Sigurd Kristiansen

In my everyday job, I use a series of the skills that the ITMB course has given me. One of the most valuable parts of my course experience was the sandwich year in industry. During that year as an IT Service Analyst, I grew professionally both technically and in terms of soft skills. There are many modules in the degree that have been beneficial and contribute to my current job. My favourites are: Operations Systems Networks and the Internet; Software Engineering; Information and Knowledge Management; Computer Systems; Fundamentals of Strategic Management.

These modules provided the base knowledge that allow me to perform my job today and are all areas on which I can improve to become a subject matter expert. In addition to the academic content of the degree courses, emphasis is placed on the development of your personal, managerial and presentation skills. These skills are vital in the assessment process when applying for a job.

Post 16 Education: International Baccalaureate in Malmö

Higher Education: BSc IT Management for Business

Why did you choose IT Management for Business?

I have always been interested in what technology has to offer in terms of making society better and more efficient.

It may also be rooted in the fact that I am a lazy person and technology makes things easier.

One of the things that really attracted me to the ITMB course was that the job security was listed at 100% - candidates got a job 3 months after graduating. I also knew that with an ITMB degree there would be a tremendous number of doors open to me once I graduated. I completed my paid sandwich (or placement) year as an IT Support intern at Danone UK/IE which was an invaluable experience. This opportunity had attracted me to the course initially and it exceeded my expectations.

Sigurd’s experience as a student

Studying at Loughborough was an experience that I will never forget. There are so many things to get involved in and people to meet. The overall experience is basically what you make it. I wasn’t the most disciplined student and enjoyed the social life of university. I was part of an Athletic Union club as captain of the first team and later became head coach for the club. This was awesome and something that I learnt from just as much if not even more than some lectures. I also joined the Scandinavian Society where I made a lot of new friends. Initially it took me about 6 months to get adjusted to life at Loughborough as a student but I had an unforgettable time!

With all that being said, of course I was there to study, and the campus was excellent in enabling my education. Modules were easy to get to; the lecture halls were great and the lecturers were all very knowledgeable. Furthermore, the library resources were great and the staff were always super helpful. If you didn’t feel like studying at home then there would always be a study space available somewhere on campus.

Sigurd’s Career

I graduated with the Batchelors degree in ITMB and decided to opt out of taking the Masters having successfully gone through the assessment and been offered a job on the Salesforce Graduate program as an Associate Success Portfolio Manager.

My job consists of making sure that the Customer Relations Management (CRM) system that we provide for our customers gets used to its full potential and that our customers are happy and continue to subscribe to our service. I manage a portfolio of 1000 customers (~$15 M).