IRSHAD PAUROBALLY’S MBA STRATEGIC BUSINESS PROJECT • 52
ISSUE FIVE • January 2019
/ Student Experience
IRSHAD PAUROBALLY’S MBA STRATEGIC BUSINESS PROJECT Irshad Paurobally started the Full-time MBA in September 2017 after having read law at Durham University as an undergraduate. He chose the Business School for his MBA as he knew the institution could provide him with an excellent environment in terms of support, research and opportunities. As part of his MBA programme, Irshad chose to undertake a Strategic Business Project with Forest Carbon, a company which operates in the carbon capture industry and who were established partly as a consequence of Director Stephen Prior’s own Durham MBA business project in 2005. Irshad’s brief was to devise a social media strategy for Forest Carbon which would help the company expand its reach and raise awareness around climate change and sustainability. To help identify the best social media platforms for Forest Carbon to use, Irshad used a combination of industry insights and company information. He decided to use LinkedIn as the main social media channel as the platform would enable both the company and their employees to engage with users through thought leadership posts.
To ensure his business project was a success, Irshad felt that it was crucial to build a rapport with the company stakeholders and gain their support which he did through continuous engagement and site visits. Irshad explained why he chose this particular business project: “I wished to learn more about the emerging area of social media marketing. Moreover, I believe passionately in sustainability and the good work of organisations like Forest Carbon in making the world a better place. Ultimately, this belief gave me the energy and wisdom to go the extra mile.” Using a holistic model, 14 recommendations were proposed to Forest Carbon, including a tested marketing implementation plan. In drafting the recommendations, the willingness as well as the capacity of Forest Carbon to deliver on a social media strategy was considered in order to ensure the relevance of the proposal. Irshad is now in the final stages of his MBA programme and is currently doing an internship with FCMB Bank UK.
“Durham gave me the confidence to face the challenges posed by disruption by providing me with cutting-edge research and access to thought-leaders.” “My future plans are now to work in a challenger bank in the City in the field of banking strategy and innovation. I would also like to contribute towards the FinTech industry which my MBA and Strategic Business Project will definitely prove helpful towards within this emerging area of finance.” Stephen Prior, Director of Forest Carbon, said: “The Durham Full-time MBA business project is a great way of bringing in a smart and dedicated mind to focus on a business problem, whilst at the same time benefiting from the academic discipline and independent thought provided by the Business School. Having had a good experience with a previous project we didn’t hesitate in offering one this year as we needed some strategic thinking and research around our LinkedIn marketing strategy. Irshad completed a really thorough and detailed piece of work, and most importantly a useful one.”
This page, L-R Irshad Paurobally, Durham University Business School MBA student. Stephen Prior, Director, Forest Carbon.
