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.
