Making the most of MBS: Laura Ha

By Amy Huynh

Laura Ha’s time at the Melbourne Business School (MBS) has been nothing short of fruitful – she currently serves as marketing director for MBSSA, has travelled to Hong Kong for the Global Business Practicum, works as a marketing associate at start-up Umps Health, and now looks to pursue a career in consulting.

Laura admits she wishes she was more involved in her undergraduate degree. “When you’re completely new, you go to your lectures and go home, which was the case when I was studying my bachelor degree. Now, I may have taken on a bit too much.” she laughs.

Laura Ha

Her desire to get involved and actively engage in enrichment opportunities led to her appointment as Marketing Director at MBSSA. Whilst challenging, Laura says it is an extremely rewarding experience and credits seeing her team of five grow and deliver exceptional work as one of her proudest moments. "Working with my talented, diverse team and being able to see the impact that MBSSA has on enriching the student experience is both humbling and rewarding."

It was through getting involved with MBSSA that Laura landed an internship, and later a part-time role with start-up Umps Health. “One of the co-founders, Adam, reached out to us to fill a marketing position on the team after seeing how well we promoted the case competition, and I put my name forward,” she says. “It’s a small team, so though I’m the marketing associate, we all work together in terms of branding, strategy and content.” Laura’s most celebrated accomplishment was organising a Dreamstarter campaign, which raised $40,000 through crowd-funding to provide their product free of charge to Victoria’s most vulnerable carers.

Another invaluable experience was getting involved in the Global Business Practicum (GBP), which saw Laura travel to Hong Kong to consult for Travelzoo. “Technology disruption is quite a topical issue for the travel industry. Travelzoo asked us to explore the impact on the market and analyse how it changes consumer behaviours. We created two innovative product ideas that would provide value,” she said. “It was an intense two weeks – you start off with the problem and have no idea how to approach it, and by the end you’re presenting a comprehensive, in-depth solution to the client. It’s so rewarding, and the amazing food in Hong Kong was a bonus!”

Umps Health

Her passion for consulting hasn’t stopped there; she volunteers as a student consultant for 180 Degrees Consulting, an organisation that advises non-profit enterprises, and plans to participate in the Melbourne Business Practicum in Sydney this year. Moving forward, Laura hopes to build on her experiences and pursue her interest in consulting professionally post-MBS.

What advice does she have for new students? “There are so many opportunities that the faculty offers. Take them all, that’s my advice! I have met so many amazing people in Masters that have made my time here so far incredible. You’re surrounded by brilliant, like-minded individuals and I think that really rubs off and drives you to excel, whilst having fun at the same time.”

The Master of Management (Marketing) provides foundation training in a variety of business and management disciplines, with specialist training in marketing. This course is about the means by which organisations attract and retain customers, including aspects of marketing, strategy, customer behaviour, branding, and international marketing.

Find out more about the Master of Management (Marketing) here.

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