PRINCE2, Internship and Next Steps

For the last couple for months, I have been searching for a job within the Luton and Beds areas. To yield more results, I extended my search to London in the hopes of finding a good student opportunity which could build my experience and provide a little bit extra cash (every student needs some extra cash). Anyway, I did find some opportunities and attended a few interviews, but none of them was the right fit for me; too long a commute or more hours per week than I could manage. 

Fortunately, the University has an internship scheme; a 75 hour placement either within the university or within a business in the Luton, Herts and Beds area. I sent my CV in to the Internship office, attended a few excellent workshops on tips for CV writing and interviewing, and voila, yours truly is now commencing a 75hr placement within the university. The best part of this is that I have flexible hours so that my academic workload isn't suffering, and I get paid for my time. Good times. If you are at the university already and have not taken advantage of this scheme, you should! Go to the International office in the Library at Luton campus, and speak to the internship scheme. You only have to be a student here, it does not matter if you are undergraduate, postgraduate, Home, EU or international student.

In other news, as someone who has worked as part of many project teams, and is presently studying for an Msc in Project Management, it was only natural that I felt the need to acquire a deeper understanding of the methodologies used worldwide to manage projects. I began my methodology journey with the PRINCE2 certification examination (Projects In Controlled Environments) which is the recommended methodology developed by the UK's Office of Government Commerce, for managing projects. I wrote the foundation examination yesterday, and I passed. It is very exciting to see one's journey unravelling in the best ways, you make gains, you learn new insights.

These months are the final few which I shall spend here before I am awarded my Msc in Project Management and to be honest, I have learnt so much here that I am considering making continuous development programmes a part of my life, twice yearly. There is something full of wisdom and rewarding about being here. I am glad I embarked upon this journey, and although there have been lots of stumbling blocks and things that quite frankly, I have been disappointed about here, on the whole, it is proving to be one of the most rewarding journeys that I have embarked on my life.  In my next post, I shall discuss some of the challenges, how to be prepared for them and the benefits which quite clearly, outweigh them. Keep well everyone.

Photo sources:

1. University social spaces: www.beds.ac.uk

2. PRINCE2 logo: www.apmg-international.com

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