Hannah Abdel-Hadi

About you

What work experience/internships did you have before beginning with Imperial College Business School?

I had a couple of summer internships at startups in the logistics and social impact spaces.

Why did you decide to study MSc Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Management at Imperial College Business School?

I decided to study MSc Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Management at Imperial because I wanted to take my background in sustainability to business school. This was a natural progression to learn what business is all about as a gateway to the business world in a more flexible and innovative way. I am passionate about social and environmental change created through business.

Did you receive a scholarship?

I was delighted to receive a Social Impact Scholarship from Imperial College Business School for my previous work during my undergraduate degree in the social impact space. This was hugely beneficial financially, but also opens doors to meet other scholarship winners and have a platform to talk to people about what you are enthusiastic about. The fact this scholarship even exists at Imperial is hugely exciting and demonstrates the commitment of the school surrounding creating positive change.

Programme

What aspects of the programme do you most enjoy the most?

The Entrepreneurship modules mean that you have the flexibility to come up with and tackle your own problems, which is extremely inspiring and rewarding. I have also loved meeting the diverse range of people on the programme.

Which has been your favourite module so far and why?

Design Thinking for Innovation is my favourite module so far because it is a completely different way of thinking than I had encountered, and it gave me skills that I could use in both real-life and other aspects of the programme.

What has been the most rewarding part of the programme?

The most rewarding part of the programme is working on projects in many different areas – from marketing to organisational behaviour – as a team from scratch and creating a new output. The learning process is unique each time.

What has been the most challenging part of the programme?

The most challenging part of the programme is the quantity of teamwork in short time frames. It accelerates processes and interactions and often makes it more complicated and challenging to create outputs.

People

How would you describe your cohort at Imperial?

Diverse, dynamic and enthusiastic.

Did you have a favourite professor/lecturer and why?

All of the professors are amazing, but Dr Sankalp Chaturvedi really made the effort in our Organisational Behaviour (OB) module in the first semester to get to know us and teach OB in an engaging way. It was an amazing module which was interactive and applicable to real life.

Opportunities

What has been the greatest opportunity you have had at Imperial?

The opportunity to meet people from around the world has really broadened my horizons and enriched my experience at Imperial. I was also nominated by the Business School to be part of a Women@Dior mentorship scheme, which was a very unexpected experience which I would never have heard about unless the School had facilitated that opportunity.

What clubs, societies or other activities have you been involved in at Imperial? 

I am the Director of Career Events at the Social Impact and Responsible Business Club at Imperial College Business School, which has allowed me to organise events for students to meet professionals working in the social impact space. We have run events from round tables to pitch nights on various social impact topics. I am also a Student Ambassador which means I often get to speak to and engage with prospective students and persuade them to join our programme!

Did you get involved in any initiatives hosted by the Imperial Enterprise Lab?

I have attended an idea’s surgery at the Imperial Enterprise Lab, which allowed me to explore a business idea and gave me direction on what to do next.

Career

What are your future career goals and how have they been realised since being at Imperial?

My main goals are to work in the social impact space, such as in startups, social enterprises or B Corporations. Imperial College Business School Careers has fantastic opportunities advertised almost every day and the Careers team will give you invaluable help on applications from CVs to interviews.

Location

What have been the benefits and challenges of moving to London? What advice would you give to someone in a similar position?

I live in London Bridge, and I chose to live there because it is an extremely lively and connected part of the city. London is an expensive city, but it is also worth it for the experiences you gain. The number of galleries, museums, restaurants and parks you can go to, and also the amount of jobs that are potentially on offer, make it a true city of opportunity. I would recommend speaking to a local before moving to London to get advice on locations to live - and perhaps link up with other classmates before you join.

Tips

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about applying for the programme?

My main advice would be to make sure you are specific and know why you want to do this programme at Imperial. It sounds intuitive, but everyone on this programme has a real rationale of why they chose to study this programme and how it will help them. You have to prove that this programme will really benefit you over other potential students.