Student Spotlight: Azharuddin Mohammed
Azharuddin Mohammed, originally from Port Blair, India is a current full-time MEM student. He studied Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering at SRM University in Chennai and graduated in 2008. He worked as lead software engineer at Cisco before starting the MEM program and is the incoming Product Management Summer Intern at Dell! He’s a passionate follower of soccer and spends his spare time either playing video games on consoles or playing snooker. His secret talent is cooking. Now, there’s nothing like being good friends with someone who cooks, so we thought it would be a good idea get to know him better!
To that end, we asked Azharuddin some questions about his experience in the MEM program and this is what he had to say:
What made you decide to pursue a MEM degree?
A good mix of management and technical concepts made me choose the MEM degree at Northwestern University. It helped me keep my technical background [and] at the same time I got to learn about the fundamentals of business. The diverse cohort helps one to learn and understand different perspectives on any assignments or projects.
Favorite Class/Professor?
Product Management taught by Prof. Birju Shah. This course, in particular, was the reason why I decided to join the MEM program. Prior to committing to the MEM program, part of my homework included learning more about the Product Management course and its syllabus. I aspire to become a Product Manager; therefore, I put in efforts to learn more about this course and the takeaways. Professor Birju is a talented individual. He taught the course in a very practical and activity-based manner. Having worked in the tech industry for over 8 years helped me understand the terms used in the PM class, however, Prof. Birju taught the best practices a successful PM should adhere to. In this class, he emphasized the importance of being the 1% Product Managers, which he thinks is the key to success in a PM role. I would recommend this course to anyone who aspires to become a PM because this is the best place you can learn about the PM roles properly aligned with the latest market standards.
What is the most surprising aspect of your experience in the program?
Having a Product Management course, which is quite rare and only a handful of MBA schools have them. Product Manager is one of the most sought-after roles in the current market and therefore such a concentrated course makes the MEM program quite resourceful. In the PM class, as a part of our project was to build, develop, and sell a product. The ideas presented in the class from every team were phenomenal. The ideas that every team came up with were brilliant; each team had a superb background depicting the need for the product, and how they would address the customer pain points.
How does the program experience prepare you to reach your professional and career goals?
After spending 8 years in the technology industry, I have developed skills that have helped to understand the finer details of the technical product. But at this point I want to sit on the other side of the table and understand how the technical product is impacting the business, what values are we providing to our customer, how well are we doing when compared to our competitors and what strategy can we develop to grow our market share by understanding what our customers want. And MEM at Northwestern will help me achieve that.
What is distinct about your program experience? What draws you in?
I know I have mentioned this quite a few times now but for me, the Product Management course was the decision-making factor while selecting from the other admits.
What do you feel you’re learning from Northwestern’s program that you might not be experiencing elsewhere?
A very well balanced and diverse classroom experience makes the MEM at Northwestern great! Also, to have so many events which help to plan and shape up your career makes the MEM at Northwestern stand out.
Once you’ve graduated and are looking back, what do you think will have been the most valuable thing you will have received or learned from this program?
A great master's program from a prestigious University.
What advice would you give future/prospective students?
To always know your true strengths and weaknesses, this helps a lot with the pace of studies and job search. Also, having a clear idea of what he/she wants to pursue (job role, industry) after the degree makes things much clearer. The job search can be really taxing, particularly for international students, therefore it’s good to come prepared about the job market, the role and the opportunities available.
