Hi everyone! I’m Fiona and I’m an MSc Human Resource Management and Organisation
student at the University of Nottingham. So my course is based at the Business School
on Jubilee Campus and today I’m going to be talking about my postgraduate experience
as a student at the University of Nottingham.
So the first real communication I had when starting my MSc was the postgraduate Welcome
Week and that was really useful in terms of meeting lecturers and meeting other people
on your course. So you’ll be given a timetable with the various events that relate directly
to your course and I remember from my experience, we all went to a lecture theatre on Jubilee
Campus and we actually all introduced ourselves. So that was a nice way of breaking the ice
and getting to know a few people so you recognised some faces going forward.
Also during the postgraduate Welcome Week there are various events that the University
puts on. These events are really useful to meet new people especially if you’ve moved
over to Nottingham for the first time perhaps from another country. There are different
events which cater to different interests, a couple which I remember are a mini golf
evening, also a bowling evening and a trip to a bar in Nottingham. So there are a broad
range of activities.
Also a great way of meeting new people is moving into your flat or accommodation. So
there’s Melton Hall on Jubilee Campus which is specifically for postgraduates and that’s
self-catered accommodation, and then there are also some other options like the self-catered
accommodation at NG1 which is just a short walk from Jubilee Campus also. Also something
that helps a lot of people, especially if moving to Nottingham for the first time, is
the fact that there’s also a Lidl, so that’s a food shop, situated very near Jubilee Campus
so if you’re in either accommodation option, Melton Hall, NG1, or perhaps somewhere nearby
that’s a great place to do your shopping.
Another great way to meet new people when you’re joining the University as a postgraduate
is to join a new sports club or a society. So for me personally I joined the tennis club.
So I played on the fourth and fifth teams for the University which meant that I would
train on a Monday, Tuesday and Friday morning with the other team members and I’d also
play matches on Wednesdays. So that’s a really great opportunity to meet new people
with a similar interest to you and I’ve made some great friends that I’ll keep in
touch with. There’s such a wide range of sports and societies to suit all different
people so I know that there are 75 different sports clubs at the University.
Another key area of consideration for postgraduate students is the workload. So this can seem
quite daunting at first especially when it is something so new for people. I found the
workload to be fine this year, you have to manage your time carefully. So attending lectures
for my course, we’ve had two four hour lectures and one other lecture which is split into
two lots of two hours. So the four hour lectures are broken down so you have your traditional
lecture given by the lecturer and then the second part of the class is for groupwork,
presentations, whatever the theme might be that week. So it’s really important that
you do the reading before the class as that helps you to contribute. Also, attendance
in class also means that you get to meet you course mates and you can start forming really
good relationships with them.
One thing on my course was that we had a group presentation very early on in the year so
I think it was October time and we had a group of seven people. To get to know each other
we went out for a meal and that was actually a hotpot. That’s the first time I’ve ever
been for a hotpot meal and that’s really nice because you’re sharing your culture
with other people. And then we also did a second trip where we went to the German Christmas
markets in Nottingham and that was really nice because of my experience studying German
before starting my Master’s degree, I was able to show my class mates and group mates
around the markets and tell them a few things about my experiences in Germany. So it’s
also a great way of sharing cultural experiences and broadening your mind as well, it’s not
just about what you learn in the classes.
Another great opportunity for postgraduates at Nottingham is the fact that there are some
evening language courses. So if you’re particularly interested in perhaps learning French, German, Spanish,
there’s a whole range and that’s a case of just looking out for an email. There
are also some more course specific evening talks, evening workshops. So I actually went
to a really interesting one which was about a German cola company and the way in which
the company was set up so it was actually looking at the topic of bureaucracy. That’s
something that I found really interesting so if there’s a particular evening talk
that you see then that’s also something that you can go to just as a new experience
which might also help you when you’re writing up your assignments.
As a postgraduate student you will also have a Personal Tutor at university, so you schedule
regular conversations with them throughout the year and they’re always on hand if you
do need any advice on your course if there’s anything you’re struggling with there’s
always somebody you can talk to. The University also has some other great facilities like
a counselling service to really make sure you have everything you need so if at any
point you do feel like you’re struggling there are always people that you can contact
so that’s really helpful and reassuring to know as well.
Another key focus for postgraduate students is career opportunities and employability
following your Master’s degree. So at the University of Nottingham in the Business School
where I’m based, there’s a specific Careers team and they’re available if you’d like
to go for a careers consultation. So I did that this year just to talk about my thoughts
on the future and to get some advice on places to look for jobs, the thoughts I’d had on
my career path so it’s really useful just to have somebody as a sounding board for your
ideas. Also the Careers team send around regular email updates and there are job opportunities,
internship opportunities on those emails so that’s a really key thing to look out for.
So that’s some of my experience as a postgraduate student at the University of Nottingham. I
hope that some of the advice has been helpful and I also hope that you really enjoy your
time at Nottingham and make the most of all of the opportunities that are on offer at
the University.