Public Management graduate looks at the bigger picture
Most students would agree that study at the School of Government is intellectually rewarding – but is it relevant in a practical sense, and does it actually help students in their careers?
Amanda Hema says Master's study helped her think strategically about issues affecting local government
Most students would agree that study at the School of Government is intellectually rewarding – but is it relevant in a practical sense, and does it actually help students in their careers?
According to recent Master's graduate Amanda Hema the answer is a resounding yes, and her manager, South Waikato District Council Chief Executive Craig Hobbs, agrees.
Amanda is Group Manager Community at the South Waikato District Council, leading a team that looks after the Council's events centre, libraries and swimming pools, along with customer service and community development.
"The Master of Public Management (MPM) degree has helped me think strategically about issues affecting local government," she says.
"It's helped me look above the parapet, so to speak, and move from a focus on simply 'doing' to a wider focus that involves thinking about the bigger picture."
Managing a work/life/study balance
Amanda was working full time at the Council while she did her Master's study, and was raising a family too.
"For some people, the idea of doing postgraduate study on top of work and family commitments might sound daunting, but I found that the distance learning I did for the course, supplemented by regular visits to Wellington for a day of lectures and seminars, worked very well.
"It fitted into my lifestyle, and I left Wellington feeling energised and rejuvenated."
Amanda particularly liked the variety of subjects covered, saying that many were directly relevant to issues facing the area she works in, local government.
"I especially liked the Leadership and Change in the Public Sector course, which I found helpful in the sense that it dealt with issues raised by such things as amalgamation, and the Economic Policy Challenges for Public Managers course, which looked at economic theories, principles and ideas and how they're applied, among other things."
She is also complimentary about the academics who taught her.
"I found them incredibly helpful and encouraging. As an undergraduate I sometimes felt that the lecturers did just that – simply lectured to the class – but this was certainly not the case with the academics at the School of Government.
"I always felt 'on par' with them and recall quite a few robust, enjoyable discussions. Their aim was to encourage students to think logically and critically."
Enhanced career prospects
Amanda believes the MPM degree has enhanced her career prospects.
"These days, if you want to progress to senior levels in local government, you need to gain a higher-level, strategic outlook. The School of Government’s MPM helped me get this."
Her manager Craig Hobbs agrees.
"Amanda’s study has acquainted her with the latest thinking and legislation affecting local government; it's meant she can, and does, contribute at the senior executive level.
"The new role of Group Manager she has at the Council is due, at least in part, to her study at the School of Government and to the commitment and energy she showed while she was doing it."
Craig would also be happy to see other members of the Council doing a Master of Public Management.
"It's a way of upskilling oneself career-wise and will stand graduates in good stead if, in the course of time, they want to move on to a larger local or regional council, or into some other senior sector position.
"In fact, I am considering doing the MPM course myself!"