The journey so far in Manchester Business School…
Hi Friends,
It has been a long time for me with no blogs due to study pressures and hence I apologize for making you all wait for this blog. Now I am nearing the end of my course. Time has flown by very fast. So I have decided that in this blog, I would speak about my experiences so far as a student of this course and my key learning from it.
Learning in teams and developing bonds
The second and third semester contained more of teamwork projects and assignments for various topic areas based on our course modules like skills for sustainability and social responsibility, organizational psychology and research skills for business and management. For every project and presentation, there were different members allotted and this helped us a lot in working and managing members of diverse background. Also, through this we developed stronger bonds amongst our friends making our journey through the course more enjoyable and gave us the feeling of being like a family.
Gaining skills through a business research project
In our third semester, unlike other masters’ courses, instead of dissertation, we had to undertake a business research project where we were expected to deeply analyze a particular market sector. Through this module, we gained a very important skill of conducting research at the management level which will be very useful for those who wish to pursue their career in management consulting. It taught the techniques needed for conducting critical analysis on research problems.
Job prospects in UK for international students
As we are nearing towards the end of this course, we are realizing the tough situation of job prospects in UK for international students. Due to VISA rule changes, the job market has become weak for non-European students like me as I am from India. But in spite of this disadvantage, we, the management students have a better edge over others because of our dynamic nature of our studies. In this MIM course, as I highlighted the course structure in my previous blogs, it teaches us all the different fields of management and this is the factor which gives us the confidence of being perfectly employable at any career field. What matters at the end is how we as a management student apply our learning at the professional workplace and how innovative and smart we are in our roles. If this is satisfied, then everything becomes smooth and steady. With a high brand name of Manchester Business School, this journey of finding a job becomes lot easier along with our learning achieved from this B-school.
Emotions & Feelings
At the end, I would want to share some of my feelings and thoughts with you all which I am going through currently. It was 17th Sept’11 when I first landed in the small city of Manchester. At that time, I used to wonder how would be my experience in the next one year and who would be my friends. Will I ever be able to make good friends and how will I get adjusted in a new country? How will I ever stay without my parents for one complete year without going back home? All these questions used to haunt me before I came here. Initially, in spite of staying away from home for nearly 8 years, I had a lot of difficulty in getting adjusted in this new place where we hardly knew anyone very well. But as days passed by and first semester got over, with the increased amount of teamwork and assignments, I got to know my friends slowly and started to know them.
Strong bonds and wonderful memories
This started the good times where I developed strong bonds, shared our happiness and sorrows and travelled together making wonderful memories. They soon became my family in Manchester and with them around, time just flew by. And now I am in such a position, where I am nearly in tears for leaving them and going back to my home country. Because after this our lives are going to completely change. Some will join their parents’ business, some will start their own, some will get married and most of them will get into jobs. Now when I recall the time when I landed here, it seems to be just yesterday which means that time has speedily forwarded itself so soon that we did not even realize that the time has come for us to say goodbye to everyone.
Message for all
So my dear readers, through this blog of mine, I would like to take this opportunity to convey this message that life is very short and when in a different country like Manchester which has given me my best memories of life, live each moment and keep learning as much as possible in this one year. This learning needs to be making contacts (very important), making friends forever, learning and knowing different cultures and trying to be a part of them, getting involved in various activities which give you experience and exposure at international level and the most important learning is to develop yourself as a person both at professional and personal level. Because after this point, we may not get time to groom ourselves due to our busy lifestyle of job and family. My best wishes will always be there for you and feel free to drop me an email anytime you are in doubt during decision making process. Keep smiling forever as smile will drain away all your sorrows and fears.
All the best!!!
Best Regards
Sreejata Bhattacharjee
Master of Science in Management 2011-2012
Manchester Business School
