Ghanaian student wins MBA achievement award at Saїd Business School, University of Oxford

An MBA student from Ghana is one of ten winners of a prestigious award for teamwork from Saїd Business School at the University of Oxford.

Mintaah Djin, Deputy COO of Yadco Ghana Ltd, won an Oxford BNY Mellon award for “her quiet spirit of empowerment with which she has helped to pull others through the term”. She supported fellow students by checking they were keeping up with course demands and organising study groups. Her positive contribution to the Oxford MBA learning environment was recognised in a ceremony with the Dean and representatives from financial services company, BNY Mellon, on 3rd February 2014.

Mintaah was awarded the £500 prize based on nominations from fellow MBA students from which the Awarding Committee, chaired by the MBA Executive Director, Dr Dana Brown, selected the recipients. Nominees who have contributed to and fostered responsible and effective teamwork in the first term, either in their team assignments for the courses, or for the GOTO course at the School were eligible.

Mintaah said: “Winning the award is extremely gratifying, more so because of the quality of the people I have in my cohort who are excelling, empowered, and who are incredibly intelligent. It is hugely encouraging and will push me to be even more involved, not only in the MBA class but also in my workspace and my community when I return to Ghana.”

Dana Brown, MBA Executive Director, said: “Teamwork is both an important element of the Oxford MBA and a key skill for organisational life. Increasingly the success of projects and of routine tasks within the organisation rests with often large, distributed teams, in diverse locations. Effective teamwork does not happen by chance but is a core skill that can be learned and developed. The Oxford MBA programme offers ample opportunity for students to work in teams on challenging assignments and projects. Study teams are organised deliberately to bring together people from different backgrounds and types of experience. We are delighted that BNY Mellon has decided to recognise the importance of teamwork and are supporting the development of the skills of our MBA students in this way.”