Ciara McAlister, who graduates today with Master’s degree in Applied Management, was one of the first students to enrol on the new MSc Applied degree programme delivered by the Department of Business, Retail and Financial Services.  

During this time Aghadowey woman Ciara, 23, undertook an international field trip to Germany, where she did a placement at the Fachhochschule in Kempten, and participated in several of industrial based assessments, including with local diagnostics company Randox. 

In October 2010 Ciara was awarded a distinction in her MSc – winning the Top Student Award sponsored by Invista (UK) Ltd – and was immediately offered several posts despite today’s difficult labour market conditions.

“The course at Coleraine was brilliant because it’s very practical, and based around real-world business issues. Everything went very smoothly, and the lecturers were always on hand to provide any support I or the other students needed," said Ciara.

"The international element was a welcome bonus. The link with Fachhochschule Kempten, and visits to top German firms like Bosch and Multivac gave us invaluable experience of German business and educational culture. It’s a programme I’d recommend not only to undergraduates, but also to anyone working at management level in a business, and who wants to upgrade their skills.”

Today, Ciara has accepted a management consultancy position with PwC in Belfast and is today working on projects both in N Ireland and the rest of the UK, dealing with customer relations and client engagement issues for UK-wide clients.

A gallery of images from the 2010 Winter Graduation ceremonies can be viewed at:

http://www.ulster.ac.uk/graduation/wintergraduation2010/photogallery.html