Suzanne at the Consensus Software Awards
Suzanne Wilson completed a Master of Business Administration at Charles Darwin University (CDU) in 2004.
Studying for her MBA at CDU allowed Suzanne the rarity of one-to-one contact with her lecturers, due to the size of campuses compared to interstate universities: “To be able to talk with your lecturers at almost any time is a benefit of studying at CDU rarely found in the larger universities and something that is possibly undervalued by potential students.”
Suzanne runs her own business, M & S Consultants Pty Ltd, with her husband, and has teaching experience, gained near the completion of her MBA when she was invited to lecture in marketing at CDU.
Suzanne says her greatest achievement was winning an NT Department of Education, Employment & Training (NTDEET) tender to supply software to run the Interactive Distance Learning lessons for the Schools of the Air over the next three years.
The software was successful in the category of Enabling Technology at the 2005 NT ICT Award and more recently achieved success at the 2006 Consensus Software Awards.
“Completing the MBA made so much difference to the way I prepared the tender and awards documentation, gave me confidence to speak in public and the skills to handle challenging questions from reviewers. Of course, I now also have the skills to run my company and market my business,” say Suzanne.
For Suzanne the key to returning to study was the support of her family, especially her husband, and being highly organised – starting work on projects or assignments as soon as she received them and not waiting until the last minute. She also credits the willingness of lecturers to discuss and challenge her thinking on various subjects.
Suzanne offers a few tips to students considering taking up study at CDU: “Get your workload organised early each semester, plan well, and research extensively to get the most out of your study. Take advantage of the ease of access to your lecturers and the wealth of knowledge they possess.”