Interview with Engineering Management graduate Stergios

I enjoyed the whole learning journey. Actually, I cannot believe that I’ve finished. It was just two or three years ago that I started. But you just have to stay disciplined and go at your own pace. If I managed to finish this master’s while working six days a week, 10 hours a day, plus commuting an hour each way, then anyone can do it. And I managed to finish on time.

How did your journey start?

I was OK. I was a technical office manager. I developed my career from a structural engineer to a manager, and I was struggling with the new role because new things were coming up that I hadn’t dealt with before. Then I saw on Facebook that a colleague of mine – who was actually older than me – he was a British guy, a corporate legal manager, or something like that. He posted a photo from his graduation ceremony. I said, if he can do that in his 50s, why not me? I will start right now. And I started looking for what to study.

When I saw this course from the University of Bath, I went through the staff and the videos. In the beginning I was thinking I have to do an MBA. But when I saw this EBM, I said: this is what you're looking for. You are an engineer, you have to do this.

I asked a manager in the company about this course and in turned out that he had an MSc from the University of Bath. I didn't know that. He told me, the University of Bath is one of the best universities in the world, so you have to go there. He also gave me a reference letter.

And that’s how I joined this course and my learning journey started. To be honest, I still have that nervous excitement - I keep thinking, what's the next step? Because now I'm hungry for new stuff.

What do you think you'll look to do next? Do you think you'll do more study?

You know, before I started this masters, I considered myself an engineer - maybe 80% structural engineer and 20% manager. Now it’s the opposite: 80% manager and 20% engineer. I'm thinking of applying for studying economics or finance, something like that, to strengthen my background from a financial perspective. Because as manager, you deal with budgets, you have to be aware of these things. Maybe I will study something in finance, and perhaps at the University of Bath again.

Although I'm happy with my company and my current position, to be honest with you, when I updated my LinkedIn profile and put under my name that I finished this EBM, I started receiving phone calls from companies I never imagined I could apply to. Roles like portfolio manager, or managerial roles in sectors I’m not even familiar with, like mining.

Do you feel like this has opened up more opportunities and pathways that wouldn’t have been open before?

Definitely. It gives you a broader picture how the game is played, how the companies work, and I feel comfortable on applying to new roles.

Would you say there is anything your time studying at the University of Bath has taught you?

Actually, I appreciated the units talking about self-development and soft skills. This was something that I wanted and needed to develop. Also, business decision making, project management, supply chain management, and organisation management. These were definitely a must-have and I had them with this masters.

Did you have a favourite unit?

The project management unit - because I was working for the construction sector, I loved this unit. Also, the operations management unit and the supply chain management unit. I found them very, very, very useful for my current position.

I liked how you said you were 80% engineer and 20% manager, and that has now flipped, were there particular units that you studied that have helped this?

I would say all units helped transform myself to that position. I cannot pick just a single unit or a few units. All of them added something to my background.

Obviously, you learnt a lot from the content on the course, do you also feel you learnt from studying alongside students from different backgrounds?

We were not all from the same industry sector. I was a structural engineer, manager. Other students were Mechanical Engineers. We shared different perspectives, and we had the opportunity to collaborate, thanks to the online platform. We had collab sessions where we could exchange our opinions and synchronous sessions too. We fixed a time on Fridays that worked for all of us, and during that hour, we had the chance to talk to each other.

We created a channel to continue our discussions. In the beginning I thought studying online would be very boring, to be honest. But it wasn’t like that. The units are structured in such a way that you have to collaborate, and this worked very well.

We also had business cases, which was great because it brings the theory into a situation that you could face in your company. You had to explore alternatives, find solutions, and discuss with other students why things happen. It was very, very nice.

Did you find it easy to get into a rhythm studying online?

Yes, definitely! The platform was very user friendly. You just need to have discipline and pace. Maybe 5 to 7 hours per week, but that's all. If you keep this pace. Everything will go smoothly.

What advice would you have for someone looking to study with us?

As I said, the units are very well structured through this online platform. He or she will learn a lot that will definitely help his or her career. And being able to study online means you can keep your job, continue working, and study in your free time. If online study wasn’t an option I couldn't be 80% manager right now – I'd still be 80% engineer. Thanks to this online course, I feel like a manager.

What was the most challenging process about studying the course?

Nothing. You just have to manage your own time. Actually, this masters teaches you how to do that. The units push you to manage your own time and find time to study.

It sounds like you have taken a lot from the academic course content but also there has been a lot of soft skill development throughout your time studying you have learnt a lot different angles.

Yes definitely. Sometimes you believe your way is the right way. But you have to think again. When you listen to other students exchanging their opinions, hear their perspectives, it helps you understand the problem differently.

What was the subject of your dissertation?

My project dissertation was about KPI process rollout. I conducted my research on a marine contractor. I found out that they were still using old-school KPIs. My study looked at identify the problems, what kind of KPIs they needed to develop, and how these KPIs are communicated across departments and implemented in the company.

Were you able to use this in your work?

Yes, because now I'm working as an Employer's Representative, managing the construction of three hospitals. I deal with various stakeholders, contactors, manage the budget, oversee procurement schedules, construction schedules, claims -everything. The course helped me a lot in this current position.

Did you start your new position when you were studying?

When I applied for this masters, I was working as a technical office engineer for a marine contractor. Later on, I changed to my current role.

Is there anything else that you would like to share? Is there anything you would improve?

In my opinion, nothing is missing. The units are well structured and give you the broader picture. If you are studying, for example, project management, it doesn’t just give you a narrow focus - it gives you many perspectives and shows you how the industry works. You can search and dig deeper as much as you want, but it always gives you the broader picture.

Is there any advice for anyone looking to study on the course?

Just take the step, click the button, start the application. I'm sure you will enjoy this journey.

I would advise future students to engage fully with discussions and group work, as much of the learning comes from sharing experiences with peers across industries. Establish a consistent study routine early on to balance work and study. Most importantly, apply the concepts directly to your professional role—the more you connect theory to practice, the more impactful the MSc will be.

If you would like to learn more about our Engineering Business Management online MSc course, request information below.

Authored on 21.11.25