Why systems thinking?

Why, and how did I get into systems thinking as a postgraduate study field?

I started thinking about postgrad studies when considering my next step after my Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree at the undergraduate level. My research showed that I could not afford the Bar Practice Training Course (BPTC) unless I combined it with a Master in Law (LLM). This was because I found out that:

1.    a combined LLM/BPTC is approximately £16,000
2.   student finance (SLC) funds postgrad studies only up to £10,906
3.   the difference would still be too much for my modest affordability

With the deadline for registering on postgrad studies drawing uncomfortably close, I began looking at the MBA, Master in Business Administration. After all, most lawyers work in a business and work for businesses in the form of clients. I thought I’d better understand clients' needs by knowing their ‘world’ so to speak.

I found out MBAs are also around £16,000 and therefore out of my reach as well.

With two days to go before registration deadline, I was browsing the Open University’s site and came across a module on project management which looked interesting. Following up on the module brought me to the linked MSc – Systems Thinking in Practice (STiP as it is commonly abbreviated).

The OU is one of 2 universities offering this program in the entire UK!

I had never heard of this. It sounded strange; bizarre even. I searched online to find out more about it, and also looked at other modules linked to the MSc STiP. Most of the modules that I saw were involving management – only to me, it appeared like management on steroids!

Why do I describe it in those words?

Well, the MSc STiP is essentially about managing complexity which occurs in any and every given field. Think project management, environmental management, data management, human resources management, creative management and so forth… As I said, management on steroids.

I was rather excited to see this spread of management; to me, it felt like I stumbled upon a goldmine while searching for a single nugget.

I didn’t think twice. I immediately registered on TU812 – Managing Systemic Change. And so my journey into STiP begins.