Happy Holidays

Growing up, I heard many Igbo proverbs from my father. I remember one that says "the lizard that jumped from the high Iroko tree said that it would praise itself even if no one praised him". I am feeling very reflective today and I am not even at the end of my master's journey yet. That proverb refers to the lizard; it is very well known for falling from very tall trees and nodding it's head in self-praise, as it lands on the ground. Self-motivation is absolutely necessary on this student journey, on any journey for that matter. But especially for an international student living and studying in the UK, from the heat of sub-saharan Africa, in the middle of the winter and with expectations which may have been too high.

A Lizard suns itself. Photo credit: www.southwestguidebook.com

I think that in order to have an all round experience, every potential student must be realistic with expectations for living and studying successfully in a new place. It is important to research your course, the career options, the lecturers who will teach you, the economy, employment rates, standard of living in the country, the university itself, and the town or city in which you will live. This will help with your expectations and budgeting in more ways than one. As with everything else, knowledge is power and an understanding of how the system works, will provide a soft landing for you and your SMART goals.

In some ways, I have to say that studying/living here for the last nine months has been a mixed bag of sorts. I was not totally unprepared, but the actual thing is an experience which one has to live through to actually understand and appreciate it. I have researched and written assignments in 24 hours, I have moved flats (carrying my clothes in their hangers since that's what students do), I have written exams running on adrenalin and mental caffeine (as I had to pull an all-nighter and I am allergic to coffee), I have had a bag of sugar thrown at me from a moving vehicle (I ducked, thank heavens, still not sure who they were or what that was about), I have attended interviews which have amounted to nothing much, and I have made some lifelong friends from everywhere. As I write this post,I have not slept for 48 hours; no thanks to an internship, a very part-time job, a new and exciting something, and a full day of classes at the university.

Books and coffee. Source:www.pnc.edu

To recall the Igbo proverb, I shall be like a lizard and sound my own drums. Yes, I have done a great job of juggling it all, so far. Invariably, my time here so far has had its ups and downs, its disappointments and hardships, but I doubt that I will have it any other way. I still have about 5 months to go, before I complete my coursework, and I think it is time for a much needed break for me. The christmas holidays start in a few weeks and I have received a number of invitations from some friends to spend christmas here in the UK. I hope we get some snow; atleast for a few hours; one cannot live in England for the duration of a master's degree and not see some authentic snow especially at christmas.

Happy holidays to you. Enjoy all that turkey and see you in the New Year.

An International Student's Guide to Living in the UK

I have now lived and studied in the UK for 7 months and I feel as though I have a right now to give unsolicited advice to freshers and whoever has chosen to come to the UK for this experience. I have a list below. Consider it the holy book of living here as an international student,you may wish to follow it word for word :-)  I wish I had known some of the things I know now when I arrived in March (it feels like years ago!).

1. Never underestimate any lecture or contact that you have had towards your degree. Each contact could be the difference between and A grade and a D grade.

2. Stay away from fries and fried chicken. I know it tastes good and is cheap, but you are doing your body a disservice. Fruits & veggies abound and can be found in cheap food stores dotted around the university campus. There is a market in the mall which has fresh meats and halal foods.

3. Check the weather daily; this has become my ritual as it informs how much I layer when dressing up for the day. In addition, always carry a warm jacket because the weather changes very quickly here. Better too much than too little as you can always take a few off. There is nothing as stressful as getting a cold and trying to do uni work at the same.

4. Resist the temptation to do a lot of retail therapy (unless of course you have a trust fund to live off). The stores are incredibly attractive and there are always sales going on, and so there is a huge urge to go in and buy a few pieces here and there. As a student, we have excellent discounts at many stores with the NUS card, but still, planning is everything.

5. Take advantage of everything that is FREE. This is a time in your life that you are allowed to be cheap and there are loads of offers for students. Do a survey here, earn money there, a free salad today, free lunch to attend an event on campus,etc. Get a rail card today bygoing to the train station and requesting one. You pay 30 pounds for it and it is valid for one year. In the event that you are over 25 yrs, you will need to take the card to SiD for signing and stamping before the train station will validate it.

6. Go to nus.org.uk and pay 12 pounds to get issued a one year annul international student card which entitles you to discounts in the UK and in some parts of the EU (I got free access to the Acropolis in Athens for having an NUS card. An incredibly famous and spectacular tourist location that charges 15 euros for entry).

7. Be smart about setting up standing orders and signing up to contracts. That's all I will say.

8. Jobs are few and far between. Visit the university's recruitment site at http://www.beds.ac.uk/studentlife/careers as well as the internship pages at http://www.beds.ac.uk/international/why-study-at-bedfordshire/ready-for-work/sis for advice and opportunities.

9. Remember to set your goals for coming here and go through them regularly. Top of the list is probably your degree right? The great thing about learning here is that the academic resources are great; from the helpful tutors, to the library resources available on campus and online 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, you cannot go wrong.

10. Invariably, try to enjoy this experience as much as you can. Make friends and establish networks of people from all over the world, try new things, visit new cities (I took a trip around the EU and will blog about that at some point) and just enjoy this for the wonderful experience that it is. Good luck!

Photo credit:
1. Telephone boxes. Source: studybritishenglish.co.uk
2. Fries and fried chicken. Source:beefandbuns.blogspot.com
3. NUS card. Source: www.nus.org.uk
4. Internship video.Source: University of Bedfordshire channel on youtube

Grades, Travel, Freebies and House Hunting: The Joys of Being a Student

I am well into my summer holidays and I have to say that I have had a really great time. I travelled to the South of France for a few days and had the best time. It was sunny and just right, and there was a lot to to. It was my first  time in France, I went to Carcassone and Toulouse. Perhaps the best part for me was finding lots of freebies which I got for being a student; certain places gave me 10% off meals and drinks when I showed them my identity card.

I went on to travel within the UK for a bit after France. It helped that I had received my grades before I went and so I knew exactly where I was with the units of my course, and I was in a good place. All that studying seems to have paid off. After France, I went to the Midlands and had a small tour of the little villages around Stoke-On-Trent and was struck at how different it is from Luton and London. I did some very English activities including going to a lovely tea room which served scones with cream and jam, as well as really great tea complete with tea cups, sieve and cupcakes.

Before my visit to Stoke-On-Trent, I started with places of interest in Luton which I had been too busy to see. I went to Stockwood Park Discovery centre in Luton, had a wander in its park and had lunch in the cafeteria, I went for a comedy night at the Hat Factory (which is a post for another day), and I went to Venue 360 the place with tennis courts and loads of fun stuff to do. Apparently, they have a plethora of discounts and concessions for University of Bedfordshire students, which is great if you are living on a budget.

Speaking of budgets, I am still searching for a job, nothing has come through yet and this may explain why freebies are concessions are so important to me right now and almost got a post of their own as they now come in very handy. Have you made any headway with your search? I have been luckier with finding accommodation. I have now found a really great space in an excellent area close to the university. I am thankful that I practically lived at the university for the first six months of my time here as those were absolutely key  to how I adjusted and began the race towards my Msc. House hunting completed, I am now focusing on looking at the modules required for PRINCE2 foundation and practitioner exams, which I shall write in February 2015 (no harm in starting early) while I continue to search for that oh-so-elusive job which will ensure that I can enjoy my pints and shisha at the Lounge and wherever else I choose to go.

Photos:

1.  Sign of events at the Carcassone Festival (Photo credit: Me)
2. The central square in Carcassone (Photo credit: Me)
3. Tea in West Coyney (Photo credit: Me)
4. Exhibition at Stockwood Discovery Park in Luton (Photo credit: www.lutonculture.com) 
5. Comedy club logo at the Hat Factory Luton (Photo credit: www.lutonculture.com)

My CV, Jobs and a Salary: A Holiday Challenge

Last week marked the end of the first term of my course. It ended with a 24 hour time constrained case study released on a wednesday morning, and requiring that we submit a 3000 word response to the case study by the next morning. Suffice to say that I stayed up all night working feverishly, willing my brain and my eyes to remain open, both failed quite a few times and I ended up either staring cross-eyed at my laptop screen, or falling asleep over  it. Not a very pretty sight. But I triumphed in the end, and submitted my essay 15 minutes to the deadline. It has been a very busy term; one minute we were out having dinner and drinks in the town centre, or partying in Sub2 the Student's Union lounge, and the next minute we were living on red bull and research references.

It has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride of a term. My course had several 1500 and 3000 word papers and reflective essays to research, write and submit within deadlines. In addition, we also had to work in cross-functional groups to work on and deliver a live case study to develop, research, prepare and deliver a presentation on utilising the 4Ds of project management; Define, Design, Do, Develop (also known as review). I believe that working in groups may have been my hardest challenge at this Msc so far, but the specifics are for another blog post. All I can say is that this is as real as it gets. As a project manager, we may work on projects of international proportions spread across geographical zones and cultures. The onus falls on you as a key member of the project team, or as a project manager, to ensure that all members of the team stay on target and achieve results. I am presently on summer holidays, and whereas I am very excited to be able to do whatever I want at my own pace, the life of a student means that income is limited.

Consequently, I began to look for a job at which I can work for the stipulated 20 hours per week, per the requirement of my tier 4 student visa. As soon as I began to search, I was amazed at the resources available to University of Bedfordshire students as a support structure towards finding jobs. I went into the university career and recruitment centre in Luton and had a discussion with a member of staff. The pointers I received were extremely helpful, and I have listed some of them below:

- Make out time to re-write your curriculum vitae (CV) every few weeks while actively searching for a job. Trends change and the job requirements differ, thus learn to highlight the achievements of what you have previously done which speak to the job being applied for.

-Never submit your cv in tabular format. Always use regular microsoft word format without any tables or bullet points if possible. Some recruitment software used by certain employers does not recognise tables in cvs and will make your cv ureadable.

-In application letters submitted together with the cv, make sure you highlight what position you are applying for, what you have done in the past, how that experience will benefit or add value to the organisation that you are applying to, and why you wish to apply to this employer.

-Try to keep your cv within 2 pages, unless you have worked for decades, or are in academia where your research papers have to be listed.

These are some of the key areas articulated. I have since edited my cv per these suggestions and I have now been invited to four interviews; three in London, and one at the university. The first two london interviews have come back as unsuccessful, the third interview will happen next week and the fourth will take place on August 4th. Although I did not get the first two jobs, I am optimistic that something excellent will work out. The important thing is to make one's cv good enough for recruiters to take a second look at it and invite you for that important chat. I shall keep you posted on how the remaining two interviews go and my quest to earn a living during the summer.

This is my holiday challenge to myself; find a job, and to you; re-write your cv, it does not matter how little or how much experience you have. The only rule is to try to keep it within 2 pages, you do not want those recruiters yawning over a complete detailing of your roles and responsibilities.

In the interim, should you wish to have a look at the university's career centre, view it here. Follow it also on twitter; @ubcareers.

Goodluck!

Photo sources:
1. Official students' Union wednesday nights at Sub2 for Bucs Sake: Photo is from the BedsSU page.
2. From my personal photography collection; panning the movement of a cyclist in London.
3. A photo of the UoB Career and Recruitment centre found on the university website.
4. From my visit to London. A lunch menu on Oxford street.

Rain, coffee, and stuyding all night: My Msc journey

For the last eight years, I worked in international development; working in cross-cultural teams delivering various forms of projects which were donor funded interventions geared towards improving the lives of people in mostly Nigeria. I worked in varied areas of intervention from public health to secure livelihoods. I worked steadily in community liaison and operations management of the various projects and programmes that I was involved in. After six years in the sector, I re-evaluated where I was and what I wanted going forward. I wanted more responsibility, better pay, a more diverse experience and increased project involvement spanning several continents. Having conducted some research and spoken to a few mentors, the answer, to begin with, was a master's degree. I chose to study project management as I felt it was the perfect opportunity to understand the tools and techniques required to respond successfully to any business case, and to validate the experience which I already had. For the last two years, I planned and saved towards this.

The first decision had been taken, but then came the choice of location, universities/facilities and cost. I chose the UK for the language ease and the length of the course as I did not want to spend more than 12 months away from the sector. I also reviewed over 10 UK univerisites and evaluated them based on learning and living support, feedback from alumni, and costs. The University of Bedfordshire came out tops based on my listed criteria and in March 2014, I arrived Luton to begin one of the most exciting journeys of my life so far.

When I arrived Luton and Beds exactly four months ago, I was struck especially by how diverse the university community was, how there was so much going on, and a plethora of offerings to choose from. However, I was initially concerened at how everyone seemed almost five to ten years younger than I was; surely this would impact on my experience? Four months later, I have found that this community is a mix and match of different age groups, ethnicities and life experiences. This is very much a global community in every sense of the word. I am excited to be a part of this. In my PM course units, the teaching method is a mixture of lectures, practical work, and research. The tutors are very helpful and respond to emails very often, I was very surprised by this. The learning resource centres are also open 24 hours, 7 days a week, and for someone like me with a background in English language and literature, this is all very convenient as I have had to put in extra work to make it all worth it.  The department has also made provision for Msc PM students, should they opt for this, to be tutored and undertake foundation and practitioner certification work/exams for the very well respected PRINCE2.

There are a few things I would like to change here; I wish the weather wasn't so rainy, I wish I could avoid pulling an all-nighter for several assessments involving case studies and 3000 word reports, I wish I could drink coffee and red bull to stay awake and finish those reports quickly, I wish I could spend as much time as I wanted dancing in the town centre. I wish Geert Hofstede wasn't right and all his 6 dimensions weren't manifesting in the dynamics of the group work which we are required to do. But invariably, it is what it is, and I have thoroughly embraced the delightful journey and crazy freshness that this experience has brought with it. I have made some lifelong friends here and have learnt so much about the practice of PM in such a short time. Within this blog, I shall continue to record and detail the milestones and living which lead up to the achievment of all the goals for which I came here.

Photo credit:
1. Photo of some PM full time students; Sept 2013 & March 2014 entry with some tutors during a field trip
2. Photo of the new Student's Union lounge