Crowning the overall best MBL student for 2017

Never say never – as Nangula Uaandja, overall best MBL student for 2017, has discovered.

“After completing my chartered accounting studies 20 years ago, I promised myself I would never study again. I was done,” says Nangula, who is Country Senior Partner of PwC in Windhoek, Namibia.

Then, a few years ago, she realised her needs had changed. “I wanted to grow as a business leader, to understand business and international economics,” she says. “I read a lot but I wanted to put more structure on what I was doing. I wanted to study something, but I just didn’t know what.”

An MBA had no appeal for her. “Then I heard about the MBL, which made more sense to me than an MBA. The ‘leadership’ part appealed to me,” she says. “Also, I have a very hectic schedule and wanted something where I could still work and study, and not sit in classes every weekend. The MBL was relevant to me and it made sense.” It also helped that the class had six other students from Namibia, mostly from Windhoek, so they could meet from time to time.

Still, the first year was a shock for Nangula, especially the groupwork. “We lacked experience in the way we distributed the work. Everyone did everything  and it was hectic. In the second year, we made different people responsible for subjects and research and made sure everyone participated. It worked quite well. As a group, we understood each other, met deadlines and became friends.”

Research relevant to real life

Her research topic was directly related to her professional life. “I wanted to understand why we have challenges between the public and private sectors in Namibia. There are good intentions on both sides and we both love Namibia but somehow there are constraints when we implement public-private partnerships.”

She now sees that different perceptions and ways of thinking are the cause of the disconnect. “My research has helped me to understand the problem; not that I can solve it, but I can start a conversation.”

Asked why she thinks she was chosen as the best MBL student overall, Nangula’s initial response is, “I have no clue!”. She thinks. “I did excellently in figures and that probably helped. The other thing was that although I am not an HR or marketing person, I could still relate to those issues as I had been working as a CEO for several years.”

Now that she has graduated, Nangula says she feels blessed. “Grateful and thankful, and at the same time, you ask: what’s next, to who much is given, much is expected and thus the expectations are now about what to do next? However, I have no answer yet. For now, let me rest a bit.”