MRII congratulates Tajamul Islam, our most recent Reg Baker MRII Award winner. We invite you to read his story below to uncover the value he places on the award and how it’s helping further his career.
About the Reg Baker MRII Award
As a volunteer-driven nonprofit institute dedicated to educating market researchers and insights professionals, MRII looks to create opportunities to empower those in the industry to obtain and hone the fundamental skills and solid foundation to be successful.
In support of that effort, The Reg Baker MRII Award, named in honor of MRII past executive director and first North American ambassador of ESOMAR, Reg Baker. The program is designed to cover the enrollment cost for the Principles Express family of courses for an applicant who will make a positive contribution to the profession of insights, analytics, and market research. Applicants must show a demonstrated desire to serve the insights and market research profession, plus a financial need with limited or no employer financial support.
Applications for the next award are due by May 31. Click here to apply for The Reg Baker MRII Award.
MRII Executive Director Ed Keller interview Tajamul Islam. Tajamul is Assistant Professor of Management Studies at Symiosis Institute of Management Studies in Pune, India.
ED K: What were your motivations for pursuing a career in market research?
TAJAMUL I: Being an academic professional in the field of marketing, gaining insights into what motivates people to buy products or services has always been fascinating and fulfilling to me. Further, I want to build my own knowledge base in the field to be able to do and teach market research.
ED K: What led you to the MRII & University of Georgia courses?
TAJAMUL I: Since I am working in the area of marketing as an academic professional, it is important for me to keep myself update about the happening and sources of information in the field of marketing research. In pursuit of finding genuine and reliable sources of information, I came across the MRII & University of Georgia courses. The courses and the website immediately caught my attention, and since then, I have been following the updates regularly by visiting the website.
ED K: What were your initial expectations for the Principles Express course?
TAJAMUL I: Given the reputation of MRII and the University of Georgia, I already had high expectations before taking the course, namely Introduction to Research and the Research process. I expected to develop a foundational understanding of key aspects of market research and the overarching idea about the process, the function, and the field. This course just delivered as per my expectations.
ED K: How was your course experience?
TAJAMUL I: I had a great experience in the course. I got to learn many new things, and at the same time, it refreshed/updated the previous understandings that I had. The material was interesting and engaging. The self-exercises and the material provided were beneficial.
ED K: What features about the course was most valuable to you?
TAJAMUL I: The simplicity of the content, self-exercises, and honestly in the presentation of the challenges, issues and opportunities in market research were most valuable. Further, the section on research as a professional was personally relevant and provided critical insights about the competencies and skills requires to do well in this profession.
ED K: How do you look to leverage your course experience as you progress in your research and insights career?
TAJAMUL I: Moving forward, I plan to leverage my course experience in two specific ways: First, to improve my ability to teach market research as a subject; and secondly, to improve my own research endeavors as a researcher and in consulting projects.
If you’re interested in furthering your education through MRII’s industry-leading online courses, apply for the Reg Baker MRII Award today. Or if you’re interested in helping to fund these awards, please reach out about sponsorship opportunities.
