Lauren Pope, CMI Student of the Year 2024

Lauren Pope, CMI’s Student of the Year 2024, wanted to take a course with an international offering. She settled on the BA (Hons) in international business at Nottingham Trent University, which is Dual Accredited by CMI, for its focus on intercultural relations and enhanced foreign language skills. Her interest in cross-cultural communication and worldwide travel was a big driver for her choice, as was the CMI accreditation. 

“One of the primary reasons I chose the international business degree at Nottingham Trent University was for the CMI accreditation alongside the course, so it is surreal to be nominated, and shortlisted, for the awards,” said Lauren upon being shortlisted.

Lauren developed Spanish language skills throughout her time at university, which enabled her to communicate with Spanish-speaking business leaders in other countries during her placement year at Metric Search, a global executive recruitment start-up headquartered in New York. This placement allowed her to pursue her interest in global marketing and personal branding techniques. 

In the process, Lauren became the world’s first ‘femtech’ recruitment specialist. Femtech, which was the subject of Lauren’s university research project, refers to software, diagnostics, products and services that support women’s health. She continued to develop her personal brand within recruitment, following extensive industry research, and established connections with C-suite leaders. 

During her placement, Lauren worked hard to develop her remote and in-person teamwork skills, speaking regularly with colleagues in New York, Nottingham and London. She received four promotions throughout her time at Metric Search and won a ‘Top Rookie’ award; she was rewarded with a trip to Paris in recognition of her success. Lauren continued her role part-time during her final year at university, and will return full-time in 2025.

Outstanding achievement

Lauren graduated in July 2024 with a first-class degree and an international placement diploma. She also scooped the Nottingham Business School Outstanding Achievement prize for her course. 

“Across all four years of the course, Lauren has shown commitment and dedication, along with a desire to push herself to achieve the best results she could,” say her tutors.

Lauren went above and beyond in her extracurricular activities during her time at Nottingham. For example, she took LinkedIn Learning courses to develop her intercultural communication and personal skills. She also took part in the BA international business Student Society.