The Spartan MBA Holder

When he first enrolled at the NUCB Business School, William Roebuck was just like any other student in the program. Strong in physical health and intellectually prepared for starting graduate school. However, towards his final semester he developed a life-threatening illness that put him on the brink of death - faculty, classmates and administration worried what would become of William. What we didn't expect was how quickly and powerfully he would recover - we interviewed him for our homepage.

What has the MBA from the NUCB Business School taught you about self-motivation and self development?
Where I was normally at the head of the pack at school or work, at the NUCB Business School I was just one more individual, with ideas that were no better that those of my peers, and my work, though I considered good for myself, was regularly over-shined by those of my colleagues. I learned during my MBA that I needed to want, to really WANT to be better. To set completely different standards and work ethics to be able to prosper in this new environment. There were no hand-outs, anything that I wanted I needed to push myself to get it.

What skills have you been able to transfer across life and work?
I have learned to specify my goals, priorities, and have a concrete plan to get to each point, all within a specific timeline, while always measuring and updating.
I cannot go without mentioning the immortal words of Prof. Nigel Denscombe that will forever accompany me: “Where are we?” “Where do we want to go?” & “How are we going to get there?”

What is your plan after such an amazing recovery?
To follow my own advice, I have my plan carefully set out.
1 - Develop my career in Japan, by learning Japanese in class and in the workplace, in order to be business ready, and in the next few years join the Biotech/Pharma sector again as a multilingual
2 - Keep training for September and December Spartans

William's final comments for the interview were to add a special thank you and acknowledgement to his family and friends, especially his wife, for the support he received.

Located in the heart of Japan, the Greater Nagoya area is well-known as the manufacturing backbone of Japan. But it's not all just lean manufacturing and just-in-time supply chain logistics. The area of Nagoya is home to beautiful natural landscapes for exploring, historic temples and villages over hundreds of years old and many of the modern and trendy themes of "Cool Japan." Students in the NUCB Business School use the great location of Nagoya as their starting point for discovering Japan while studying hard in business administration and management.