2020 has certainly been a tough year for Business School alumni around the world. Despite the challenges, we are hearing of many alumni who have managed to respond to the pandemic in a positive way. Here are just a few of those stories.
Karina Foord, MA (Hons) Business Management, 2019, had only been employed for a few months as a marketing manager in the Scottish Borders when Covid-19 struck, and she, like so many this year, was made redundant. Recognising the strain and pressure on the NHS, she was keen to do her bit to help, so took on a temporary role at the Borders General Hospital in administration and IT in the Infection Control department.
"I have learned so much", says Karina, "not only within the healthcare sector, but also in responding to changing situations. I feel that it is so important to remain adaptable in the business environment, especially in the current climate.
"Working for the NHS was never something I imagined myself doing after graduating, however everything happens for a reason and this is a prime example of how suddenly things can take a whole new direction. My transferable skills such as time keeping, organisation, and communication have allowed me to adapt smoothly into a new environment.
"Initially focusing on PPE, I am now responsible for reporting the Covid-19 inpatient data, Scottish Borders data, and also involved in the care home and community side of infection control too. Some of my tasks are relevant to marketing and others are a completely new experience.
"I am thoroughly enjoying the role and the team that I work with who are fundamental to the NHS Borders' response to Covid-19. With so much job uncertainty just now, I am thankful to be in a role I enjoy with a great team surrounding me."
For students who have graduated this year, it has of course been even more of a challenging environment for them, having had to both complete their studies and enter the job market during 2020.
Alejandra Dancuart Zimmermann from Peru has just completed her MSc in Human Resource Management, and is immediately putting her skills to use with FightPandemics, an altruistic platform created in the wake of the pandemic that connects people and organisations in need of help with those who can provide it. Alejandra tells us how she got involved.
"I joined FightPandemics in September as a HR Team Member and am currently a HR Coordinator helping create new role descriptions, onboarding new joiners, and managing the community engagement activities that are fully remote as we are a virtual team.
"During these past few weeks, I've been involved in organising their virtual conference, Stronger Together Summit in early December, by helping contact mutual aid groups to join us, creating content for the volunteer booth at the Summit, and preparing to be a moderator in a session. The most exciting project has been participating in the creation of a narrative for our culture and recognition programme.
"The purpose of FightPandemics really resonated with me from the beginning and I would love to keep on helping and learning inside this amazing community. After the launch of the platform, along with the Summit, I am keen to be even more involved in the community building and culture part, as our team of more than 1,500 volunteers come from many different countries."
Other alumni have taken on greater responsibility during the pandemic.
Following his MSc in International Business and Emerging Markets in 2017, Abdelaziz Ghis joined BMC Almasrya in Alexandria, Egypt, as a Business Development Manager. In June 2020, he was promoted to CEO at the toughest of times. Abdelaziz tells us more.
"As a manufacturing business, our supply chain relies heavily on raw material from Turkey, the EU, and China. Although the first few months of the pandemic were a challenge for so many businesses, in some ways, I feel that it has led us to head in the right direction as it pushed us to find alternatives.
"We found local manufacturers and worked hard with them to improve their product to match our needs, enabling us to localise a good percentage of our supply. I'm grateful that it has been a successful experience and I believe we are now more resilient.
"Looking back, it was certainly an intense period as events were unfolding and with uncertainty on every level, I was constantly stressed. I now know though that there is often a silver lining which we might not see at the time. Things have worked out and I'm now more calm and hopeful for what the future will bring. I believe our team should be proud given that we still managed to achieve growth and cut costs without cutting salaries and it is a great achievement with which to start 2021."
Finally, despite these challenging times, we know that a number of alumni have taken the opportunity to launch new ventures, both large and small.
One interesting example is that of Elizabeth Harris (MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 2017) who through her new venture is celebrating the stories of others who are creating something positive from the pandemic.
Having recently moved back to California from Dublin, Elizabeth, like so many others, started 2020 with high hopes and ambitious travel plans. Once the pandemic hit, and with more time at home, a conversation with a friend led to the creation of Toastee Mag.
"We wanted to create a digital magazine to celebrate in our own way the people who have made the best of this pandemic. We wanted to raise a warm, cosy, and delicious toast to incredible people and their amazing work.
"In our first issue, which launched in December 2020, one of the articles was an interview with my classmate Jessica Xie, who is based in Los Angeles, about her activism and community work.
"We also had contributions from classmates Rebecca Eiermann and Malika Rizqi Anindita, so a great illustration of the Business School alumni network in action!"
If you would like to share how you have responded to the pandemic, or would like to share your career story, then please do get in touch.