Case Study

Elena Mazilu

BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance


Third-year BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance student Elena Mazilu recently completed the free Project Management Short Course at the University of Sunderland in London. She tells us what she learned on the programme and how it’s giving her the confidence to go after her goals.

If you’re thinking about studying this course, the door is open for you. I would definitely encourage you to walk through it.

“I first heard about the Project Management course from the Careers and Employability team and decided to enrol in January.   

All I can say is that this was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made!  

I decided to apply because I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to advance my career.  

It looked like the kind of thing that would have a positive impact on my personal and professional life.  

I have this belief that means a lot to me.  

It's that people have a better chance of getting a great job if they develop themselves and grow their knowledge in whatever topic they’re interested in.  

Employers tend to hire people that have the ‘know-how’, with the tools to complete their tasks and are capable of meeting deadlines through high-quality work.  

Knowledge leads to more opportunities to go after your dream career. That’s what I’m working towards now that I’ve finished this programme 

I want to be accepted on one of the ‘Big Four’ accounting firms: Deloitte, Ernst and Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, but most of all KPMG.  

The Project Management course is pretty closely connected to the BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance degree.  

One of the most important roles a Project Manager has is to work with the Finance Department to make sure the company stays on budget while reaching the goal of completing the task.  

That’s something which really interests me, and I could definitely see myself doing that kind of work in the future.  

Other parts of the course are related to business management, like how to start a company, putting policies and procedures in place, hiring staff and so on.   

The course has helped me develop my organisational and budgeting skills.  

I learned to think about everything that might impact my plans and I’ve already started feeling more confident in expressing my ideas.  

The main thing is that all these skills are going to help me when it comes to applying for jobs.   

I really liked the teacher, Larry Brotherton, Contract Project and Programme Manager. He has such an amazingly positive attitude and worked hard to keep us all engaged.  

I was impressed with his ability to explain complex concepts in a way that meant everyone could understand them.  

There’s an old Chinese proverb: “Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself”.  

If you’re thinking about studying this course, the door is open for you. I would definitely encourage you to walk through it.”  

Want to follow in Elena’s footsteps? Take a look at our Project Management Short Course now.   

You can find all our short courses in the Opportunities section of our Careers and Employability pages.   

And visit our BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance to learn more about what she studied. 

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