Angeliki Mitsolidou

Professional Background

I was a lawyer in Greece until the onset of the Greek financial crisis when I joined the Ministry of Finance as an advisor and later became the Head of Public Revenue Secretary General Office at the Ministry of Finance. I was a legal and policy adviser on a variety of issues including European and public law, taxation and structural reforms.

Working at the Ministry of Finance was an incredible learning opportunity and something I’m very proud of. I worked on the re-organisation of the Tax and Customs Administration to set it up as an independent body from the Ministry of Finance and set-up the initial establishment of an Independent Authority for Public Revenue in Greece. I was part of a team that struggled with very serious problems in a very difficult period for Greece. The team led the country from the era of big spending and massive deficits to more sustainable financial management through major structural reforms.

I worked on the reform of the Greek Tax and Customs Administration including the development of a five year strategic plan and a two year operational plan specifying operational and tax collection targets, the introduction of a project-based approach for change and the overall adoption of international best practices for improving regulatory enforcement.

This period of change and crisis management has armed me with strength, determination and hope. However, my biggest achievement in life is that I smile every single day even during hard times, I manage to learn from my failures and I easily adapt to change.

I am currently a Management Consultant at the Central Bank of Greece where I advise on issues related to the Government Financial Operations and Accounts Department, the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund, the Hellenic Deposit and Investment Guarantee Fund, the Ministry of Finance and also the financial sector agenda in Greece.

Why is the Imperial Global Online MBA right for you?

I strongly believe in lifelong learning as an ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge. I felt I needed to update my academic knowledge and add some quantitative skills to my legal background. I would also like to explore and understand leadership patterns in order to prepare myself for more senior roles. For me, the flexibility of the Global Online MBA, combined with the online community of people available is by far more enriching and enticing than a usual class. The diversity of people found in this Global Online MBA can not be compared with any other student community.

I knew I wanted to study in the UK due to the quality, innovative teaching and high-tech learning environment that comes with UK higher education institutions. Within the UK and around the world Imperial College’s reputation as one of the top universities is well known and was a big draw card for me. Imperial’s reputation combined with the strong recommendations I received from friends in academia all over Europe made the decision so easy for me that I actually decided to only apply to Imperial.

The programme

The whole Global Online MBA programme is very well thought out and structured. The modules and the materials on The Hub, the online learning platform, are well targeted and highly qualitative; the same applies to the webinars and tutorials. The Hub makes access to all materials, forum discussions and live classes easy and flexible, which is particularly useful for busy professionals.  The Hub is so interactive that communications with the programme team, the teaching staff and the other students turn this distant learning into a close relationship. The whole educational experience is very interesting and thought provoking.

The best aspect of the flexible format and online study experience through The Hub is the quality of knowledge provided and the quality of the technology. The Hub is a well-designed electronic environment where teaching, discussion and interaction can take place. The people who envisaged and designed The Hub deserve my sincerest congratulations. It is absolutely fantastic. The Hub makes studying and keeping up with the workload manageable.

Studying an Imperial MBA also gives you access to continuous guidance, inspiration and encouragement from the faculty, careers staff and programme team. They customise the support given to students according to our professional and national backgrounds. The values of Imperial are embodied by all staff and are embedded in the programme, they emphasise sustainable business development and the promotion of true leadership and self-awareness. These values combined with the support from the faculty make Imperial a unique educational experience.

Induction Week

The Induction Week was absolutely great because it provided context to the environment in which teaching, exams and all relevant activities would take place. It provided answers to critical questions and more importantly brought us together as a class. It seems that many of the professional relationships and friendships that I developed over this week will last for a long time. It is so important to know that there are so many people around the world available for you and most importantly they are happy to support you through the hardships and challenges of balancing study and professional life!

Relationships

I find that one of the most significant aspects of this educational experience is the quality of relationships among talented and open-minded people on the programme. There are people all over the globe and the mutual sharing of knowledge and experiences add to the theory taught via The Hub. It’s like belonging to a big family of like-minded people with similar interests and objectives. It’s marvellous!

The Hub also makes it incredibly easy to stay in touch with your cohort. My cohort is made-up of warm, respectful, ambitious people, all of whom deserve the best in life.