Student Sharon Canas Alban, MSc Marketing Class of 2019, tells us in her own words how she overcomes her upcoming deadlines and still manages to enjoy travelling around the UK.
“We are already in the 7th week of classes. The second semester is interesting because it is organised according to your chosen electives and, even if it has gotten quite busy this month, classes have definitely been enriching as they are full of new and interesting content, group projects, workshops, and real-life case studies. However, I have also taken some time off to relax and enjoy my experience in Manchester, which helps a lot with the survival factor!
“Upcoming deadlines have us all under a strict schedule, but we have had so much fun working in teams towards the creation of digital businesses, qualitative and quantitative research projects, and an analysis of the customer experience from highly-recognised international companies like Lego, Ikea, H&M, Facebook and IBM, to name a few.
“This is what the projects in my elective units look like. They involve a lot of engagement and research. But at the end of the day, that is what success is all about. I especially like that professors are very approachable and open to meet, answer questions and give feedback constantly.
“If you choose to do the Group Business Project, you are also going to be assigned an advisor and you are expected to meet with them regularly to start working on ideas about your desired topic and the literature that you might want to use. In addition, we have had two sessions with an industry expert about category management, where we did a workshop to understand how it works and how to apply it to our projects. In the workshop, each group got assigned a company and a specific category to analyse. This enabled us to relate the category management theory to real-life case studies from the UK market.
“As you can see, even when there are many activities going on, I have to say that we have had incredible guidance from professors and advisors. So, do not worry about deadlines. It is possible to be successful by sticking to a nice schedule.
“That schedule also has to have some relaxing time, especially because in March you are finally going to have sunny days in Manchester! Now you will be able to enjoy good 16º to 18º, which is awesome and prepares you to welcome spring.
“During my blog posts, I always encourage you to go explore and travel a bit. It doesn’t have to be a huge trip to another country, discovering England is also a great idea. This time I went to London for the very first time and it was awesome! I also took a day trip with friends to Cambridge. Cambridge is a good 3 hours away from Manchester but is so worth it.
"All in all, this semester has been great! Time flies when you are having fun and enjoying time with friends. I always mention that I am grateful for the friendships I have built during the programme and that is because they are a very important piece of your whole experience. They share the same goals as you, the same fears, and the same day to day responsibilities."