Student Stories - PhD
For the last 20 years, I have worked as a senior executive as a Finance Director and then as a Managing Director after completing my MBA in Innovation and Technology. I wanted to ensure that in my journey as an executive leader, I mastered the social skills and emotional intelligence that leaders need in the C-suite.
I conducted research for a year to...
I have tremendously enjoyed my academic experience at ISM and can truly recommend it to all those hard working business minded individuals who have the drive for success and achievements.
The ISM allowed me to conduct research at Governmental level namely in the fields of OPCW and CSDP that might not be available in other academic institutions and for...
The PHD program at ISM is highly distinguished. In general, course structure, subject matter, and materials of the DBA courses are very contemporary and cover critical issues. More specifically, the finance courses that I completed whether in Paris or on-line were both interesting and challenging. the assignments, mainly of on-line courses, were...
I was looking for higher education institutions that allowed me to continue to work as a busy financial professional and study overseas. I believe ISM is the only institution that offers this flexibility. Prior to joining ISM, I was a young professional trying to build my practice in wealth management.
I have had the best experience at ISM. I take...
"I feel that this is such an international experience. Now I'm making personal friends from countries ranging from Egypt to Singapore to Portugal to Nigeria and because we are sharing so much of our professional experiences, we are developing professionally as well. We are sharing not just problems and finishing papers for class, we are actually...
Between my teaching schedule with both daytime and evening classes, my family, and the frequent travel I do leading study abroad programs, I needed a PhD program with maximum flexibility. Living in Los Angeles, of course I had plenty of schools I could choose from. But it was a much better use of my time to fly to classes every couple months and finish...
Prior to my enrollment at ISM, I had a well-rounded career as an engineer and management consultant in the United States. While working as a management consultant, I was frequently traveling, mostly domestically in the United States, and increasingly doing work which I no longer found interesting or challenging. There was an aspect of consulting which...
I found the participants, at the ISM NY Program at St. John's University, an inspirational network of future leaders and self-investors. The professors and students, gathered under one roof for several weeks, provided a world class learning environment. The entire time spent in NY was - in the words of Shakespeare - "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
In 2005, while I was living in Shanghai, I decided to pursue a doctoral degree to further my passion for teaching. Before enrolling at ISM, I did extensive research on accredited institutions, exploring which programs would offer the best combination of location flexibility and robust academic curriculum. There was only one program that fit my...
The decision to start a doctoral program was not easy. However, I enjoyed the study and travelling to China, Paris, New York and Brazil to mingle with all the high quality cohorts and lecturers.
The decision to enroll in the ISM PhD in Business Administration was an interesting journey for me. I started to look for a suitable program in 2012. I...
I have always studied while working, so when a fellow scholar mentioned ISM, I felt I was ready to take on that challenge. I started in fall 2019 and every interaction with ISM was smooth and friendly. I was looking forward to taking some courses in Paris and going to my hometown of NYC to take some courses there too.
As I joined...
I thoroughly enjoyed the Advanced Corporate Strategy seminar. Professor Weber was truly inspiring and he made this seminar interesting and motivating. His style of teaching brought out the best in the students, and the classroom format was an excellent mix of lectures, discussion, case studies and student presentations.
The materials covered in the...
Prior to joining ISM, I had done thorough research. I had compared the ISM PhD program with various universities from Europe. According to my personal research, the ISM PhD program was the most comprehensive in terms of professional development and teaching methodology. Moreover, I had contacted numerous ISM alumni and from every single resource, I...
I knew that I didn’t want to leave my work for an extended amount of time. One of the things that I value about ISM is their flexibility in allowing us to essentially have the condensed modules where you're on site for three to four days at a time to take a course. I found it very helpful that you can break your coursework into manageable amounts so...
The thing that first inspired me to apply to ISM was the flexibility and ability to attend courses in different countries. Prior to starting the program, I was working in academic business providing executive educational solutions and also teaching academic courses for level 3-7.
It was a brilliant experience meeting different lecturers from...
ISM offered the only part-time PhD program in Europe at the time, and the program’s flexibility allowed me to study and work in parallel. From the very first class, there was an aura of celebration and a euphoric exchange of knowledge that continued in all ISM courses, creating an amazing feeling that I will never forget.
While studying, I attended...
In 2013, I knew that I needed a higher academic license in order for me to accede to a choice position within my field of Electronic Engineering Technology. The competition is usually fierce in that environment and getting a PhD degree is what I needed to make me a good candidate for any executive promotion. Because I was under the obligation to be...
After years of taking care of my family, I wanted to go back to school to earn my PhD and begin teaching. I wanted to be at an International School, to learn both locally and internationally.
I looked into many options, however, ISM was different. Matthew Werner, ISM Executive Director, took an interest in me, as person, and not as just another...
I was first introduced to ISM when I was searching for high-ranking business schools. ISM’s ranking, global perspective, and the advanced elective courses the school offers inspired me to become a part of the ISM community. I had already received my Master's degree in Healthcare Management from the Royal College of Surgeons, National University of...
