A true advocate of Birkbeck, Arvinder Mudhar (MSc Career Management and Counselling 2015) chose to study a Master’s in Career Coaching and Counselling in 2015 while working in the IT sector. He has progressed quickly in his career and came to realise that as he became more senior, the specifics of the role he performed became less important than the relationships he formed with his colleagues, both above and below him.

Arvinder says he always had an interest in career mentoring and counselling and had been interested in completing further studies in this space. He reflects that “for many years I used to pick up the [Birkbeck] prospectus and look through it then put it down and think I really should apply”. With gentle nudging from his wife, he decided to finally enroll part time; “it was by far away, one of the most fantastic things I’ve ever been involved in”. Arvinder felt that not only was the course of a high quality, but it also taught him a large deal about himself and what he wanted to achieve. He says the practical nature of the course allowed him to truly implement it into his day job, working closely to manage, mentor and counsel people to help them grow.

Throughout Arvinder’s career his support for people has spanned across a number of industries, including the medical, pharmacy and charity sector, as well as providing guidance on a number of entrepreneurial start-ups. His investment in people’s success, supporting them in their careers to work out what they want to do, is truly inspiring. His passion lies with delivering change, something he says is not something you can always plan for. The pandemic has very much demonstrated the need to be adaptable and agile, especially in the digital space. For Arvinder, “the firms and people who’ve succeeded during the pandemic are those who’ve effectively had more digital dexterity- adapting quickly to be able to respond and change their business model, the way they work, and who they work with”. He advocates exploring the range of education and courses out there to continue learning and building digital adeptness in an increasingly technological environment.

As Chief Information and Digital Officer at Unum, Arvinder’s experience as a Birkbeck student inspired him to create a lasting relationship with the College including through his work. Unum are committed to supporting education through their Corporate Social Responsibility programme and have an established partnership supporting Birkbeck students.  Arvinder reflects on the students that Unum have been able to support and how it ties in with his own Birkbeck experience “[The College has] a huge range of people who were there for a huge range of different reasons, people with some very different ages, sectors and backgrounds […] it has been wonderful to work with so many fantastic people”. We are grateful of the ongoing support of our corporate partners such as Unum, and our wonderful alumni like Arvinder in helping us support our students to succeed.