Marcin Malinowski, Online MBA '24
Marcin Malinowski is a practicing cardiac surgeon who was born and raised in Poland and completed his residency at the Medical University of Silesia. Marcin finds that helping others and working with patients is what makes his life complete, but 18 years into his medical career, he realized that the extensive hours required for a surgical specialty would not be feasible when nearing retirement. To continue doing what he loves, Marcin decided that eventually, he would shift into an administrative or leadership role within the healthcare system.
However, he felt he was lacking the business knowledge most administrative leaders in medicine possessed.
“When you look at the American and the European administration through hospitals or in healthcare in general, there's a lot of business professionals but not many of them are physicians,” Marcin said. “I think it's very valuable for leaders in medicine to have a clinical background, and on top of that, be qualified as far as the business is concerned.”
Marcin wanted to be prepared to make this career shift when the time came and he knew that gaining a full understanding of how the healthcare business works would best set him up for success.
Preparing for the Future
Marcin wasn’t familiar with the University of Michigan or the Ross School of Business until he landed in Grand Rapids for a clinical research position with Spectrum Health. During his three years in the United States, he met U-M alums and alums from the Michigan Ross MBA Program, all of whom spoke highly of all that U-M has to offer.
When Marcin moved back to Poland, he continued practicing at Upper-Silesian Medical Center, teaching at the Medical University of Silesia, and conducting clinical research. He researched options for an MBA that he could pursue from his home country and that would allow him to continue practicing medicine simultaneously. Through this research, Marcin deemed Michigan Ross as his first and only choice for an online MBA. “I knew that I wanted to do an MBA, and when I researched Michigan Ross, it was perfect. I didn’t need to look any further.”
Becoming an Impactful Leader
At Marcin’s level in his career, the quality of education was important to him. He felt drawn to the Michigan Ross OMBA program because of its emphasis on building great leaders and the integration of leadership into the program’s foundation.
I loved the leadership knowledge I could get through a Michigan Ross MBA because it's very valuable to me. That's why Ross caught my serious attention. So not only the pure business, accounting, finance, revenue, costs, and everything connected with creating value in an MBA, but also this social leadership aspect that's crucial and equally valuable for me as well.
The flexibility of the Michigan Ross OMBA Program also caught Marcin’s attention. He appreciated that he could work full-time, be a professor at a university, and continue being a surgeon. “The ability to cater to my schedule and to my needs is perfect. I am not in a rush to finish in two years and it allows me to maintain a work-life balance across different time zones,” he said.
The Michigan Ross Community from an International Student’s Perspective
One year into the program, Marcin feels part of the Michigan Ross community even on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
“Being online, there is, of course, a little bit of a barrier and I felt skeptical at the beginning, but our courses are not only focused on us gaining knowledge, but also on gaining a network. I can feel the networking aspect is a strong part of this remote program. I feel that I'm expanding my network tremendously and it’s been a very good experience so far,” Marcin said.
Marcin also enjoys that his classes are structured to have dedicated group work allowing him to connect with his classmates. “It encourages us to schedule meetings so we feel a part of the class, so you’re not in isolation even if you are in the other part of the world, you are still part of the class,” Marcin said.
As a professor himself, Marcin has a unique perspective on the time and effort that goes into creating an atmosphere where all students feel both comfortable and challenged.
“I don't feel any disadvantage of being a remote online student because my professors are absolutely fully engaged. I have a feeling that they're available to us, OMBA students, as equally as they are to any other onsite students. During the synchronous sessions, it's a full immersion. I feel they really want to teach us, and I think they do it really, really well.”
Marcin finds that his courses are practical and provide applicable knowledge to his everyday work as a physician. “Every single class has been eye-opening for me,” Marcin said. He specifically pointed out that he was amazed by his accounting course with Professor Greg Miller, who Marcin credits as creating a positive environment that helps students excel.
Marcin had the opportunity to participate in the first Michigan Ross Online MBA international residency in Berlin, Germany, and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his classmates and working with his team on their action-based project — finding the best growth strategy for Tesla which has recently opened its Gigafactory in Berlin.
Marcin says he is excited to tackle opportunities that combine his career goals and his aspirations to become a great leader. He is eager to get involved with the Healthcare and Life Sciences Club, the Sanger Leadership Center, and the William Davidson Institute working on healthcare initiatives in low and middle-income countries.
Marcin encourages anyone thinking about pursuing an OMBA at Michigan Ross to look no further.
If you’re at the time when you are thinking about an MBA, don't think more and just apply because if you already did your homework and checked out that an MBA is a right fit for you, then Michigan Ross is the right place to apply and start feeling part of the community.