The main reason why I chose the MSc E-Business and Innovation (EBIN) was probably understanding the need to move from my first, IT-focused Bachelors education to the managerial life that awaited me in the future. The EBIN programme, with its strong business-oriented component and carefully designed transition path from IT to management, proved to be a perfect fit for the task.

My study on the programme was both demanding and pleasurable. It faithfully delivers everything it promises, and more. It shapes your worldview, explaining why managerial patterns are so different from physical laws, being highly complex and context-dependent. It also teaches you a number of vital soft skills, such as time management, work–life balance, and living in a multicultural environment.

With LUMS being the most internationally diverse faculty on the campus, it is absolutely the right place to go for this kind of experience. Finally, for those of you seeking a position in a prominent global company, the MSc EBIN also aims to boost its students’ employability, with a level of sincere concern I have never seen elsewhere.

A central element of the programme is, of course, its consultancy project, where students work to solve a real-world business problem whilst simultaneously collecting the project data for their Masters dissertations.

My team worked to produce a digital marketing plan for a local travel agency, which eventually led to in-depth research on customer engagement mechanisms and techniques. As a CEO of a newly founded retail company, I find this research to be not only of academic value but also significant personal value.

With the current difficult economic situation and intense competition in physical retail, it is crucial that our small company engages its customers, moving from mere transactions to long-term loyalty. It is absolutely clear that today every company needs to leverage a holistic mix of innovative approaches, modern IT, and business skills to stand its ground – these are precisely the things that I had a unique chance to learn about on the EBIN programme.