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Profile
Lora Mihova Scholarship recipient, strategist and pioneering business woman Written by: Rebecca Firth
Lora Mihova was one of the first students to enter the newly launched MSc Economics & Strategy for Business programme in 2013 and has since progressed to be a Strategy Manager at Telefónica.
“I applied to Imperial for my postgraduate degree, because I couldn’t find another university that combined academic rigour with practical content for strategy,” says Lora. “The courses we studied were supported by current case studies and industry guest speakers, keeping it relevant for our careers carrying forward.” Her decision to choose Imperial College Business School was also influenced by the scholarships available to applicants. “Undertaking postgraduate study can be very costly. The Business School’s scholarship offering is one of the reasons I chose to study at Imperial, there aren’t many scholarships on offer from universities in London.” Lora added that she sees that offering financial support is an indication of the institution’s priorities to minimise financial disparity and increase the emphasis on further education. When applying for the scholarship, Lora said that the process was “straightforward and simple”, with the only intimidating element coming from “the high calibre of the other applicants.” As part of the application she was required to complete a written application, a short essay and then have an interview, which she completed via Skype. When asked whether she would recommend a scholarship to others considering further study, she answers with an enthusiastic “yes”: “Scholarships are rare to come across. [Receiving a Scholarship] contributed to my drive and confidence when undertaking my studies. It is great to know that
Imperial are so ready to support and champion academic success.” Remembering back to her time at the School, Lora laughs when she recalls some of her most memorable moments spent at Case Study Club, which provided an opportunity for Lora and her peers to get together and prepare themselves for exams and job interviews with puzzles and case studies. “I set up the club with some of my classmates,” Lora says. “We used to meet in the evening, which may seem ridiculous as we would either be in class or studying in the day, however, we wanted to develop our case study skills.” Lora’s drive is not an attribute that has faded when progressing to full-time employment. Alongside her work at Telefonica, she is also a founder of Think Big Techstars, a charity that aims to inspire young people to consider a career or further studies in science, technology, engineering and maths. Lora works with fellow graduates to set up sessions with mentors to “inspire confidence and curiosity” in the realms of coding. To date, the foundation has taught over 400 girls the basics of coding and HTML. “At the end of the session the girls will have set up a website that has content of their choice. This means we do get a lot of Justin Bieber websites – but it is great to see the girls creating something that they are passionate about!” says Lora. Setting up the charity has been no easy feat. However, with the support of her employer and colleagues Lora has been able to create an
inspiring and beneficial programme for not only the participants, but for the mentors that help to facilitate the programme as well. Mentors, usually volunteers, are found through Lora and her colleague’s professional networks. Read more about Think Big Techstars here: news.o2.co.uk/2014/05/07/girls-ttech-with-o2/ If you are interested in supporting scholarships for ICBS students, please consider a gift to the Imperial College Business School Dean’s Fund. This year, these gifts will fund MSc and MBA scholarships to support talented candidates in need of financial aid. They will also support an emergency funding initiative, which will assist Business School students experiencing unexpected financial difficulty. Thanks to the support of our alumni, the Fund helps these exceptional students keep their studies on track. To support the Dean’s Fund, visit: imperial.ac.uk/ giving/icbs-magazine
“ The Business School’s scholarship offering is one of the reasons I chose to study at Imperial, there aren’t many scholarships on offer from universities in London.”