This past year has been both challenging and a great learning experience. Like with many big decisions, when I decided to move to Manchester and study at AMBS, I was extremely nervous.
One of the major reasons why I was nervous starting this programme was mainly relating to the fact that I was going to be studying online, I wondered whether the quality of teaching would be as good as fact to face teaching. Also, I knew that a master’s degree in the UK can be quite intense compared to undergrad studies, so I wondered whether I was capable and having stayed at home during my undergrad, the idea of living with strangers worried me.
But now as the academic year comes close to an end, I am happy to say that all the things I worried about at the start of the year turned out to be nothing but fear trying to talk me out of a great experience. Whilst nothing compared to sitting next to your classmate in a lecture theatre, online teaching turned out to be great, the quality of teaching was not affected and honestly waking up a few minutes before the lecture starts has a bonus too. Whilst I found the programme to be intense especially the first semester, it was not so intense that I could not manage, one of the things that helped me was talking to other classmates. The key is to find classmates that you can bounce off questions, if you are struggling with it chances are, someone else is too. As for the fear of living with strangers, I left that at the door the moment my flatmate knocked on my door to introduce herself when we first moved in, I am happy to say that she has now grown to be one of my friends.
Currently, I am working on my summer project which involves assessing the competitive landscape of In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) for this company that is trying to find a gap within the IVD market in the UK. One of the reasons why I love this project is because it has the potential to positively impact the lives of many people in society as it would enable organisations such as the NHS to detect and treat infectious diseases faster. Being able to use the knowledge and skills gained from this master’s programme for something like this feels amazing. As well as completing my project, I am also job hunting, which is quite stressful, but I am keeping on.
My last words to you who is getting ready to start but perhaps feeling as I did at the start of the year is to just go for it, be open to meeting new people and experiencing new things. Chances are everybody else is just as nervous as you, find a support system, a friend you can talk/cry with when necessary always helps, take care of yourself both physically, and mentally and don’t be afraid to seek help when it all gets too overwhelming. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I did.
