What do you think is special about Westminster Business School?
Westminster Business School has been around for a while now and the school has achieved a lot, but in terms of what is special about this school: the leadership is excellent; we have acutely sound staff members, publishers and researchers of world standard. Most of our lecturers have published in top journals around the globe. We have attended international conferences and we have made our impact felt. We have amongst us individuals that have consulted for financial institutions. I myself was a consultant to the Central Bank of Nigeria. I have consulted with Barclay’s Bank in the area of securitisation and also for the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, where I was asked to work with some members of his team on quantitative analysis of information for schools. So Westminster Business School is a fantastic place. It is unique in the sense that the leadership is wonderful and it is endowed with academicians of world standard.
What was your first job? What did you learn from it?
My first job was in Canary Wharf. I worked as an equity research analyst for Midlands Investment Corporation. Because of my proficiency in Russian language, German and other international languages, I was able to work in areas where we were picking the appropriate stocks that were meant to be sold or stocks that were meant to be purchased. So I was travelling between Moscow and England and that was around 1995/1996 and I really enjoyed that job
What is it that motivates and drives you as an academic?
As an academic I enjoy imparting knowledge, I enjoy engaging students and shaping their futures. As an academician I see myself as a custodian of knowledge so it is very important that we stay steps ahead of our students. That requires that we read more often, then we try to help them and shape their futures. And we are also inspired when we see these students leaving the university on their graduation day. They are just like birds being released into the sky and then they just fly away and then we start all over again.
How do you relax and unwind in your spare time?
I wish I had enough time to relax, but let’s be frank! I relax sometimes and I do this by helping my children to complete their school assignments and I also hang around with my friends occasionally playing a game of chess. So that is how I relax. Of course I do read most often. There are new text-books being sent to us that keep us busy all the time, but from time-to-time we find time to ‘chill-out’ if you like to say so and then what I do: I play chess and help my children and my family.
Tell us a bit about your course what will students learn and experience and what will they take away with them?
The course is unique and outstanding in several aspects. Students on the course are conditioned to anticipate future development challenges today. They are also trained to critically examine the existing set of solutions to these problems and intellectually challenge their continued practicality. They learn, in part, by engaging in critical examination of real life case materials from the World Bank, IMF, Asian Development Bank etc. as well as by examining contemporary issues that are presently confronting the development communities worldwide, which include, amongst others, the socio-economic impacts of the on-going global financial crises. Students on the course are given the opportunity to acquire a second qualification in PRINCE2 Foundation free of charge. This is a professional qualification in project management, which is highly in demand by employers in more than 150 countries worldwide. Experienced development consultants are drafted in to engage the students during seminar discussions, where field-based practical experiences are shared and discussed. Very importantly, students on International Development Management MA programme get to visit and participate in development-related discussions at the United Nation’s HQ in New York and or Geneva to further reinforce their learning. All these translate into enhanced job prospects for students on MA IDM programme and, owing to all these, a good number of students on the programme do secure job offerings in about three months before completing their study.
http://youtu.be/s9GUZB1XB5o
Who or what is your inspiration in life?
I am inspired by Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi, Wole Soyinka, Tai Solarin and other notable and selfless leaders of our modern times. I equally draw great inspiration from my parents.
If you had five top tips for new postgraduate students at Westminster Business School, what would they be?
- Work hard now and get your priorities right; your reward will surely come later
- Believe in your self
- Education can be costly and stressful, but ignorance costs far more.
- Take pride in all that you do, and take care to do them well
- You must value your time and spend it wisely
What should prospective students expect from the course?
We will work extremely hard and will have great fun doing so at the same time. In the end, you will come to appreciate how well you have improved and how prepared you are to face future challenges.
Who is your favourite author and why?
I like the work of Leo Tolstoy (War and Peace). It is superbly written. In the field of finance, I enjoy reading the work of Frank J. Fabozzi. As the saying goes, No Fabozzi; No fixed income. He is one of the brilliant minds around in areas of Bonds Mathematics.
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Wonderful people with alot of encouraging world, Hope to be there on day and acquire this knowledge to transform my community and the society.
I am very inspired by Mr Sholarin and his course programme. Am working on applying for this year’s I.D.M
I thank God for the acceptance into the programme. It aligns to the very purpose I think many have been called to in this world. To facilitate growth and the development of nations and lives. I am looking forward to learning new views of how developing nations can improve on implementation of their development policies, interacting with fellow scholars from different countries and learning on the similarities of their countries to mine, I’m also nervous about the amount challenges I’ll need to face but looking forward at facing them too. I hope to draw great solutions that I could bring back home to add meaningfull value to my country and continent. It will be great to also be in a first world country for the first time, to see its efficiencies and learn how it was achieved.
Your profile is very inspiring sir, I have a background in Agricultural economics in university of Ibadan, Nigeria but i’m interested in furthering my career in International Development Management(MA). I currently work in an NGO and I have developed passion for solving developmental problems in Nigeria.
I need a kind of mentorship from you sir, on how I can be admitted into this prestigious University for this course and to know if i can still meet the October deadline.
looking forward to your response sir.
Thank you
Good to know that you are a Nigerian sir. I work presently with Xerox but my interest lies in the academics and consultancy especially in ‘Development Management’. I have tried to come to Westminster on scholarship in the times past but made no headway. How can you help sir.