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By Beth Kocher Gormley,  Communications and PR Manager, UCD College of Business

“I always regretted not getting a college degree,” reflected Andrew Keyes, now an Account Executive at Glen Fuels Services Ltd.

This was the driving force behind Keyes’ decision to enrol in the Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS) at UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business. “After leaving secondary school, I entered the workforce. I never went to college, but later, I decided that I needed a business degree to pivot out of the industry I was in to further my career.” 

The Diploma or Bachelor in Business Studies (DBS/BBS) is a part-time programme designed for students with work experience who wish to complete a business degree while continuing to work. Lecture attendance is only once a month on a Friday from 9:00am-5.30pm with an additional two hours online each month. 

“This flexible schedule allows students to complete their degree while still being able to continue work and caring responsibilities,” said Dr Orna O’Brien, Director of Global Campus at UCD College of Business. “Students also shared that they wanted to have options of living outside of Dublin due to the expense, so many of our students commute in for the day of classes.”

“We completely redesigned the programme to ensure flexibility and accessibility with students at the heart of every decision. This includes complete access to the campus experience but on their time.”

Keyes, who is a native of Greystones, County Wicklow, chose the BBS programme because it allowed him to continue working and earn an honours degree from one of the best universities in the country. 

Motivation and Impact

“I want to make a better life for myself and my future family,” said Keyes. “I decided that educating myself and growing my social and professional networks was the best way to realise these goals.” 

Keyes explained that what he learned on the BBS has already had a powerful impact on his career as he applied the learnings from the programme in real time to his work. 

“The Change Management and Strategy modules allowed me to apply theory to real-life situations. The BBS lecturers are world-leading academics and industry professionals with a lot of experience.”

“The majority of BBS students have also had fulfilling careers with experiences that can be applied to the subject matter being discussed. I learned so much from listening to my lecturers and classmates as they discussed their experiences, how the experiences relate to the textbooks and how they would approach certain scenarios.”

Keyes believes that the course has equipped him to better manage people and affected his management style for the better. “The course taught me to bring people along with me. My best results on group projects were when everyone got on well and had an equitable say in how we would approach and finish our project. I’ll take that with me moving forward.” 

Through engagement with classmates in group work, he also gained a deeper understanding of the importance of empathy and the struggles that people encountered in college, work, and life. “This offered me first-hand experience in learning new ways to bring a group together to achieve larger goals.”

Expanding his professional network and social circle was also an important driver in completing his degree. “After attending a few online Information Sessions before I committed to the programme, it became clear that my class would be made up of people from a range of different backgrounds and experiences. This was just as important to me as getting a degree.” 

Keyes now joins the UCD Business Alumni network which has 107,000+ individuals in 132 countries worldwide who can offer a wealth of experience, resources and networking opportunities. He also has access to the UCD Smurfit Careers Team which is consistently ranked as one of the best in the world in Financial Times rankings. 

Moving Forward

“The sense of accomplishment from finishing the course was incredible,” reflected Keyes. “I remember the day that I joined. I was having coffee with friends and we watched a group of new graduates walk across to O'Reilly Hall in their robes. From my perspective, being in their shoes and graduating with a UCD degree seemed like a lifetime away!”

He described that there were a few late nights and moments when he doubted that he could complete the course. “When I look at my degree now, I see more than a piece of paper. I am reminded of how hard I worked throughout the programme.” 

His advice to those considering the course, but who might be apprehensive about taking the next step is this, “If you truly apply yourself to it, you will get so much out of it. You will grow and develop as a person and as a manager. You will also enhance your career opportunities and if you are like me, get a degree that you thought you might never get.”  

“I would highly recommend joining the course. It has genuinely changed my life for the better.”

Keyes has now decided to continue his studies and will join the new Executive MBA cohort at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School in August 2024. He was awarded the prestigious Aspire Scholarship which helps high-potential candidates unlock their unique talent and drive to become future business leaders. 

Learn more about UCD Quinn School’s Diploma or Bachelor in Business Studies here and register to join the Online Information Session on July 5 at 13:00.