Allianz prize winning alumna returns to Nottingham to return the favour

26 July 2013

It was with great pride that Industrial Economics graduate Harriet Conway returned to Nottingham University Business School to present the prestigious Allianz Prize for ‘Best student on Insurance in a Risky World’ to 2012/13 winner Amy Galuszka. Harriet was herself the recipient of the Allianz sponsored award for ‘Best first year Industrial Economics student’ in 2009 and just twelve months ago also won the ‘Institute of Risk Management’ prize.

We took the opportunity to catch up with Harriet and find out what she’s been up to since graduating.

“Winning the prize in 2009 helped me to get a summer internship with Allianz in my second year and then after completing my degree I was offered a position as a Corporate Management Graduate”, explained Harriet.

“Allianz is a great company to work for and being a Corporate Management Graduate will enable me to gain experience across a wide range of business disciplines including underwriting, claims, operational management and sales and marketing.

“I’m also currently studying towards accreditation with the Chartered Insurance Institute. Balancing work and study is a challenge but definitely worthwhile.”

Asked about Nottingham University Business School, Harriet enthused “I loved my time at Nottingham. I fell in love with the campus the first time I visited and the Business School gave me the feeling that they really did mean business. The whole degree programme was interesting and thought-provoking but I particularly enjoyed the module on entrepreneurship. I put a lot of effort in and was really proud to achieve a first.

“My advice to anyone who is thinking of coming here would be to work hard and set a benchmark because it’s worth it in the end and will open doors.

“It’s not all work though. One of my fondest memories was being Vice President of the Trampoline Society and representing Nottingham at British Universities & Colleges Sport level.”

We wanted to know whether Harriet was still in touch with other alumni from the Business School and what being a part of the Nottingham University Business School alumni community means to her.

“Someone else from my course also got a job at Allianz and quite a few others work in the insurance industry in or around this area so we all still keep in touch and meet up occasionally. It’s really interesting to see what’s happened to people since they left Nottingham. I’ve also revisited the campus a couple of times since leaving and always enjoy coming back.”

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