Love in the first degree – Management MSc students plan to get married!

After meeting at Cranfield whilst studying Management MSc, Isabel and Vatsal share their fond memories of Cranfield and what the future holds.

Tell us about yourself

Isabel: My name is Isabel Hamm and I’m originally from Germany. I started an MSc in Management & Human Resources at Leuphana University Lüneburg in Germany. During the first week, I learned about a fantastic opportunity to do a double degree programme with Cranfield University. As I was looking for opportunities to study abroad and increase my chances at international work experience, I decided very quickly to apply for the double degree programme, and after meeting Michael Dickmann (Course Director), who collaborated with my German university, I was very excited to receive a scholarship.

The very practical approach of the course with assignment and classes based on company example, plus the opportunity to work in diverse learning teams excited me a lot about the Management course.

Vatsal: My name is Vatsal Mathur, and I am from India, I come from a large family (which is definitely an understatement).  Before studying at Cranfield, I was working as Head of Marketing for an international chemical manufacturer.

My academic background was in Chemical Engineering, but during the Covid pandemic, I decided to further pursue my higher education in Management.

As my bachelor’s degree was completed in India, I was looking for international exposure for my master’s degree. I found out about Cranfield through their International Centre in Delhi, and decided I would like to study at Cranfield because of its heritage in Engineering and highly rated Business School.

Did you live on or off campus?

Isabel: I lived off campus in Cranfield village, it was absolutely fantastic, I found a family and home away from home, which made my time at Cranfield even more enjoyable.

Vatsal: I lived on Campus at Mitchell Hall. The accommodation was very good the added bonus was that the rent included food from Reggie’s, the restaurant in the student hall – my highlight for the week used to be the Reggie’s pizza, which was my Friday night ritual.

How did you meet?

Isabel: We were both studying in the same course, although in two different streams.  We first got to know each other around December during the team project for Project Management. I was in a team with one of Vatsal’s closest friends (Vatsal helped us and we won the team challenge). Following that we started to spend more time together during the Christmas break, as neither of us was able to travel home due to the pandemic restrictions.

On Valentine’s Day there was an event for the Cranfield Student Association (CSA), which Vatsal had organised as the CSA International Officer. That day he asked me if I would like to go on a date and I agreed, and that was the beginning of our relationship.

Vatsal: After starting to date, the pandemic restrictions were lifted more and more and we were able to start exploring the country together, with day trips to Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton, and Manchester. We spent a lot of time together on and off campus which also brought our friendship groups together.

After completing the course, Isabel accepted a job offer in Germany, whilst I stayed in the UK to start a job in finance. We continued to visit each other and travelled to India and Germany together to meet each other’s families. We then moved in together less than a year later, when Isabel started a new job in London.

Isabel: We got engaged on 6^th of October 2023 at Seven Sisters Cliffs near Eastbourne and are getting married on 10^th and 11^th August 2024 in Jaipur, Rajasthan. We can’t wait to spend the day with our families and friends and celebrate a big Cranfield Reunion.