Profile

Humayun Arif
Space Initiatives Manager for Global Government Solutions Group, Cisco Systems

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By Katie Ford

“And finally, there is the age-related factor of keeping the brain engaged, given the current work scenario of never retiring,” he muses.

With increasing numbers of working professionals go back to school, universities are responding with flexible MBA programs, from online to evening formats. An executive MBA program typically holds class every other weekend for two years, plus some weekday getaways for immersion workshops or a business consulting practicum. Arif says he opted for the executive program because it’s geared toward professionals who have a minimum of 10 years’ experience in their respective industries.

“At the experience base that I have, I feel that I will be more productive and the payback will be higher for leveraging the experiences of the relatively more-experienced classmates in an EMBA program,” he says.

Arif may have started school only a couple months ago, but his pursuit of an MBA started long before sending in his first application. Arif used his proficient research skills to review degree programs and universities and to garner support from his supervisors and coworkers.

“I approached several layers of management with my aspirations as soon as I started getting serious, so there would be no surprises once I started school,” he says.

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