! I chose to do my online MBA at the Warwick campus and attended my first Residential Week in April 2025. It was my first time flying to the UK and many years since I’d been on a university campus. My cohort has around 150 people, and I think I managed to introduce myself and chat with at least 70 of them during those few days!

On our first evening, we had a social dinner at The Slate. I met such incredible people from fields that were worlds apart from mine. Plus, I was able to finally put faces to the names of people who I would see commenting in the module talking points section! It was also great to meet my first group from Organisational Behaviour - we all had gotten along very well, and it felt almost like an old friend’s reunion.

Our first two days, we had classes in Operations Management (OM) and I found Professor Silvestro’s teaching style very engaging and present; I was able to learn a lot of the module and what was expected from our assignments during these classes. I also met my new group for OM  and we were able to drum out our group assignment within our days there!

The four days flew by, and although it was very intense - I did manage to take walks around the university campus in the evenings - easy enough since I was staying at Radcliffe House.

While it rained most of the time when we were indoors, there were some lovely spots of bright blue sky, birds, and nature which was quite refreshing. The campus is spread out with tiny pockets that you come across, like the Warwick Arts Centre. Also, the library and its café stand out with its neon pink colour and is an unmissable part of the campus.

We also had a catered dinner at the British Motor Museum to celebrate the cohort - including an inspiring speech from a WBS alumni. It was a lovely evening with good food and even better company - our table spent a lot of time talking and networking with each other, sharing personal and professional stories, including everyone’s experiences at WBS.

Like many other students, I really enjoyed the sessions with the Careers team that focused on Leadership and Development. They gave us a better understanding of ourselves, how we work, and offered useful tips on how to connect and collaborate with people who have different personality types.

On our last day, we had talks from Global Online MBA alumni, followed by a delightful hot lunch catered at Scarman House. It was a nice way to say goodbye to my new friends, and we even made plans to see each other for our next Residential Week. I also purchased some items from the WBS store to remember my time there - including a plushie of the WBS bear for Chloe, my cat.

All in all, this was a fantastic experience, and I loved being back in university, studying. Since I spent so many of my years in a university setting, this felt like a welcome back home. I have made some incredible connections which would not have been possible without WBS, and I cannot wait to be back for my second Residential Week!