NZ Graduate Wins Top Scholarship to UK Business School

New Zealand Graduate Wins Top Scholarship to UK Business School

Katie Sherning from Auckland has won the 2012 Cranfield New Zealand Alumni Scholarship to complete an MBA at Cranfield School of Management, one of Europe’s top business schools. The full-time Cranfield MBA programme is ranked 1st in the UK for education experience by The Economist magazine.

The scholarship is worth some $80,000, making it one of New Zealand’s most valuable academic prizes. It is sponsored by Cranfield New Zealand alumni, Cranfield School of Management, and the NZ-UK Link Foundation.

Katie grew up in Takapuna on Auckland's North Shore and attended Diocesan School for Girls. She studied at the University of Canterbury achieving an Honours Degree in Civil Engineering.

Since graduating, Katie has worked as a civil engineer for Beca Infrastructure in Auckland, in the Ports and Coastal team. She has helped to manage diverse local and national infrastructure projects as well as international development projects in the Cook Islands.

When not working, Katie enjoys the outdoors, whether it be running, tennis, swimming, wakeboarding, snow or water skiing. She completed an Oxfam 100km Charity Walk in 22 hours, raising $6,000.

In 2011 she completed an intensive professional development programme at Stanford Business School. It was during this time that her goal to complete an MBA was consolidated.

So Katie is now looking forward to moving to the UK to commence her MBA 'I can't wait to begin the programme. I'm excited about meeting our cohort and working with so many talented individuals of different backgrounds. The small class sizes and being based on campus will make for an incredible year together!'

David Ryan, speaking on behalf of Cranfield alumni in New Zealand said, “The Cranfield MBA is a great chance to take any ambitious young professional’s career to the next level. It offers a rare opportunity to learn about best business practice around the world in all areas of management. The School only takes graduates like Katie with both strong academic credentials and worthwhile management careers. This is because students are expected to use their experience to contribute fully to lectures and seminars, and to have to work collaboratively in groups, giving up weekends for case studies and projects.”

In selecting the candidate for the scholarship, we have to make sure the person can cope and excel in that environment. Katie has the personality and the track record to make the most of this opportunity. New Zealanders have done particularly well on the course in recent years, taking out top prizes, and I am sure that Katie will rise to the challenge of keeping up this record.”

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