Shipra Sharma

University of Manchester’s Alliance Manchester Business School

Hometown: Vancouver, Canada (Originally India)

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’m a travel and an adventure junkie as I have traveled to 26 countries and lived in five countries including India, Canada, USA, Serbia and England. I’m multilingual and indulged in crazy adventure sports such as skydiving, scuba diving, bungee jumping and ziplining.

Undergraduate School and Major: Simon Fraser University (SFU), Business Administration and Communication (Vancouver, Canada)

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Marketing Specialist for a leading Telecom giant headquartered in Vancouver.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Alliance Manchester’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school? Why was it so important to you? Alliance Manchester Business School is top 30 in the world with triple accreditation. The program is flexible and offers to work on real client projects such as commercial business, not-for-profit, mergers and acquisitions, and international business projects that can help gain industry experience while studying at the same time. The networking opportunities are fantastic, especially when one is new to a country, which helps in building your international network.

What club or extracurricular activity excites you most at this school?  I enjoy dancing, swimming, horse riding, badminton and football. Currently, I play weekly football with my MBA classmates.

What makes Manchester such a great place to earn an MBA? It is multicultural and people are welcoming. I am also a Manchester United fan. I first visited the city on a vacation and enjoyed the vibe and people. That’s when I decided it would be a good idea to move here and experience life in Britain, I mean, why not? We only live once.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far? I’m humbled to have previously worked as one of the Board of Directors for a not-for-profit, student-led organization and got the opportunity to represent the 26,000+ undergraduate students at SFU. I successfully led the execution of strategic marketing and outreach campaign to get the approval from the student body on a $55 million student union building and $10 million stadium construction project, thereby, leaving a legacy behind for the future students. I believe in diverse cultures and inclusion, which led me to be the founder of first ever cultural festival representing multiple nationalities and 2000+ people in attendance.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I believe learning is an ongoing process. I wanted to expand my business knowledge and seek a global perspective. Given that I come from marketing, sales and events management background, I felt it is a good time to learn further about other aspects of business and here I am.

What was your defining moment and how did it prepare you for business school? I was 17 years old when I first moved to Vancouver by myself to pursue my undergrad. During this period, I also studied in Boston and worked in Europe prior to my MBA. These opportunities allowed me to work and study with more than 40 nationalities from around the world. Fast forward eight years, being in my mid 20s now, one day I had a self-realization that I want to get out of my comfort zone and seek a new challenge. That’s when I decided to relocate to a new country. My parents have been my pillars during this journey. So for me moving to England is a new chapter, new life, and with new people.

DON’T MISS: MEET ALLIANCE MANCHESTER’S MBA CLASS OF 2022