Tina Cook
MA Management Learning and Leadership, 2002
Independent consultant
With a background in the not-for-profit sector, with over ten years' experience as chief executive of a housing organisation followed by a learning and development role for a national charity, I felt ready for a new challenge. By 2000 I had decided to undertake some further study yet was struggling with what to choose.
My starting point was that I was ready for the academic process, but needed it to be linked to practice. Writing papers is hard enough when you have a busy working life, and I wanted to make sure I could work on issues that mattered to me most.
Why did I choose Lancaster and MAMLL?
I chose Lancaster because of its reputation and track record pioneering part-time open programmes like MAMLL - with its focus on a learning community and peer assessment. I felt confident that I would really be able to lead my own focused learning with support in an academic setting. For me - funding myself - I had to be sure that the programme would need many needs. I wanted a course that would:
- Help my next career move
- Boost my confidence and develop my academic rigour
- Help me to learn about and understand practice across the public, private and voluntary sectors
- Challenge and stimulate my thinking with new ideas
- Provide real value for money
It did all of these things, yet not always in ways I expected. I have now learnt to expect to be surprised and to appreciate a world of multiple realities. MAMLL helped as I made the transition to a new role as an independent consultant, and it's helped me to thrive in complex contexts. Seeing the theory in practice has given me a greater understanding of many aspects of my work.
Running my own business is challenging and satisfying and involves clients in many areas of work across all sectors. MAMLL was the vehicle that enabled me to make this transition, and it developed my thinking and allowed me to realise my ambition.
At the time of starting MAMLL I was, I dare say, just going for a degree qualification. When I had my interview for the programme, I was asked whether the course was for professional or personal development - I claimed it was solely professional. I wanted to learn how to hold my own intellectually and write well. Now I know that the mix of personal and professional learning is the making of the MAMLL programme. It has had an impact on my whole approach to life, work and play. The value for money has paid off, my business is running well, my clients come back for more and I feel confident in what I deliver.
