JOIN USBorn and brought up in Patna, I did my schooling from BD Public School. Post that, I wanted to pursue a course in Information Technology Management due to its great employment prospects.
Since I was always keen to go and study abroad to gain exposure and get a broader view of life, I started looking for options. The University of Sheffield caught my attention for its world ranking, academic reputation, employment reputation and most importantly, award winning Student’s Union.
Here at the university, initiatives are being taken to enhance our skills and we are given the best of exposure that makes us feel a part of something big. An unmatchable quality of education along with extra-curricular activities is what the university offers. I am enjoying my course thoroughly as my subject has not only a good mix of theory but is also teaching me a lot about how I can put this knowledge into use in a business context.
The university’s Careers Service is a big support to international students like me for getting internships and placements. They organize various sessions which help students with every stage of the application. They also helped me immensely by setting up personal appointments with Career Advisors.Some examples of the other types of sessions that I attended are the ‘Skills for Success’ sessions which are led by local or national employers.
During these sessions they focus on specific skills, i.e. communication skills and how they play an important part in business setting. I attended Skills for Success sessions led by Network Rail, John Lewis and HSBC. In addition to this, I also attended an ‘Assessment Centre Simulation’ led by Unilever which gave hands on experience of going through the application process. All these efforts by the Career Service helped me in securing an internship at Morgan Stanley, which was a delight.
My journey to Morgan Stanley was quite intense. It started with an online numerical test, then a telephonic interview which was followed by assessment centres and the final interview -but it was all worth it. During my internship period, I did a lot of work shadowing which really helped me to see how banking works behind the scenes and how you can implement technology within this field. It was also a great opportunity to get to know the market and to understand the core values of that company and I am sure this will help me a lot in my future professional life.
Not being a bookworm, I am also involved in various other activities. I work as an International Office Ambassador for India. My role entails helping prospective undergraduate students from India with their application and other generic queries relating to the UK and the university. In addition to this, I have also been given the responsibility of being a Community Ambassador at our union which involves helping to bridge the gap between the local community and students. In this role I attend community meetings set up by the residents, city councilors, police and other organizations where we all discuss any issues arising in the community and work individually or in groups to mitigate them.
Here, I have made friends from all around the world and have experienced living abroad on my own –the two new experiences that spring to mind first are cooking and washing!! I have travelled to different places like London, Birmingham and Bournemouth. I have been enjoying it and am anticipating an even better experience over the coming years. After completion of my degree, I look forward to securing a job in banking technology in London.