Lucy Denham

Why did you decide to take on postgraduate studies?

I had reached a point in my career where I felt in need of professional
development in order to progress to a higher level of responsibility. I was struggling to transition into a new role in market research without a professional qualification, my bachelors degree was in design, so although I had professional experience in research I didn’t have the academic qualifications to back this up.

Why Newcastle Business School?

The school has a good reputation, additionally as an alumnus I was entitled to a 10% discount on the course, and this made a big difference as I was financing myself.

What was your favourite thing about your course?

The scope of the different modules, it really felt like we were covering a broad spectrum of potential careers in marketing and getting a good, practical flavour of each.

Could you describe a fond or positive memory of your time at Newcastle Business School?

Working with a team of other students on the Relationship Marketing assignment. They were a very intelligent, lively, active group and a pleasure to work with on such a creative project.

Do you feel your postgraduate study has impacted upon your career, if so how?

I was very fortunate to be offered my current job, particularly as it was the first interview I attended. I think the fact I was able to talk about my experience on the two market research modules the MSc offers had an impact on this.

Could you tell us about your current role and what is involved?

I have responsibility for managing customer research projects for the asset strategy department at Northumbrian Water. This role is varied and I work with a large number of internal and external stakeholders, including market research providers. I’ve enjoyed moving into the client side of research, as offers a different perspective on delivering research from my previous, consultancy side role.