Heading to Oxford

Hey Everyone,

My name’s Brendan, and I’m a recovering engineer…

..eerrr, let’s start that again, shall we?

Well my name is Brendan, and I have been an engineer. Studied as an engineer at UBC. Worked as an engineer in Canada. But it wasn’t long before I felt other areas pulling my attention away. I’m also a fairly socially-motivated person, and I basically concluded that I could have more impact in business development and entrepreneurialism than while working as an engineer. More chance to build something world-changing. That kind of thing. So I’m heading to Oxford in a few months, to take the MBA, with a focus on social entrepreneurship.

It’s been a long path to get here. Like many 20-somethings I know, I’ve struggled with my career path at times. In my case, it’s been an attempt to reconcile a love of the technical with a desire to tackle tough social challenges. This sometimes translates into a conflict between micro and macro approaches. It has led to a fair amount of work with Engineers Without Borders, both in Africa and Canada (a fantastic organization, and very likely strong at your university), as well as work with other organizations working in the area of appropriate technology. Before starting at Oxford, I’ll finish up with Practica Foundation in Ethiopia, where I’ve been working to set up an office over the past year.

I’m excited about Oxford. It’s been a long time coming. I started thinking about it almost two years ago, while taking courses at Cambridge. I decided that it was the right path, and set about trying to get there. Actually, for an MBA, the tough part is trying to pay for it, especially if your aims are more… say, social than financial. But the more I thought about it, the more I realize that my career goals, to start and grow various socially-minded organizations, would seriously benefit from the skills and credibility of an MBA. So I’m biting the bullet.

Oxford is an odd place, chock full of tradition and Harry Potter-ness. Anyone accepted by the 800+ year old university for study must also be accepted by a college, which forms a social network, support and accommodation. I’ll be joining Oriel College a mid-sized College established in 1324. Yep. 1324. My college is almost five times as old as our country. It’s an odd feeling for a Canadian.

I’ll leave it at that for now, and will check back in in the next few weeks as I get everything prepared to head to Oxford. Feel free to fire me any questions, either here or via my personal blog. I’ll do what I can to answer quickly.

Cheers,

B

- photo courtesy of Monica