Our graduates have the broad perspective and practical experience to land the right job to start them on their chosen career path. They will have had the opportunity to develop their interview technique and will be well aware of the importance of managing their careers.

The great majority go on to hold senior positions in industry and most keep in touch with us through our active 1200 strong Alumni Association. We encourage networking both for career development opportunities and for the interchange of professional information.

Getting creative in the kitchen

Former IfM postgraduate student, Richard Joseph set up innovative kitchenware company, Joseph Joseph in 2003 with his twin brother, Anthony. It now has a turnover of £40 million, sells its products in 104 countries and has 80 employees.

Read an article about them here.

A Business Process Re-engineer in Semiconductor Manufacture in Germany

ISMM was, without doubt, the best year of my life so far, like a breath of fresh air after four years at university. Instead of being interested predominately in their own work, the tutors were actually there to help and offer their considerable knowledge on business and manufacturing situations. For me, the most successful and interesting part of the course was the European tour and, in fact, I now work at one of the companies that we visited. It has been quite a challenge, working in a foreign country and learning a new language, but I feel I have overcome these problems and would thoroughly recommend the experience. From ISMM, I have not only gained experience that would have taken me otherwise years to build but I have a maturity that has come from dealing with all types of people from shop floor to senior management.

A Line Manager in Food Processing in Lowestoft

ISMM gave me a much clearer idea of what career I wanted to pursue. I had enjoyed working in the process industry and the course gave me opportunities to confirm this through project work, as well as the confidence to start contributing from day one, in my new job. The project work on ISMM has given me the ability to sit back from day-to-day running, decide what the major problems are and how we can overcome them. A structured approach to solving problems is not something all graduates have. Nor do they all have the interpersonal skills to relate to shop floor employees - on ISMM we learned the extent of the knowledge and expertise held by the machine operators.

A Junior Strategy Consultant in Paris

My first degree was very theoretical, from a Grande Ecole d'Ingenieur, and I wanted to go into the field and learn something from it. That is why I chose ISMM. I was planning to become a production engineer, but I discovered on the course that what I loved most was working on short, challenging projects. That is why I have taken this consultancy job, where flexibility in the matter of subject and the ability to deal with the time pressures are two of the qualities that I developed on the course and now appreciate.

A Production Engineer in Power Supply Manufacture in Middlesex

The best thing about my job is the variety - my main responsibility is to save cost and improve yield by improving the process and the product - and the steepness of the technological learning curve. ISMM has given me the skills to put ideas across to colleagues, management and suppliers with confidence, to provide the data to justify them and, above all, to tackle a job from the outset without having to be 'held by the hand'.

A Field Engineer in Oilfield Services in Angola

I don't know of any job where they expect you to handle pressure at such an early stage in the company. After training, the engineer is in charge of the job, client interaction, equipment and offshore procedures until the final package is delivered to the client. ISMM has helped me to recognise my strengths and weaknesses, to be tolerant of others and to see the 'big picture'. I loved my time on the course and wouldn't change any of it if I had to do it again. I feel that we have set in motion a business network that is going to be of value throughout my career.

An Equity Analyst with a Fund Manager in the City

I have no doubt that my decision to take ISMM was one of the best ones to date. I took the course as an avenue into the 'real world' and that is what I got. I have never had so many experiences compressed into the space of a year and I have never learnt so much in such a short space of time. Though the specifics of 5-axis machine tools may not have stood the test of time, the skills I developed in tackling problems and managing time, expectations and relationships have been invaluable in my career so far.