Introducing Afra…
Hi! My name is Afra El-Nafaty and I am from Nigeria. I am 21 and am currently doing the International Business Management MA course at University of Westminster.
Why did you decide to study International Business and Management MA at Westminster Business School?
I decided to study at Westminster Business School mainly because of its location. So after I applied to a number of Universities I selected this one and I am so glad I did! Our campus is so centrally located, so whether it’s shops, attractions or going out, everything is so close. The transport links are great too! I also came here straight from my undergraduate degree as I graduated in July and wanted to start my Master’s immediately. The University of Westminster is so reputable and I was happy to see they were one of only few places with such courses available in September – so I decided to go for it!
How have you found your experience so far?
I think the course is nice. To be honest, before coming here I never liked economics and I struggled with it back in high school. So when I found out about having to do it on my course I was devastated! But it all turned out well because our lecturer, Ola makes all the difference. He explains all the concepts very well and I truly love it now! Our course leader Richard’s module is also cool and I find it pretty interesting. He teaches us a module called Aspects of International Marketing, which helps us think about using business concepts. Every day after his lecture I have fresh business ideas! It also makes me think of how I want to apply what I have learned to my business plans and I find myself wondering – “OK, so how do I do my branding? How am I going to position my product?” Also I noticed that I use all these theories and business concepts even without knowing and when I talk to my sister I often use marketing terminology that I’ve learnt in class. I think I love this course!
Where would you like to be in five years’ time?
I want to go into some sort of business, but I am still thinking of which direction to go in. One thing that came to my mind following our visit in the chocolate factory (which we visited as part of our international study trip to Brussels) was opening my own chocolate factory. I found it very inspiring and as far as I know there is no other chocolate factory in Nigeria at the moment. I think it will be really good to make personalised chocolate and have people come and make their own just like we did. I strongly feel that the International Business and Management MA will help me develop that idea and achieve my goal.
What have been your biggest challenges on the course?
I think that everything is good with my course, however I was a bit sad at the beginning as I could not attend the planned orientation programme right at the start of the year. It was due to my visa application taking much longer than expected, and I felt like I missed out. Especially as people on the course already got to know each other and the campus. I also think this might be the reason why I enjoyed our trip to Brussels so much. I treated it a bit like the orientation programme because it allowed me to get to know people on my course and interact with them. We really hung out a lot! I also think that the dissertation will be a big challenge and I am still finalising my ideas but I know I will have to start working on it very soon! I think I might focus on market research or a business plan for my chocolate factory business as it would help me to do research in the area I am interested in and can relate to. That’s what my sister did too and it worked for her.
If there was one word to sum up your experience of your time at Westminster, what would it be?
Not sure if these two would go together but first words that come to my mind are: challenging and interesting.
Thanks to Afra for this interview! To find out more about International Business and Management MA course at Westminster Business School, please visit our website.
Kasia Kicinska
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