Mari Aldridge Øverland

Country of origin: Norway

MSc Management, from Norway

Why did you choose to study at LUMS?

Having thoroughly researched the sector, I was drawn to LUMS due to the high ranking, the careers team and what seemed to be a highly supportive and inclusive learning environment with highly dedicated lecturers. Retrospectively, I can see that what initially got me interested in LUMS have gone above and beyond my expectations. 

Why did you choose your particular programme?

I choose MSc Management because I knew I wanted a career somewhere on the management spectrum, but was not completely sure which exact pathway to choose at that point. Benefitting from the broad nature of the programme with a variety of different modules on the management spectrum I knew I would get a good foundation and insight into which areas that I want to further pursue a career in. The fact that the FT-times ranked my programme 11th in the world for 12-months management programmes certainly helped the decision too! 

What are you enjoying most about your programme?

What I love the most about my programme is without a doubt the diversity of my cohort and lecturers. Within a day on the programme, I had met people from almost every continent and I learned more about the world within a week than I probably have my whole entire life altogether. Combined with a high level of exposure to team-based assessments has strengthened my cultural- and team working skills tremendously. In addition to developing a network all over the world I will bring back with me new eyes with a global perspective on culture, political ideology, history, and economy which I believe will aid me significantly in my future roles.

Tell us about your best Lancaster moment so far.

My best Lancaster moment is a tough one actually, because there have been so many good moments! If I have to choose just one, I would have to say when my course had an end of term-celebration. We all got our ugly Christmas sweaters on and indulged in lovely traditional British Christmas food and really got into the festive spirit together!

What are your plans after graduating from LUMS?

I am honoured and humbled to be able to say that with good help from careers and support from my program team, I secured several job offers long before graduating. After handing my dissertation I will fly back home to join one of Norway´s top employer on a graduate scheme. The scheme offers rotation where I will alternate between three different departments, starting in the innovation unit. I am beyond excited to embark on this new exciting journey and to lay the first stone on my career path! 

To contact this student ambassador, email lumspgambassadors@lancaster.ac.uk