MBA on a motorcycle!

Most students appreciate remote MBA program for the opportunity to obtain a prestigious degree without long journeys and separation from work. But some take advantage of distance learning is extraordinary, as, for example, forty-seven-year Englishman Nigel Clifford, successfully studied in the MBA program at the Open University, traveling on a motorcycle from UK to West Africa.

After the stress associated with access from the family business, Clifford realized that he needed to change something in life and to put in order thoughts. To expand your career horizons, he enrolled at the MBA program of the Open University. And simultaneously accepted the offer of charity MondoChallenge Foundation about participation in the project on development of beekeeping in West Africa.

A long journey student MBA of the Open University began at Southampton and ended in the Gambia. In Europe, the study it was pretty simple: the main work was done on PDA during stops at the hostel. In Internet cafes, on a normal computer, added graphics, and then the job is forwarded Nigel's wife who did the final edits. Everything was fine on the leg from Southampton to Gibraltar.

It is harder in the Atlas mountains in Morocco and then, on the way through Western Sahara. But the real difficulties began upon arrival in Mauritania and Northern Senegal. The study was postponed, while using bribes and persuasion Clifford was trying to figure out where the motorcycle seized from him when crossing one of the boundaries. A lot of work and money was worth to figure out which of the six alternative routes through the desert is not contaminated.

After 4 weeks and 4200 miles of road Clifford has arrived safely in the Gambia, and settled in the family. He studied in the evenings at home or in the building of the local Parliament, if needed access to an ordinary computer. As a result, the Nigel Clifford not only completed his studies and received an MBA. He was more than successfully applied the new knowledge in practice, getting for the project, which involved, a grant from the UN and the World food programme in the amount of 70 thousand dollars.

Clifford's example is not unique. Remotely on the MBA programme of the Open University learning Gildas Manak, a nuclear engineer with the French submarine, Claudia Visscher, a lot of traveling for my work, Manager international marketing of veterinary pharmaceutical companies and other students not able to attend full-time classes.

The open University is one of the leaders of distance learning. Its MBA programme has triple accreditation and annually attracts about 1,000 new students from all over the world. This autumn the Open University has launched a new MBA program with an expanded international unit. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that students from one country will in the course of learning to interact with two other groups of students from different parts of the world.

Prepared according to The Independent.

1 Dec 2010