Naval architect Jose shares why he decided to study an online MBA at RGU and his experience of the course.
A bit about me and my career
Hello! My name is Jose Moraes and I want to share some thoughts here. I guess what can define me as a person is the question “what comes next..?” I hope you are relaxed and ready to have fun reading my blog.
I’m Brazilian, naval architect by accident. The graduation degree is selected in a federal exam application that my sister made for me… Then I fell in love with the seven seas!
I have been working for the same group for 16 years, three countries and many great memories. The company’s technical competence is definitively “a must” but the most valuable part is trust.
All those years spent doing all kind of miraculous things at university involving mathematics and physics were tools to improve my judgment, which helped me in materialising these skills, safeguarding life, property, and the environment. The offshore industry is a place where problems are amplified due to the logistical complexity and harsh environment. I observed several projects in the Brazilian deep waters, the Canadian Grand Banks and now in the North Sea.
Deciding to go back to university
The ambition to decarbonise and ensure the energy transition to less carbon intensive energy sources made me reflect on my journey in the offshore industry. Offshore renewables and offshore food farms are new markets that my previous education was not able to fulfil.
The research about educational institutions able to “close the gap” resulted in a two-year MBA in sustainability and energy transition (SET) at Robert Gordon University (RGU). This experience allowed me to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world challenges, working alongside a diverse group of peers and industry experts.
My experience studying online at RGU
Studying online has been a challenging experience. Busy agendas and commitments made me watch the lessons in the middle of the North Sea, in Portugal, Belfast… But the most special moment was attending an online lecture in Athens, in front of the Acropolis. Believe me, it was the quietest place, away from the tourists. Not sure if I had better inspiration while stepping on where Socrates and Plato lived.
Leadership Week at RGU was an eye-opening experience. It was a week filled with intensive workshops, seminars, and business simulation, but the networking opportunities really made the difference. Seeing all my colleagues that travelled from different continents highlighted how the Aberdeen Business School programme is broad and transformative, while observing my colleagues in action made me reflect on my future as a leader.
The MBA programme then reached its final step: the consulting project. I had chosen a topic that was a new service line in my job, the Floating Offshore Wind Turbines Classification Services.
My reflections prove to me that there is no perfection when mastering our skills but the good feeling to deliver something meaningful was a clear statement of how all the hard work paid off. My supervisor, Paolo Monachello, and my company’s manager guided me to make the consulting project worthy. The results were presented to the senior leadership here in Aberdeen, at the gorgeous Norwood Hotel that applied my ideas and solutions into the strategy to develop a new service line.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I hope it inspires you to embrace your main fears and deliver your best.
Jose Moraes
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