FAQs about the Business Research Project

“The BRP has equipped me to ask questions of the business that I would not have known to ask a year ago! The programme is well structured to help non-academics succeed in the research process and courageously use the tools to work through some complex business issues at a level that yields greater business & personal benefits.” Bruce Harley, Learning & Development Manager, MSD Swords (class of 2009/10)..

The BRP will be a challenging, but immensely rewarding experience. By completing the BRP, you will earn a nationally accredited, internationally recognised Master of Business Qualification. You will enhance your analytical ability. You will develop practical business research techniques and hone a range of general problem solving skills. You will develop deep subject matter expertise in a business issue which is of critical importance to your organisation. And you will develop practical, ready-to-implement recommendations to address a major real-life challenge that faces your organisation.

A good BRP research issue will, by its nature, be of strategic interest to your organisation. This is because BRP issues are typically unanswered business questions which require innovative solutions. Your organisation will directly benefit from the practical, best-practice driven recommendations which will be the output of your research.

For 2010, IMI has temporarily reduced our prices to support Irish businesses through the difficult economic climate. Therefore our 2010 BRP prices are as follows: • Normal BRP price - €5,990 • Special reduced rate for IMI members and Irish-owned SMEs - €5,750 These prices are inclusive of textbooks, teaching materials and meals throughout the programme. Please contact our team at programmeadvisors@imi.ie to confirm your eligibility for the special reduced rate. Please note that these prices are transitional and cannot be guaranteed for 2011 and beyond. In addition to these reduced rates, for 2010 IMI is offering a special “early bird” discount of €250 if you sign up for the BRP prior to May 1st. This discount applies to both the normal and special BRP prices noted above.

NO. for 2010 IMI has introduced a new “Easy Fees” payment process, by which you can pay for 60% of your BRP fees prior to commencing the programme, and the remaining 40% by January 1st 2011. No interest applies if you avail of IMI Easy Fees, however a guarantor is required. Contact our team at programmeadvisors@imi.ie to learn more about IMI Easy Fees.

YOU. A key feature of the BRP is that it should involve a real-life, complex business issue that you are facing to which you need a practical solution. As part of the workshop programme, you will take part in classes that will help refine and define your issues. Your personal tutor will also be a great help in getting to the heart of your topic. However you are the key person in the process and you choose the topic.

 Although the BRP is structured differently to an IMI Diploma, you can expect to put in a similar amount of work over the course of the programme. The major difference is that you will be doing a different type of work - the BRP is more self-directed. In other words you will spend less time in the classroom (ten days at the IMI), more time online and in the library familiarising yourself with cutting edge tools and theories, and more time out in the real world researching and analysing your business challenge. The self-directed nature of the BRP can take a little bit of time to adjust to and can require self-discipline. But the process still involves some classes at the IMI and is greatly supported by your tutor, who you will meet on a one-to-one basis regularly throughout the programme.

Although the BRP is structured differently to an IMI Diploma, you can expect to have to put in a similar amount of work into it over the course of the programme as you did on either of your previous two Diplomas. As a rough estimate, like an IMI Diploma we suggest that you should expect to spend up to twelve hours in an average week working on your BRP. However as with any project, there will be times when you need to put in more or less effort. There are also ten days of classroom workshops over the nine month programme, which you will spend at the IMI.

The BRP process takes approximately 9 months. The teaching programme typically starts in September and the final project is submitted in May. The 2010 programme will commence on the 9th of September; the project will be submitted on May 20th, 2011.

Writing a traditional university thesis can often be a theoretical exercise that has little to do with real life. The amount of support you get along the way can also vary widely. In contrast, the BRP is oriented entirely towards real life managers with real life challenges. The project you undertake will result in practical recommendations that will help you and your organisation improve how you do business. Furthermore the programme is carefully structured to provide you with practical support throughout from expert tutors who are experienced in working with professional managers.

Yes. If you completed a thesis in college, that was as part of a separate degree or master programme. As you cannot get credit for the same piece of work twice, that thesis cannot contribute towards earning a Master of Business. You may find however that previous research you have done can inform and help you in undertaking the BRP.

The BRP programme includes ten days of class and workshop time at the IMI. In addition, from the start of the programme you will be assigned a personal tutor who will assist you in making progress throughout the 9 months. All of our tutors are experienced in research and in coaching professional business people. The BRP Programme Director, Dr David Darcy, is always available to discuss issues with and provide support to participants. Finally, as with all IMI programmes, you will benefit from the invaluable support and advice of your class colleagues, as they progress through the BRP process with you.

At the outset of the BRP process, you will be paired with an IMI personal tutor. This individual is an experienced business research expert who will be a key support for you throughout your BRP journey. They will meet with you regularly throughout the programme on a one-to-one basis, review and provide feedback on your work, advise you on presentation and writing style, and support you in making key research and planning decisions. At the end of the programme they will be involved in the assessment and grading of your project

Your personal tutor will be allocated by the BRP Programme Director at the start of the Programme. A number of factors will be considered when making the allocation to ensure you receive the best support possible throughout you the process. These factors include the nature of your research methods, your personal work style and the subject of your research. It is not unusual for your tutor not be a subject matter expert in your precise topic; you will become the subject matter expert early in the BRP process, their primary role is to provide you with ongoing process support and general feedback. If in exceptional circumstances you wish to change your personal tutor during the BRP process, you may approach the Programme Director in confidence.

No. The BRP is the integrating capstone of the MoB programme. You can certainly do a third IMI Diploma should you so wish, but you cannot achieve the Master of Business award without completing the BRP.

To undertake the BRP, you will typically have successfully completed two accredited IMI Diplomas within the past four years. It is however possible in some circumstances to undertake the BRP if you have completed one IMI Diploma over the past four years, and earned 30 level nine credits from another academic institution. These must be recognised by the IMI via our “Recognition of Prior Learning” process. To learn more about recognition of prior learning, contact edel.byrne@imi.ie.

No. You must start the BRP within five years of the date at which you started your first IMI Diploma. Therefore there is scope to take some time off between the various MoB steps.

Your Master of Business result will be decided based on an arithmetic average of the final grades of your two IMI Diplomas and your BRP grade. Each of these elements is weighted equally when calculating your MoB result. This result will be confirmed by the IMI Exam Board following your successful completion of the BRP.