Odgers Prize

The Odgers Prize is awarded annually to the Cranfield MBA student on the Full Time Programme judged to show the most potential for a highly successful career in management.

The prize was established in 1987 by an alumnus, Ian Odgers, an enthusiastic supporter of Cranfield.

We met Ian at Cranfield when he delivered a presentation on ‘Leadership at the Top: What Head Hunters are Looking for in Senior Candidates’.

Some of the qualities, as identified by Ian, needed to succeed as:

· The vision of the Chief Executive;

· The ability to identify what is important and unimportant in business situations;

· The ability to see and successfully implement which is practically possible;

· The possession of commercial "nous";

· The ability to get ideas across;

· Leadership skills:

· Motivation skills;

· An understanding and ability to win at politics in the business world;

· A determination or toughness/grit - in both the smooth times and when the chips are down!

· The will to succeed.

Every year nominations are taken from students and faculty. The nominations are considered and a shortlist is drawn up for an interview by a panel of Faculty members and representatives of Odgers Ray & Berndtson.

This year following 5 nominees were selected for interviews:

Mark Hall

Nicholas Green

Per Nielsen

Thomas Hayton

Vineet Khanna

I was glad that I was able to make it to the top 5. Finally, Tom was chosen for this prize. I know Tom very well as he was in my learning team in the second term. He is a brilliant chap and truly deserved the prize.

For me, another experience and another close call (remember AT Kearney consultancy competition!!!!)

Make your life easier at Cranfield

I have written a lot about successful job hunt and how to adjust to the cultural differences whilst your stay at Cranfield.

Let me give you some tips as to how can you make your personal life easier. These are all based upon my personal experience and feel free to ignore them:

1. You would always have a number of pending tasks. Learn prioritising. Do not follow others. Remember not everyone is here just for the career sake. Everybody has different objectives for doing an MBA. Some want a break from the hectic corporate life, some want to learn to the maximum and are not eager about taking up a job and others might be company sponsored. So you have to decide what you want to get out of this year. Focus your efforts and energies towards your goal.
2. MBA is more about networking rather than academics. Do not be a bookworm and spend time sitting in library. Attend socials, make friends and explore yourself. You would forget your MBA learning over a period of 2-4 years. Your network and your friends are going to stay with you forever.
3. Whatever budget you have finalised for your MBA, please add at least a 1000 pounds. It would take care of your social gatherings, parties, outings and numerous tips to London that one requires to make for attending interviews.
4. Many of us use pay-as-you-go connections for our mobile phones. This is similar to what we call Pre-paid in India. Some of my colleagues took contracts and I found that contract phone turns out to be a cheaper option if you want to buy a handset as well. Moreover, for MBAs with families, I would definitely recommend post-paid connections.
5. Use internet based calling services for making overseas calls. Some of the best options are VOIP-Cheap, Skype and Yahoo.
6. Do buy a formal suit for yourself from the UK. Though there are good options available in India but the style is bit different and I would recommend that you buy a new suit from local shops here. It should not cost more than 200 pounds. And please no such colours- brown, white, green etc. for your interviews. Strictly black/ blue/ grey.
7. Get engaged with all what you like- sports, extra curricular activities and if you feel something is missing at Cranfield, take an initiative and start your own club/ society. You would get support from all corners.

This is your year, it’s your MBA. You would reap as much as you would sow and whatever you would sow. All the best.