In May 2025 I was appointed the inaugural Director of the University of Dundee’s Online MBA. In January 2026 the programme welcomed its first students. This is a short account of what sat between those two dates, because launching a programme is a very different kind of work from teaching on one.
At a glance
20+
colleagues coordinated
2
programme handbooks written
5
international recruitment webinars
No programme is launched by one person
The Online MBA brought together more than 20 academic and professional services colleagues across curriculum, admissions, recruitment, marketing, web services and delivery. My job was to keep those threads moving in the same direction, and to make sure a decision made in one team made sense for the others.
May 2025
Appointed inaugural Director of the Online MBA
Oct–Nov 2025
Five international recruitment webinars, across time zones
January 2026
The Online MBA welcomes its first students
May 2026
Remit extended to the Global MBA (Top-Up)
2026/27
First Online MBA programme handbook; DBA leadership handover under way
Writing the foundations
Much of the work was writing the foundations that did not yet exist.
Handbook
Online MBA programme handbook
The first handbook for the programme (2026/27), setting out programme routes, assessment and student support.
Handbook
Global MBA (Top-Up) handbook
A separate handbook for our advanced-entry route, clarifying its structure, progression and academic requirements.
Guidance
Recognition of prior learning
Experienced professionals can bring up to 40 credits of earlier study. Building on Professor Susan Kinnear’s earlier framework, I shared it with the Associate Vice-Principals in July 2026 to inform Faculty guidance.
Students
Transitional arrangements
Arrangements to protect the progression of our first cohort, who started in January 2026.
Reaching the right applicants
Reaching applicants mattered just as much. I designed and hosted five international recruitment webinars in October and November 2025, arranging sessions across time zones with Global Recruitment and Web Services. I also helped develop the 2026/27 MBA brochure, and I present the University’s Online MBA and Global MBA (Top-Up) course films.
Some of the most useful work was the least visible. I audited our live course pages against the approved programme documentation and took the errors I found, from module semesters to a published fee, to Web Services for correction.
For someone deciding whether to invest in an MBA while working full time, accurate information is part of the student experience, not an administrative detail.
From one programme to a portfolio
Since then my remit has grown. In May 2026 it extended to the Global MBA (Top-Up), and I am taking on leadership of the Doctor of Business Administration from Professor Shamima Haque. Together these form the School’s MBA and DBA portfolio for working professionals and senior leaders.
The lesson I keep coming back to is that programme leadership is mostly about creating the conditions in which other people can do their best work: clear documents, clear decisions and clear information for students. I am grateful to every colleague who helped get the Online MBA off the ground.
Thinking about an MBA or DBA?
Find out about the Online MBA, the Global MBA (Top-Up) and the DBA, or ask me a question directly.
