More than two years ago, I had to make one of the most important decisions in my life – choosing a university.
I was not familiar with the whole English system, how it works, what UCAS is and what factors to look at while choosing universities – I didn’t know where to start.
As I was looking at Business or Economics degrees, I found out that the University of Exeter Business School was one of the Top 10 Business schools in the UK. I also noticed that the BSc Business programme requires students to do a work placement every year while doing the degree, which I thought was a great opportunity to enhance my employability.
One of my criteria was to study away from London – so the location in Cornwall was another reason why I decided to choose this university.
Falmouth is a small community where everyone knows each other well, and as we are sharing Penryn campus with Falmouth University we get to know people who have different perspectives and different values in life. In addition, it’s a great opportunity to collaborate with people who are studying something that is different to you. It might be very useful, as I know some students from Exeter who have asked Falmouth students to create a logo for their new businesses, for example, or asked for a photoshoot for their new project.
BSc Business overview
Course mates & academic staff
It feel like the BSc Business programme is the most international course on Penryn Campus. I study with people from around the world: India, USA, Spain, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, France, Germany, Switzerland, China, the Netherlands, Hungary and of course England.
I believe that being in an international environment gives you a chance to broaden your mind, find out more about other cultures and challenges you to work with people from different backgrounds. I think this makes you a better candidate when it comes to applying for jobs. In addition to this, the academic staff have also come to share their knowledge from different parts of the world.
Modules & assignments
Since coming to university I have had to be more organised as the course requires a lot of independent work and reading.
Another great thing about this course is the assignments. Yes, really, they are great! The biggest part of our assignments are presentations which we have to do in groups. I think it is a great opportunity to enhance your communication and team working skills as these skills are essential in the real world. Presentations teach us how to handle conflicts, how to allocate tasks between team members as well as show that everyone has different ways of working. What’s more, some of the modules give us a chance to work with real companies and solve real-world issues.
Work placement
As I mentioned before, it is compulsory for every student to undertake a work placement each year. The work placement has to be at least 60-80 hours, this means you can spread the hours across the year so you don’t have to combine your uni work with your placement for the whole year.
In the first year we had to work in the third sector. This increased my knowledge in this area as well as helped to enhance my CV. In the first year there is a lot of help provided in terms of application processes and interview techniques. In the second year, you can choose to work anywhere, and in the third, we have to undertake a consultancy project.
This shows that the university is interested in enhancing students’ employability and also gives plenty of opportunities to do so.
Another factor which makes this course unique is sustainability. As sustainability is becoming a big part of our lives, it is great how well this course is linked to sustainability. One of the modules in the second year focuses on circular economy and requires you to create a product which is environmentally friendly. Some people might not be interested in the idea of a circular economy and might have no knowledge in this area, but in my opinion it is such an important and current subject that it is great we get to learn more about it during the course.
Business Society
For those who want to set up their own business, the University organises events where you can meet entrepreneurs, listen to how they created their businesses and sometimes even get help or advice from them. In addition, you can sign up to be a member of the Business society and attend networking events with representatives from local businesses as well as attend talks given by speakers from different industries. This gives you a chance to network and explore available opportunities.
Apart from that, the Business Society also organizes social events where students from all years can meet each other and expand their network. During the degree, there are lots of opportunities to participate in field trips, for example, to the Eden Project, BF Adventure and Pendennis Shipyard.
So I believe that if you are interested in business and sustainability, if you like small communities where everyone knows each other and are always ready to help, the University of Exeter Business School in Cornwall is definitely one of the perfect options to consider. There are so many opportunities the course can provide, and also help to start a successful career.