Meet The Alliance Manchester MBA Class Of 2026

Q&A WITH ALLIANCE MANCHESTER MBA ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, NAOMI BLACKWELL

Poets&Quants: What have been the two most important developments in your MBA program over the past year? What type of impact will they have on current and future MBAs?

Blackwell: During the last 12 months, two significant program developments for the full-time MBA program have been:

1. Developing a set of guiding values for the MBA program; Contribution – Growth – Inclusion – Professionalism. These were internally created based on our observations of our MBA candidates’ strengths and what we aspire our MBA candidates (and colleagues) to demonstrate, not just academically but throughout the program. Examples include, but are not limited to, contributions to competitions, career developments, and wellbeing of their class. We know that, increasingly, MBA candidates seek clarity from their employers and other organizations they engage with on these entities’ values and mission. The aim is to meaningfully embed the values into the full-time MBA program identity. The values were introduced to the Class of 2026 during the induction weeks to help set the tone, with an activity for the MBA candidates to first reflect on their own values (which sparked an interesting discussion), and a challenging MBA-type scenario to see how they perceive the impact of these values on their daily behavior both inside and outside the course. There is a corresponding Values Recognition System to recognize, encourage and celebrate these behaviors (e.g. on LinkedIn) and the values are visually represented around the MBA Common Room area. This will impact prospective MBA candidates in further understanding their fit with our program, and impact current MBA candidates through emphasis and recognition of personal development as well as academic.

2. Introduction of Master Classes on International Business Management: Academically, our MBA is known for its experiential Manchester Method that culminates in the capstone International Business Project, the final of three live client consultancy projects. This project brings together all learnings, tools and frameworks our MBAs acquired during the program, applied to a complex client need in a context requiring agility and on the spot thinking. This year, we have further strengthened the learning experience for our MBAs by introducing a series of master classes on International Business Management delivered by inhouse academic experts. This will impact current and future MBAs through more nuanced and holistic perspectives on international business that they will take into their future career, recognizing that most of them will find jobs in a highly international context.

Poets&Quants: Every January, P&Q publishes a “10 Business Schools to Watch” feature that highlights how schools are raising the bar and enhancing the student experience through innovation or expansion in programming or resources. What is one innovation that sets your school apart from your peer programs and makes you a business school to watch? Why is it so groundbreaking?

Blackwell: One of the elements that set us apart is our strong focus on sustainability. We consistently occupy top positions in rankings in terms of the coverage of ESG-related topics on the MBA curriculum. This element is a core and non-negotiable part of our MBA- we do not believe in ESG as a tick box exercise but have strongly embedded ESG coverage in all courses and electives, recognizing that it is a core part of business decision making and leadership. In the past year, we have further strengthened this dimension by introducing EDI training for staff teaching on the MBA. For example, we have successfully introduced an Active Bystander course for faculty.

Moreover, we have included an EDI module in the MBA preparation course which candidates can take in advance of their MBA. We believe all these elements will bolster the candidates’ student experience and learning. We strongly focus on value creation for companies and stakeholders – but we believe it is possible to do so in a sustainable, respectful manner. We call ourselves a “friendly MBA”- by which we mean that we are open to engage with a diverse community of students, and very willing to cater to the individual needs e.g. of neurodiverse students.

Poets&Quants: What types of programs do you offer to sharpen your students’ soft skills? What areas do you emphasize and how do you instill these skills in your students?

Blackwell: Our full-time MBA program recognizes the huge importance of soft skills for a successful career. Our “MBA +” offering consists of guest lectures and workshops offering students a wide range of soft skill training, from EDI Leadership to Personality Styles. These are delivered by a combination of academic experts and alumni practitioners. In addition, our Postgraduate Careers Service work intensively with our MBAs to refine their networking and interviewing skills.

There are a number of positions that MBAs can run for on the MBA Student Council and MBA industry clubs. These require not just efficient planning, event management and budgeting skills, but crucially the softer skills of active listening, relationship building and networking. The MBA Student Council organize ‘Manchester Matters’ each term, a TEDTalk style event, for MBAs to volunteer to deliver a 10-minute presentation on a personal topic of their choice. This is a brilliant opportunity to build confidence in and the skills of public speaking.

However, we do not limit soft skills training to specific MBA+ sessions. It is safe to say that, through our Manchester Method of teaching which is used in all our core courses, consultancy projects, and electives, we equip students with presentation, teamwork, negotiation, and other essential transferable skills. We also have four core MBA values underpinning our offering, and reward students who have successfully embodied these values with a certificate.

Poets&Quants: What types of programming – through classroom instruction, extracurriculars, and treks – does your school offer to expose students to country-specific and global business practices? What have students told you were the most educational and fun aspects of these activities?

Blackwell: Our Manchester Method of teaching means that students get hands on experience with real life consultancy cases from their first week into the program. They start with a social impact project, and then move on to commercial projects with an increasing level of ambiguity and complexity. Their final project is, by construction, international in nature and in some instances will require travel to conduct in-country primary research.

Our MBA cohort is extremely diverse in terms of number of nationalities represented (among other dimensions of diversity), and so are our lecturers on the program, all of whom are experts in their topics and employed by the business school.

To further enhance students’ international experience, we offer a 5-day study tour to Dubai comprised of an International Business Strategy elective, networking opportunities and company visits. 25% of MBAs participated in this in the academic year 2024-25.

Plus, our students have the opportunity to visit our international centers (in Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai) to take elective workshops and interact with their Global MBA peers.

Poets&Quants: How does Alliance Manchester tap into the resources available through the larger University of Manchester and how does it increase the opportunities and enhance the experience of Full-Time MBA students?

Blackwell: Alliance Manchester is fully embedded into the rich heritage of the University of Manchester. We have the Graphene, Henry Royce, and Alan Turing institutes in close proximity, reminding us daily of the great discoveries that have been made, and are still made, at our university. Our MBA students benefit from interactions with these and other research institutes at the university through guest lectures and consultancy projects. Our students also benefit from the vast research and data analytics resources available at our university. We have top notch databases with financial and macroeconomic data, a behavioral lab, and a data visualization lab.

MBAs are able to engage with resources such as the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC), an incredible support for entrepreneurially minded students to explore opportunities for their own venture. We host an annual ‘Introduction to MEC’ information session early in the full-time MBA in order to raise awareness of MEC and opportunities for MBAs to engage, of which there is a strong track record.

On a personal level, MBAs are able to engage with university services such as the Students Union clubs and societies, the International Society, and the Counseling & Mental Health Service. These allow MBAs to have a holistic experience beyond the academic program and are additional opportunities for person support.

Poets&Quants: What types of support does your career center and alumni provide to MBA students? How have these services and relationship made your graduates more competitive in the marketplace?

Blackwell: The Postgraduate Careers Service (PCS) offers a wide ranging and comprehensive set of services to students and recent graduates. All of our students have access to our bespoke careers platform where they can access a range of materials to support their career development, book an appointment with the team, register for events and apply for jobs and internships; In addition, we run weekly face to face workshops and seminars covering all elements of career development and internship/job search.

The most important element of our student facing activities though is our 1:1 support. The PCS team is made up of a mix of careers professionals and qualified coaches and our 1:1 support is offered to all FT MBA students on an unlimited basis throughout their studies and until they secure their first job post MBA. This allows us to individualise the approach providing bespoke, tailored guidance that is targeted to the needs of the individual student.

Alongside these student facing activities, the team are also externally facing, engaging with employers and alumni to generate internship and FT hiring opportunities. The team manage key accounts with our regular recruiters allowing them to build long term relationships, understanding their hiring needs and improving the guidance offered to students to position themselves. In addition to these regular recruiters, we also run regular marketing campaigns targeting both alumni and corporates who may be interested in working with our students through projects and internships, we also take a similar approach when seeking to promote our students seeking to secure full time opportunities.

Whilst these students facing and external engagement activities represent the core of what we do there are multiple other elements that supplement them aiding, aiding the students professional development and their visibility in the market. These include various competition such as the Venture Capital Investment Competition and the AMBS Case Competition, sponsored by one of our external partners, a mentoring program, a series of guest speaker events and networking events which we hold in both Manchester and London primarily.

Our goal is to provide as comprehensive a service as possible, tailored to the individual needs of our students and with multiple opportunities to gain visibility and build networks allowing them to maximize the opportunity the MBA brings them.

Poets&Quants: What are the most exciting new courses that your school is offering to MBAs this school year? What makes them so unique and valuable?

Blackwell: We are about to launch a new MBA elective on ‘Design Thinking, Creativity and Co-creation’. This module responds to the increased demand for innovation and creativity skills on the part of employers and students and is very much in keeping with the applied, holistic and behavioral nature of our Manchester Method. Creativity and design are currently predominantly undertaken in groups or teams. Supported by collaboration tools and digital technologies, companies are finding effective ways to enhance their product and service innovation through co-creation.

This involves enriching their creative process by including the active participation of end users, customers and clients, suppliers, and other external stakeholders. This new elective will thus be aimed for individuals who want to increase their innovation management skills, enhance their organization’s innovation management capabilities, and inspire entrepreneurship.

Next page: The profiles of 12 Alliance Manchester MBAs.

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