{"id":27850,"date":"2026-03-12T11:40:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T10:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/?p=27850"},"modified":"2026-03-12T14:11:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:11:46","slug":"graduate-story-mark-roberts-bsc-hons-information-systems-management-1993","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/2026\/03\/12\/graduate-story-mark-roberts-bsc-hons-information-systems-management-1993\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduate Story: Mark Roberts \u2013 BSc (Hons) Information Systems Management, 1993"},"content":{"rendered":"

A journey through BU\u2019s transformation<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Mark<\/a>

Mark Roberts<\/p><\/div>\n

Mark Roberts began his studies when the institution was still the Dorset Institute, experiencing its transition to Bournemouth Polytechnic and finally Bournemouth University. Drawn by BU\u2019s strong reputation for industry\u2011aligned education, he chose Information Systems Management<\/a> for its blend of technology and leadership\u2014equipping him for the increasing importance of technology across organisations.<\/p>\n

People and opportunities that shaped the experience<\/strong><\/p>\n

For Mark, the people he met were the highlight of his BU journey. Lifelong connections with fellow students and lecturers remain central to his memories. His course emphasised teamwork, immersive simulations, and practical problem\u2011solving, preparing students to operate as consultants addressing genuine business challenges.
\nA placement year further enriched his real\u2011world understanding.<\/p>\n

Sport was another defining part of his university life. Mark played in BU\u2019s Rugby team throughout his studies, captained the squad twice, won multiple titles, and represented England Colleges. The sudden passing of his teammate and vice\u2011captain, Phil Evans, became a pivotal moment. This inspired Mark to run for Student Union President\u2014a role he secured for the 1993\/94 academic year. His leadership helped secure the conversion of the former Fire Station into a dedicated Student Union venue, one of several lasting achievements.<\/p>\n

A career marked by curiosity, adaptability, and impact<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark\u2019s professional journey is wide\u2011ranging and global. After graduating, he joined Intel during the early growth of the internet, contributing to some of the company\u2019s first web\u2011based projects. He later helped launch the online bookstore BOL.UK for Bertelsmann before returning to Intel to work in mergers and acquisitions.<\/p>\n

After earning an MBA from the University of Bath, Mark moved into supply chain and procurement leadership roles at Vodafone, Anheuser\u2011Busch InBev in Belgium, and later the UK Cabinet Office\u2014where he became the first Continuous Improvement Director in the Government Commercial Function.<\/p>\n

In 2019, he joined the Metropolitan Police as Commercial Services Director. His team was internationally recognised for their role in COVID\u201119 response efforts, including collaborating with London brewers to produce hand sanitiser. Remarkably, Mark is the only living person to have led the Met Police commercial team through both a State Funeral and a Coronation.
\nIn 2024, he joined Jaggaer to lead their Public Sector business.<\/p>\n

What drives him<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark values variety, autonomy, and the chance to solve complex problems. His career has taken him around the world, exposing him to diverse cultures and approaches. One of his strongest commitments is supporting emerging talent. As someone from a working\u2011class background and the first in his family to attend university, he is passionate about helping others realise their potential.<\/p>\n

Advice for future students<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark encourages students to cultivate curiosity\u2014the often\u2011overlooked skill that fuels learning and creates opportunity. Combined with self\u2011motivation and discipline, he believes curiosity can give anyone a lasting advantage in their career and personal development.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A journey through BU\u2019s transformation Mark Roberts began his studies when the institution was still the Dorset Institute, experiencing its transition to Bournemouth Polytechnic and finally Bournemouth University. Drawn by BU\u2019s strong reputation for industry\u2011aligned education, he chose Information Systems Management for its blend of technology and leadership\u2014equipping him for the increasing importance of technology… Read more » about Graduate Story: Mark Roberts \u2013 BSc (Hons) Information Systems Management, 1993<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4783,"featured_media":27852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[498,1680,500,496,1660,1644,3610,2777,283,1663,704,1638],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-management-marketing","category-business-management","category-computing-informatics","category-ug-courses","category-editorial-news","category-employability","category-graduates","category-mature-students","category-news-2","category-postgraduate","category-student-life","category-undergraduate"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4783"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27850"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27871,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27850\/revisions\/27871"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}