Alumni

Six Business School alumni judged students’ recommendations and solutions to a real-life business case at a virtual business case competition recently.

The event gave students an opportunity to test themselves and practice different strategies and take risks in a controlled environment. They experienced feeling what a career in consulting or advisory work may entail, the pressure, the dynamic and the high level expected.

This kind of event allows the School to nurture and develop our student and alumni community, enabling alumni to guide and inspire students and prepare them with skills for their future careers.

David Gallacher, Political Economy graduate 1989, Divisional Director at Mitchells & Butlers, provided a real-life current business situation to solve, and was a judge at this year’s competition. David said: “I had the privilege of being a judge and it was a fantastic event to be involved in. It has been great to meet the current students - they are a very impressive group. It has also been fantastic to meet and talk with other alumni volunteers and share experiences and learn about what is going on in other businesses, industries and countries to share best practices.

The feedback I had from the alumni team and the students is that they have enjoyed the events and benefited from meeting with graduates of the School and getting the chance to hear our real-life experiences.

I would recommend volunteering with the Adam Smith Business School. It does not take up too much of your time, it is great to see how good the students are and is a fantastic learning opportunity for the volunteer.”

Graeme Crombie, MBA graduate 1997, was also one this year’s judges. He is the owner of Matrix Business Growth Consultants. Graeme said: “I’ve been involved in alumni volunteering since around 2015.  Most of my input has been through providing mentoring support for international MBA students as they complete their studies and prepare for their re-entry to employment. I’ve also delivered a couple of talks for the Consulting Society on my own career in Management Consulting.

I always enjoy the chance to work with the students and the committed, enthusiastic staff in the Alumni team. It’s good to feel that you might be able to help in some way, especially with people at a time when they are trying to plot the next steps in their career.  Everyone follows their own path, of course, but I know from feedback the students value the chance to draw on the experiences of others who have been in the same boat. 

Volunteering brings back lots of happy memories of my time at the University.  I thoroughly enjoyed my whole MBA experience back in the 1980s and it’s good to retain the link that volunteering provides.”

To find out how you can become an alumni volunteer email business-alumni@glasgow.ac.uk

---

First published: 17 February 2021