“Chartered status proves I’m not just a theorist”

As an academic, Dr Amjad Shamim CMgr FCMI was often perceived to be a theorist. People assumed that his expertise was based purely in research and philosophy. 

“This sometimes leads to scepticism about your professional competencies,” he says. 

Amjad wanted to prove that he had more to offer than just research. This was a big motivation for him becoming a Chartered Manager in March 2024. 

“That was a big gap for me: how to have an impact on the industry so that people feel what we do is not theoretical, but rather practical and of value to our industry,” he says. 

• “I wanted to show that you don’t necessarily need a university degree”

Becoming Chartered helped him create that impact, he adds. “In a way, it’s proof that I have knowledge about practice in addition to being a theorist.”

A lifelong learner

Amjad specialises in marketing in his role as associate professor at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS in Malaysia. Alongside this, he works as a programme manager for the MBA in energy management and as a trainer on value co-creation, social intelligence and design thinking at the Centre for Advanced and Professional Education, delivering sessions to industry professionals. He is also deputy head of the Centre of Social Innovation.

Amjad has found that the number of training sessions he has delivered has increased year-on-year as more people have recognised the impact such training can have on industry. 

“Industry is starting to trust that we can deliver practical knowledge,” he adds. “The three things I’m running in parallel – teaching, research and training – are backed by my experience, but also the facilitation from CMI resources and the title of Chartered Manager.”

• “I’d like to serve as a board member in Nigeria… CMI can help me achieve this”

Amjad’s interest in academia began during his MBA studies, where he specialised in marketing. However, he was advised to gain industry experience first to better understand the practical elements of what he would later teach.

He spent around five years working in industry as a marketing executive, contributing to large-scale projects that honed his practical marketing skills. During this time, he also pursued a master’s in management to further enhance his expertise.