Josephine Parquet, MiM2021
“I was astounded by the exceptional work environment the university offers and by the thrilling diversity of highly driven students I met, whom all shared their satisfaction of the programme’s content and excitement about the active student life. “
Education: Bachelor, ESADE Business School; graduated in 2019
Topic studied: Business Administration
Interested in: Technology
So, Josephine, why LBS? What was the leading factor about the School or programme that made up your mind to come here?
There are three main reasons why I decided to
join LBS: I want to pursue a career in Tech in London, I want to learn new
skills surrounded by an incredibly diverse and talented cohort and most
importantly, join the LBS community for life.
Throughout the years I have developed a very strong interest in technology and
my longer-term plan is to work in venture capital. Having little professional
experience in the tech environment, joining the MiM at LBS was the perfect
opportunity to acquire new skills and get a better understanding of the tech
landscape. I also believed that the career department of LBS would be an
unparalleled asset that would allow me to significantly expand my network. In
addition to the in-class material and career resources, I knew that the clubs
and conferences would really help me close the technical and knowledge gaps I
had prior to joining LBS and open my network to London based companies.
The diversity and reach of the programme’s content was also a key decisional factor as it would enable me to acquire a new set of analytical skills, like the programming language R and statistics, strengthen and challenge my current skills, and ultimately combine managerial and analytical aspects of the course. I also believed that the unique academic standards provided by LBS professors would constantly satisfy my passionate interest for the topics. I was very drawn by the large number of group-works and the global immersion field trip as they are exceptional opportunities to apply my theoretical knowledge to real-life situations.
During my visit of the LBS campus, I had the chance to meet students currently enrolled in the MiM and obtained precious insight into how studying at LBS was like. I was astounded by the exceptional work environment the university offers and by the thrilling diversity of highly driven students I met, whom all shared their satisfaction of the programme’s content and excitement about the active student life. They shared a lot about their experiences joining the clubs’ activities and how they had been able to meet people from other programmes and work on projects that further enriched their experiences.
What advice do you have for current prospective students?
When completing their application, I advise would students to do a lot of research and talk to current students. It is the best way to have real insights about life at LBS, academic expectations, and the club opportunities. During my application process, I was in contact with current students and it really helped me understand the spirit of the school and was then sure I wanted to complete my masters at LBS. The website is full of resources as well, there is an extensive amount of information on the course content and on the clubs that is worth investigating in. It can provide interesting thoughts about interests that can be shared in the application.
In addition to thinking about what LBS can bring to their personal and professional growth, students should think about what they can bring to the community and how they plan to get involved. A general advice would be that any argument stated should be back by research or example (how they were an active member during their undergraduate degree for example).
LBS is full of opportunities, so even though they should know what they want to get out of LBS, they should make sure to have and to show that they are open-minded, and ready to have their ideas challenged and embrace change of plans, especially as we live in such an uncertain period of time.
You’ve joined a diverse class of peers, what is the unique offering you bring to the table?
I am French, studied in Spain, did an exchange in Hong Kong, worked in Bolivia, Paris and Barcelona. This makes me very open to any culture and working style, and very understanding of the different opinions and mindsets I come across. It is particularly important at LBS as we have a lot of group assignment. Study groups are very diverse in nationalities, past working experiences or undergraduate background, which is very enriching and representative of our future global workspace, but also forces us to adapt to different working styles and get out of our comfort zone.
Fun fact about you that didn’t get included in your application?
When I was small, I wanted to buy a ranch in Argentina and open a horse breeding farm (it is still my dream job). With my business skills and LBS connections I might be able to still pursue my dream in the future.