Maurie van den Heever

Masters Business Administration (MBA), 2020

Current job title and employer:
Currently employed as an Information Management System Coordinator at GoodX Software.

What appealed to you most about Heriot-Watt?
 I was drawn to Heriot-Watt's international reputation & Scottish heritage. What appealed to me the most was its world-class education programmes, professional faculty and embrace of technology, especially with regards to its online MBA.

What's your favourite memory of your time as a Heriot-Watt student?
Attending graduation in person at the Heriot-Watt Edinburgh campus for my Bachelors along with my family. We travelled to Scotland specifically for this event from South Africa, which for us was an experience we will always remember and cherish.

Tell us about your career since graduating from Heriot-Watt?
I was unemployed at the time of my MBA graduation. Shortly thereafter, I was employed at GoodX Software, a company specialising in customised practice management software for healthcare practitioners.

My first role was as a Projects Administrator, after which I was promoted to Project Manager in software development, where I planned, coordinated and managed various software projects aimed at enhancing our company's software products. Furthermore, I conducted risk assessments on projects and identified the appropriate mitigating actions to be taken.

After two years as a project manager, I now work as an Information Management System Coordinator, where I plan, update and implement the structure of information security policies and standard operating procedures for the company's information management system in line with ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO 9001 certification standards and data protection regulations.

I also assist our company's information security committee in managing security risks and in identifying opportunities for improvement of the system. Furthermore, I assist in preparing and conducting internal security audits and creating employee awareness of information security.

How has your Heriot-Watt education contributed to your success?
My MBA has provided me with extremely valuable knowledge that has tremendously broadened and improved my outlook and perception on economics, industry and corporate culture. It has taught me self-discipline, critical thinking and team collaboration skills, all skills which are of critical importance in my line of work.

What advice do you have for current students or anyone considering studying at Heriot-Watt?
Heriot-Watt is a world-class institution based on excellence. I would recommend studying at Heriot-Watt it to any prospective student. For current students I would advise them to always have a positive mind set, no matter the difficulties and challenges that they may face in their studies Always work hard and exercise self-discipline, as success in your studies and career only comes with hard work and self-discipline

What are your aspirations for the future?
For your career?
I want to stay on a continued path of career growth, learning both new skills whilst enhancing existing ones. I also seek continuous improvement in interpersonal collaboration with the team I work with.

For your local and wider community?
I am a person with disabilities, and my aspiration is to continuously look for opportunities to assist those in my wider community with disabilities by providing them with guidance and mentorship on achieving success and growth in their studies and careers, based on practical lessons and experience I have gained during my studies and employment.

In this regard, I have contributed to the life of Heriot-Watt University by volunteering in doing alumni podcasts and information sessions with the Watt Club and the Careers and Graduate Futures service, where I provided guidance and advice to students and alumni with disabilities on succeeding in their studies, transitioning into employment, and then growing in their careers, whilst learning critical employability skills.

I hope to be able to continue doing such volunteer work for Heriot-Watt in future when opportunities become available.