Studying International Human Resource Management at Manchester
Before joining the MSc at Alliance Manchester Business School, I had just completed an undergraduate degree in Politics and International Relations. During my studies, I became particularly interested in industrial relations and was keen to pursue this further. I wanted the opportunity to explore the relationship between people, organisations and wider systems of work, especially how employment relations, skills and organisational culture shape real-world outcomes.
I chose The University of Manchester because of its strong reputation for critical, research-led teaching in human resource management and industrial relations. When I attended the open day, I also had the chance to meet some of the teaching staff and had brilliant conversations with them, which really stood out to me. The programme’s combination of theory, comparative perspectives and extracurricular opportunities - including guest talks and practical lectures - strongly appealed to me, particularly as I was interested in pursuing a career in people strategy and organisational change.
Learning in a global student community
Some of my most memorable experiences from my time at Manchester are tied to the diversity of the student community. Funnily enough, one of my highlights was my first ever trip to a hotpot restaurant. The University’s international student body meant I made friends from all over the world, far more than I had during my undergraduate degree. I was lucky enough to show some of my international friends different parts of the UK, and in return experience some of their favourite traditions, food and cultures.
Academic experience and studying during COVID-19
My time on the programme also coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which presented significant challenges for both students and staff when it hit halfway through the academic year. Despite the circumstances, I felt the University did everything it could to maintain academic rigour and provide support, and I remain grateful for that commitment.
Academically, I benefited enormously from exceptional lecturers who brought the subject matter to life and challenged us to think critically about power, work and institutions. I will always take any opportunity to thank the powerhouses that are Dr Jenny Rodriguez, Professor Miguel Martínez Lucio and Dr Stephen Mustchin for their teaching, insight and intellectual generosity. Their influence has stayed with me well beyond the programme and continues to shape my thinking and career today.
From MSc graduate to Workforce Consulting at PwC UK
Since graduating, I have built a career in management consulting and am currently a Manager in the Workforce Consulting practice at PwC UK, based in London. I specialise in change, communications and culture, working across government, defence and policing. My work focuses on people-centred transformation, including workforce strategy and skills frameworks, large-scale technology change, organisational redesign and employee engagement.
In my role at PwC, I regularly support senior leaders in making sense of complex people challenges, often drawing on proprietary research such as the Global CEO Survey and Hopes & Fears workforce insights. A recurring theme across this work is that while the pace of change continues to accelerate — particularly with advances in AI and digital technology — many organisations struggle less with the technology itself and more with how change is experienced by their people. This has reinforced for me the importance of trust, communication, skills and culture in enabling successful transformation.
The MSc provided a strong analytical foundation that I draw on daily in my work. It strengthened my ability to assess organisational problems systemically, understand power and stakeholder dynamics, and apply evidence-based thinking to complex people challenges.
The programme also exposed me to critical and comparative perspectives on work, employment relations and institutions, which has been invaluable in consulting roles across different sectors and contexts. Just as importantly, it gave me the confidence to engage critically with senior stakeholders and translate some of the more cutting-edge theories and case studies from the course into practical, real-world solutions, particularly in environments characterised by uncertainty, reform and rapid change.
Advice for prospective students
My advice to prospective students would be to fully embrace the critical and comparative nature of the programme. The value of the MSc lies not only in technical HR knowledge, but in how it teaches you to question assumptions, understand context and think long-term about the future of work.
From my experience since graduating, the most impactful people professionals are those who can look beyond job titles to skills, balance short-term pressures with long-term capability building, and introduce new technologies in ways that genuinely support people rather than overwhelm them. The MSc at Manchester equips you with the mindset and analytical tools to do exactly that, offering skills that are highly transferable and increasingly important across a wide range of careers.
