Why did you choose to study online?

Flexibility. I needed to be able to complete my course out of hours, at weekends, because I have a full time job that is very demanding with travel etc. I chose this specific course because I wanted something in the area of technology management or product marketing, and this was the closest I could find that was affordable and could be done in a modular way.

What have you enjoyed most about the course?

My main goal was to get my Masters and to do a meaningful research project. I really enjoyed the research project, and some of the subjects that were totally new to me, like Information Technology Law.

What do you think of the online resources and support tools provided?

Generally they were good. Athens was excellent, better than some other Universities (my wife was studying at the same time). 

How have you managed the workload of studying?

I work long hours and travel a lot with work, so I studied only at weekends and holidays.

I started by planning my work really well, going through all lecture material in detail, and according to the schedule set out and doing all the exercises suggested, but human nature (and workload/travel) set in after a while and I ended up cramming a lot into the last few weeks in many modules.

I tried to make as many of the assignments relevant to my daily work, which at times was difficult because I don't really work in a pure IT environment, though I do work with technology.

Assignment based assessment does avoid stressful exam time all in the same week or two at the end.

The research project was a long haul, and I lost motivation in the middle, but had a bit of a Eureka moment at one point and immediately saw how it was all going to fit together. Presenting my research at an international event in front of senior industry professionals was very satisfying and I got very good comments, so that was hugely rewarding.

What are you doing now?

I am continuing to work for the same employer as I was when I started this programme. During the course of completing this degree, I was promoted to become Product Marketing Director, though this was not in any way linked to or a result of my course work. I do expect that my newly obtained MSc will fit well on my CV with my current work experience for future opportunities.

Find out more about our MSc Information Technology online course.