He’s a man of many talents, but finding business solutions through web technologies is Prabhat Shrestha’s main strength.
A man of many talents honing his passions
Prabhat had a wealth of experience behind him before starting the Master of Business Information Technology (MBIT). He majored in architecture as an undergrad, but had worked in the IT industry as a web designer and developer since 2000.
For four years he jumped into something completely different – working as a publication manager for a leading political economic think-tank based in Nepal. Then he switched to a role as operations director for a management consulting company before circling back to IT.
“Despite switching between different industries, I never let go of my passion for web technologies and continued to utilise my skills in every role I was working in while undertaking numerous web application design and development projects,” he said.
This varied experience held him in good stead for the MBIT, which prepares students for a career in cutting-edge business information systems. Prabhat now works as a business analyst for advertising and marketing automation (online) platform Myadbox.
The role is a natural extension of the knowledge he gained in the program and his skills as a problem-solver.
“Complex problems are my fuel to everyday life,” Prabhat said.
“I reckon my constant search for interesting and complex problems and challenges was the reason behind jumping between so many different industries.
“I have been passionate about information technology since a young age and, through experience, I came to enjoy solving business management problems.
“The MBIT became the best choice for me to both combine my interests and build a career around them.”
Global networks open career options
The program encouraged students to view business and technological solutions through a global lens. Prabhat saw this, along with working with people from different cultures, as a major advantage for his future in business information technology.
“Learning to work with multicultural, diverse teams to solve business,as well as social, problems with the knowledge of latest technological advancements, has definitely given me an edge in the IT industry – a global industry that talks the same language wherever you go in the world,” he said.
“Studying at RMIT helped me connect with people from different backgrounds, cultures and industries.
"It has helped me boost my confidence and improved my knowledge about the industry.”
Industry-relevant learning has graduates in demand
Understanding the intersections of business and IT prepares MBIT graduates for the role of business analyst. This can be in a broad range of industries, said Dr Naomi Whiteside, RMIT senior lecturer.
“So you can work in a business as a business analyst in finance, in retail – in a whole lot of industry sectors,” she said.
“But essentially what you're doing is talking to people who work throughout the business about what they need in terms of IT to support their daily work and documenting that and communicating it with stakeholders.”
Dr Whiteside said Prabhat’s efforts in the MBIT made him an attractive recruit for employers.
“He has excellent communication skills, teamwork, problem-solving, planning, project management skills and I've certainly seen them myself in the classroom and through his capstone experience,” she said.
“And that's what we try and embed, as well as the sort of authentic industry-engaged learning experiences throughout the program, to try and foster those employability skills that we see exemplified in Prabhat.”
During his studies, Prabhat completed a project on blockchain technologies and he now hopes to explore this as a future career path.
“It opened a brand new door for me to learn and develop skills to prepare myself for the next disruption in the IT industry,” he said.
“One of the biggest change MBIT has done for me is this new career goal it has helped me shape up.”
Story: Kate Jones
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