Continuing our series of interviews in the run-up to the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards, today we speak to Monika Lemajic, a student at Copenhagen Business School, who has been shortlisted in the category of MBA Student of the Year
Monika Lemajic has successfully integrated her learning through her MBA studies with her extensive responsibilities for her employer, and with generous mentoring of colleagues and counterparts.
She has turned her 13 years’ experience in the maritime business of Thales Australia – where she is the Ship Repair Services Business Improvement Project Manager – to the advantage of this leading transport, technology and security group.
Determined to build on her impressive career progression and leadership abilities, she enrolled with the Executive MBA in shipping and logistics (the Blue MBA) at Copenhagen Business School.
She began her career in the engineering office of her company as a naval architect trainee, and later becoming the first female accredited dockmaster at Garden Island, New South Wales. At 25 years old, she was the youngest person in Australia to hold such a post. During that time, she produced a Garden Island Dockyard Material Handing strategy report for the Commonwealth of Australia.
Her current role involves her in projects that support company strategies including digital transformation and ‘lean implementation’ – efficiency and cost-saving measures. This is aimed at achieving continuous improvement though increased productivity, quality, waste reduction, cost avoidance, innovative solutions and generally better business processes. She is focused too on training and educating the workforce in digital change.
She carries out a significant amount of mentoring at work (inside and outside of working hours) and tutors apprentices and interns.
She is a member of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology and of the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association chapter, WISTA Australia.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in applied science in maritime technology management from the University of Tasmania/Australian Maritime College, as well as her Blue MBA qualification.
At local community level Monika volunteers for an organisation called Kookaburra Kids, which supports children who have family members with a mental illness. In her spare time, she participates in Toastmasters, (an organisation that helps develop public speaking and leadership skills), and enjoys yoga, walking, trying new foods and learning the guitar.
What qualities do you think defines the AMBA student of the year?
The student must ideally bring to their coursework approach their practical business experience and share their accumulated knowledge with classmates. They must value the standing of their fellow professionals in similar and associated disciplines. At the same time, they must “think outside the box” in meeting the challenges in their chosen fields, must initiate and take on board innovation in technology and methods specific to their sector, and remember that almost all facets of business benefit from having an international dimension. The student should esteem the diversity within their class and learn from, and offer wisdom, to their neighbours within their business school. Showing empathy and respect are crucial. Remember that the colleagues of your class year represent a wonderful network to which the men and women involved can contribute and can reap benefit from, for many years ahead after they have gained their MBA.
If you were to win this award, how would that make a difference to you?
I feel already that it is an honour and very humbling to be nominated for the Student of the Year Award especially knowing how the men and women in my class, the nominees from other institutions and the finalists are so highly regarded For me personally being named Student of the Year would be a validation of what I’ve achieved to date and a reward for the two-year effort of graduating from a part-time course which has necessitated thousands of kilometres in travel from my workplace to participate fully in the modules.
If I were I to win, I will be conscious of the responsibility on my shoulders to inspire others working their way to leadership of their organisations. I will be immensely proud to set an example for future generations, importantly in my case including women in maritime, demonstrating that hard work and being passionate about what you do leads to success.
