Manoj Philip Kurian

Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme

Name: Manoj Philip Kurian    
Born: India
Region: Cochin, Kerala

With a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from Indian Institute of Planning & Management Philip went to work in Muscat in the Oman.  He then decided he wanted to do further study and with his experience in the oil & energy shipping business in Muscat he felt Scotland provided the best choice of courses and opportunities for his chosen career.

Philip enrolled on the MSc in Logistics & Supply Chain Management at Heriot-Watt University which is on a modern campus just outside Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city.  He considers this course to be one of the best in Europe in this field. The university also has a very good care system for foreign students and helped Philip apply for the course and also with arranging accommodation when he got here.

He found out about the Fresh Talent Working in Scotland Scheme (FTWISS) from his mentor at university. An ideal opportunity arose when the company Philip did his MSc thesis with, ACR Logistics, was taken over by a company he’d worked for in Muscat. He secured a job as International Freight and Logistics Co-ordinator with Kuehne-Nagel Ltd, in Aberdeen. Aberdeen is one of the fastest-growing cities in the UK and is the Energy capital of Europe with over 400 internationally owned companies operating in Aberdeen and over 800 technology based companies in the region.

Philip’s wife is with him in Aberdeen and is working as an Electronics engineer with Fugro Data Solutions. They both enjoy their jobs and living in Aberdeen and find time to explore the west coast. “Scotland has a picture-postcard landscape and very sociable people – we do miss home food but haggis is great!”

Philip and his wife feel at home in Scotland and hope to stay here permanently.

Information correct at Oct 2007