Marcus Cook
Apprenticeship Tutor
For Apprenticeship Tutor Marcus Cook, being part of Cranfield Online is enabling him to indulge his love of learning in a flexible, non-committal way.
He said: “I had been interested in doing a Master’s level qualification for a while, partly for career development but also because – even though I’ve worked in management positions – I’ve never had any formal training. I’ve got lots of other qualifications, but I wanted to broaden my management knowledge and experience away from the operational into more of the strategic.”
But Marcus was concerned about the commitment – both financial and of his time – that would require.
“I went through a stage with a previous employer where I had to do lots of training and qualifications so I was a bit learning weary,” he said. “I also work with Master’s students and I see the impact the demands of studying has on people with busy jobs and families.
“I didn’t want learning to become a burden – I wanted to enjoy it more than that.”
When Cranfield launched its online stackable courses, Marcus was keen to find out more.
“I started with bronze level modules in Making Sense of the Economy and Introduction to Financial Management, and it’s gone from there,” he explained. “What I’m learning isn’t necessarily directly related to my work, but it is broadening my knowledge and is helping me to better relate to the students I work with.
“At the moment, I’m just enjoying learning about different subjects, but I see the fact that I could turn my learning into a Master’s later on if I want to as an added bonus.”
Marcus dips in and out of his learning module content as and when he gets time during the working day or at home in the evenings, taking advantage of the digestible, bite-sized nature of online stackable micro-credentials.
“For me, with the level of the learning and the fact everything is new to me, I’m finding I need at least 45 minutes to an hour to dedicate to it at a time,” he said. “But I think some people could do 15 minutes here and there in their day as and when they have time on their commute or between meetings.
“Sometimes I forget or other things take priority, but it is always accessible and when I’m ready I can come back to it and look at what I’ve done previously to refresh my memory if I need to,” he added.
“I’d recommend Cranfield Online to anyone wanting to study for a qualification but not knowing if they have the time or ability. It gives you the chance to try learning at a high level in a really flexible way, without having to commit to a certain number of days of on-site learning, or pay everything up front.”
As for the future, Marcus is looking forward to exploring his options, indulging his love of learning in a way that works for him.
“Now I’ve done a few modules, I’m thinking that if I get a postgraduate qualification out of this at some point then that’s great,” he explained. “But it’s not necessarily essential.
“I’m enjoying just dipping in and out of the modules as and when and seeing how it goes,” he added. “I think, ultimately, I would like to get the Master’s – and if I get the opportunity to do what’s required for that then I will, but if I don’t I won’t be disappointed.
“At this stage, I’m happy with my Cranfield Online journey going wherever it needs to.”
At Cranfield University, we have developed a portfolio of self-paced e-learning courses that may be completed individually or ‘stacked’ together to gain micro-credentials all the way up to a MSc in Business and Management. To find out more about how they could help your organisation develop its employees at all levels, view our course portfolio or speak to the team.
