Students, alumni and corporate partners of the Lancaster MBA joined together for a special dinner event in London on Wednesday, 15 June.

With plans to celebrate the programme’s 30th anniversary in 2020 having been affected by the Covid pandemic, this long-awaited event was especially valued as an opportunity to once again meet in person.

The event, which was held at the Institute of Directors (IoD), Pall Mall, included insights from guest speaker, Paul Taylor, Fitch Group President and CEO. Paul, who is also a Lancaster University alumnus, shared his thoughts in this time of unprecedented events challenging economies and societies around the world. He spoke in particular of social change and ESG, of the wider role of companies in society.

The buzz of networking in progress was evident throughout the event, as attendees benefited from developing new connections within our MBA community.

Current student, Arindam Das, commented: “The IoD event was one of the best things that has happened so far in my MBA journey. I have made some great contacts to push my career forward. The location and professional vibe were amazingly tuned. I really liked the way industry professionals came with an open mind to listen to our capabilities and motivate us to apply in their respective organizations.”

Alumni attending also benefited from reconnecting with classmates. As well as new contacts being established, existing relationships for many attendees were also enhanced.

Ben Hookway, CEO of Relative Insight, attended the event as part of an ongoing relationship with the Lancaster MBA. He explains: “Relative Insight benefits in tangible ways from our association with the Lancaster MBA. Having originated from Lancaster University research, we naturally hire graduates, but as our company continues to scale and expand we need to consider talent that helps us do that. The MBA programme gives us access to some excellent team members, not only in terms of skills, but with great perspective too.”

The dinner event formed part of a professional development visit to London for our 2021-22 MBA cohort, who also attended company visits and meetings with alumni in the capital.

Photos of the event can be seen in the Facebook photo gallery.