Francisco Mourao Passos Coutinho

Graduate Diploma in Applied Management

Brazil

Francisco Coutinho says his course has prepared him for work in a variety of fields here in New Zealand or back home in Brazil.

Francisco has just completed the Graduate Diploma in Applied Management at OPAIC and hopes to now find work in a management position.

 “I think what I’ve learned so far will be excellent for my career,” he says.

Francisco says the hands-on nature of the course has motivated him to take initiative and be proactive.

“At the same time, I had the help of my lecturers.”

They could tell him what he was doing well and how to improve.

“But they made me see what I was capable of doing by myself. So I think that was a great experience. So it doesn’t matter where I work, I think it will be great for my career.”

Francisco completed an internship in the tourism industry as part of his course and says he learned a lot from it.

“It was a small company so I had the opportunity to see almost all the areas of the company – marketing, finances, customer relations.”

He created an HR performance review for the company after realising there was a need for it.

“Talking to my Academic Supervisor we came to the conclusion that it would be great for them to have a performance review, so that’s what I did for my project.”

Francisco has just completed his course. He is now returning to Brazil for some time but might come back to New Zealand in the future.

He urges others from his part of the world to consider New Zealand for their study.

“People don’t know how good the experience is, because you are in a beautiful country, you have a great educational system, you have experienced people from Europe, you have people from China, from Asia, from all over the world,” he says.

Francisco says he made friends from all over the world during his time studying here.

He also got involved in cross fit – a sport that is big in Brazil and growing in popularity here.

“I had a great opportunity here. I think I’ve grown a lot. Not just academic but personal growth.”

Learn more about the Graduate Diploma in Applied Management.