Hi, I’m Nana, a 4th Year BSc Business and Management with Industrial Experience student. I am also an international student, born and raised in Ghana. I chose Exeter mainly because of the high-ranking Business and Management course and Business School, but what sold me was the beautiful and nature-filled campus and surrounding coastal villages.
I came to Exeter through Clearing because of a change in my field of study. I have always been interested in science so applied to universities in the UK for Medicine and Neuroscience, however, when the pandemic hit, my IB (International Baccalaureate) exams were cancelled so my results were based on predicted grades. These grades were good, but since applying I’d realised that I didn’t want to continue with a Chemistry-based course and would rather study Business because I found it easier to grasp quickly and I enjoyed it just as much. The University of Exeter was very supportive in the entire Clearing process, which was very quick and simple. I was also offered a Global Excellence Scholarship for my first year.
My favourite part of my course was my placement year. Because I has chosen the placement year pathway, in my first and second year I had modules within my course dedicated to helping with CV, cover letter and LinkedIn profile writing and designing, as well as mock interviews and assessment centres courtesy of the Career Zone. There were many workshops available on applying for jobs and being a good candidate which I found very helpful. I also had many 1:1s with career advisors to discuss specific details about applying for jobs, my CV, cover letter and more. These services were very helpful. During my year in industry, I worked at Bentley Motors as a Launch Planning trainee. I was mainly tasked with supporting the Launch Planning manager in ensuring that all the deliverables required for each car launch were on track at various stages in the pipeline. I got to network and meet many industry experts which informed and grew my industry knowledge. This was great as I have always loved cars!
The main challenge I faced during my course was time management with respect to assignments. I always tended to do my assignments around three weeks before the deadline at the earliest which put a lot of pressure on me closer to submission. However, this year, I was able to change that thanks to the ‘Focus Writing Retreat’ organised by the BSc Business and Management course leaders, Sian and Isbahna. Thanks to this workshop, I was able to manage my workload efficiently and enjoy all the events that occurred towards the end of term.
As an international student, what really surprised me was the amount of engagement between staff and students as well as how easy it was to make friends! I assumed it would be scary or quite intimidating to speak to professors about things I struggled with in their modules, but it was very much the opposite. I have had some of the best teaching staff in these few years and I believe their engagement with me has helped grow my passion in various topics and areas of business and management, such as strategy. My advice to you is to be confident in class, speak to the person sitting next to you if you don’t know them and engage with your professors! It really makes a difference on the experience you will have with that module… I can honestly say this because I really hate maths, but my Finance professor made it worthwhile – a great teacher!!