Lily Carter

An online digital business degree with the University of Waikato meant Lily Carter could step towards her dream of owning a business – without having to leave her full-time job or the South Island.

From her Christchurch home, Lily enrolled in the Master of Digital Business at the University's Waikato Management School and spent the next 18 months balancing study, a job and purchasing her first home.

Despite studying remotely, Lily says she never felt disconnected from the University community or her classmates. "The programme's online delivery, lecture format and learning platform made it incredibly easy to balance study alongside work."

When she attended her graduation ceremony and met her lecturers and classmates in person for the first time, it felt like she “was there all along”.

Today – as founder and owner of Carter & Co Digital, a paid digital advertising consultancy helping businesses grow their online presence – Lily is often influenced by her master’s degree in the way she runs her business.

One lesson that sticks with her came from a lecturer who described digital business professionals as the link between business managers and technical specialists.

“Being able to sit with people from all areas of expertise and speak their language has become my superpower and point of difference," she says.

"I can go from talking with accountants to web developers to AI specialists, and connect those conversations in a meaningful way. That’s central to what I do, and I couldn’t have done it before my master’s degree.”

Before beginning her postgraduate studies, Lily was working in digital marketing. She wanted to broaden her understanding of how organisations operate beyond marketing functions.

Her goal was to develop the strategic and leadership skills needed to eventually start her own business and progress into senior management roles.

“I wanted to understand organisations from a bird’s-eye view and learn how all the different parts work together.”

A major drawcard of the MDigiBus programme was its focus on digital technologies and how they can be integrated across business operations.

“I've always been fascinated by how everything connects from a digital perspective. Understanding how technology, people and business strategy work together is still something I'm hugely passionate about.”