Welcome to my ePortfolio. My name is Marin and I am a 4th year student in Business & Management at the University of Glasgow, passionate about taking part in challenging and innovative projects. This passion is the reason why I have been involved in many academic, extracurricular and work-related activities, from leading music bands to managing a temporary work agency.
Through these personal and professional experiences, I have developed useful skills such as leadership, project management, and the ability to step back from problems to solve them in a creative way.
Studying and working in France, South Africa and the UK has provided me with an open mind and the ability to adapt quickly to new environments. I worked in various positions across those three countries, such as a Music and Language teacher, a business developer in a start-up web agency or a social consultant for a women-empowerment social enterprise. These experiences strengthened my leadership and problem-solving abilities, as well as my teamworking and effective communication skills. I currently work for the College of Social Sciences Employability Team at the University of Glasgow as a Graduate Skills Programme tutor and as an assistant for the ILM-accredited Professional Skills Programme. These positions involve delivering workshops to classes of up to 30 students, which has greatly developed my presentation and pedagogical skills. These activities have helped me shape my career aspirations. Indeed, after I graduate, I plan to use and further develop the skills I have acquired throughout my experiences by working as a strategist for an SME or as an impact measurement consultant for a social business.
This ePortfolio presents my academic, professional and personal development through the display of my experiences in academic, work-related and extra-curricular contexts. It was built as part of the Graduate Skills Programme (GSP), which is an employability award offered by the University of Glasgow College of Social Sciences Employability.
Professional Summary
After passing my French Baccalaureate in Science with first class honours, I took on a 2-year degree in Business Management and Sales Techniques at the Caen University Institute of Technology. This practical course combined intensive academic teaching with multiple hands-on activities such as sales meeting simulation exercises, numerous oral presentations and video productions. Through these activities, I acquired a variety of skills such as leadership, public speaking, salesmanship and teamwork. I studied a comprehensive array of subjects ranging from Accounting, to Contract Law, to Negotiation, to Strategy, etc. I graduated ranking first overall in my 160-student class.
Once I obtained my degree, I decided to challenge myself and to experience another culture and education - I moved to Scotland to study at the University of Glasgow. To complete my business education and get equipped with more tools to effectively manage people, projects and organisations, I chose to study Business & Management. At Glasgow University, I found high-quality academic teaching and infinite opportunities to expand my learning and get involved in exciting activities in order to grow personally and professionally. There, I have studied a combination of theoretical and practical subjects, such as Economics and Organisational Behaviour on the one hand and Small Business Consultancy and Business Start-Up on the other. In second year, I was awarded first prize for best performance in Business & Management.
To take on a new challenge and further open my mind I chose to spend my Junior Honours year studying abroad at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Evolving in this new environment was a highly interesting experience that challenged my views on the World and taught me how to adapt quickly and to connect with people from completely different backgrounds and cultures.
Once I obtained my degree, I decided to challenge myself and to experience another culture and education - I moved to Scotland to study at the University of Glasgow. To complete my business education and get equipped with more tools to effectively manage people, projects and organisations, I chose to study Business & Management. At Glasgow University, I found high-quality academic teaching and infinite opportunities to expand my learning and get involved in exciting activities in order to grow personally and professionally. There, I have studied a combination of theoretical and practical subjects, such as Economics and Organisational Behaviour on the one hand and Small Business Consultancy and Business Start-Up on the other. In second year, I was awarded first prize for best performance in Business & Management.
To take on a new challenge and further open my mind I chose to spend my Junior Honours year studying abroad at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Evolving in this new environment was a highly interesting experience that challenged my views on the World and taught me how to adapt quickly and to connect with people from completely different backgrounds and cultures.
Extra-curricular activities are very important to me and play a big part in my development. I have been playing the clarinet and the guitar since I was very young, and performed on multiple occasions in orchestras, big bands, groups or solo. Music has boosted my creativity, and taking part in and leading bands provided me with teamworking, quick-thinking and leadership abilities.
I am also passionate about sports and I practice rock climbing, tennis, sailing, surfing and windsurfing. Through these activities I have learned discipline, resilience and the ability to stay relaxed and focused in extreme situations.
Aside from music and sports, I have been involved in many clubs and societies during my studies to stay active, continuously expand my knowledge and acquire an open mind. Additionally, in my second year at Glasgow University, I took part in the Adam Smith Business School Business Case Competition and presented with my team our solution to a business problem to a jury of academics and professionals. I used my problem-solving and presentation abilities to collaborate with my team, which made it to the finals and won second place.
My first experience with volunteering was helping an autistic child, two hours a week for a year, whilst in high school. Then, in Glasgow, I joined the social entrepreneurship society Enactus to lead a pro-bono consulting project. During my year studying abroad in Cape Town (South Africa), I assisted a charity that builds permaculture gardens in schools to feed the children in the Gugulethu township and conducted Social Return on Investment analysis for a South African women empowerment social enterprise. These experiences awoke my interest to start a career in social entrepreneurship. I also regularly advise entrepreneurs in my network, such as urban farming company No Land Farming or ginger beer producer Roots Brewery.
I am also passionate about sports and I practice rock climbing, tennis, sailing, surfing and windsurfing. Through these activities I have learned discipline, resilience and the ability to stay relaxed and focused in extreme situations.
Aside from music and sports, I have been involved in many clubs and societies during my studies to stay active, continuously expand my knowledge and acquire an open mind. Additionally, in my second year at Glasgow University, I took part in the Adam Smith Business School Business Case Competition and presented with my team our solution to a business problem to a jury of academics and professionals. I used my problem-solving and presentation abilities to collaborate with my team, which made it to the finals and won second place.
My first experience with volunteering was helping an autistic child, two hours a week for a year, whilst in high school. Then, in Glasgow, I joined the social entrepreneurship society Enactus to lead a pro-bono consulting project. During my year studying abroad in Cape Town (South Africa), I assisted a charity that builds permaculture gardens in schools to feed the children in the Gugulethu township and conducted Social Return on Investment analysis for a South African women empowerment social enterprise. These experiences awoke my interest to start a career in social entrepreneurship. I also regularly advise entrepreneurs in my network, such as urban farming company No Land Farming or ginger beer producer Roots Brewery.
I have also gained valuable work experience in both B2C and B2B industries. I held different customer-facing positions in shops or during events, as well as in a call centre. In my second year of studies I worked as the Managing Director of student temporary work agency Interface TC, managing a team of 5 and supervising over 70 temporary workers. I used my leadership and problem-solving skills to turn the then-struggling agency around and generate profits for the first time in 5 years.
Towards the end of my studies in France I secured a 4-month internship at Nerepix, a dynamic web agency . My official job title was Business Developer, but the fast-growing pace of the company, combined with its flat structure, necessitated that I took on a wide variety of responsibilities. Thanks to this experience I acquired a deep understanding of the web industry as well as project management skills and the ability to perform in a fast-paced work environment.
Furthermore, I have extensive experience in teaching. I have been teaching guitar for 6 years, in French and in English, through Skype and face-to-face, to students from 8 to 65 years old. I gained patience and pedagogical and active listening skills by teaching guitar, which I have then applied to my French lessons. I taught French in conversation classes for beginners, intermediate and advanced learners in language cafés. I also taught French to children aged 10 to 12 at a language camp in Ayrshire. In addition to teaching, I was responsible for a group of children and I assisted in planning and conducting recreational activities. Working with young children forced me to look for creative ways to keep them engaged, which I did by for example writing songs about the French language.
At the beginning of this academic year I joined the University of Glasgow College of Social Sciences Employability team as a Graduate Skills Programme tutor and an assistant for the ILM-certified Professional Skills Programme. I deliver workshops on employability and effective team working to groups of up to 30 students and collaborate with the Lead Tutor and Employability Officer to improve the structure and content of the workshops.
These diverse experiences have provided me with project management and leadership abilities as well as teamwork and excellent communication skills, both internal (with collaborators) and external (with customers).
As I am approaching the end of my studies, I am currently exploring my career options. Although I am not yet completely sure which sector I would like to work in, I know I want to join an SME as I believe it will enable me to learn more and have more impact than working for a bigger company. I am also considering working in the social entrepreneurship sector, as I am particularly interested in impact measurement and social return on investment, which I came across in my volunteering activities.
I am convinced that exploring various cultures is crucial for open-mindedness and personal and professional development, and for this reason I am open to international opportunities.