My dream came true on the 8th September 2012 as I landed at London Heathrow Terminal 4 at 18:35. I was welcomed with bright sun shine; it was the perfect setting for the year to begin. The build up to my life at Westminster Business School was a nervous yet an exciting one. I was filled with some mixed feelings as I was amongst 65 odd strangers in one class room and in a city I have never visited before. Among all other things I was about to live alone. I was born and brought up in Mumbai, India and studied in the same city all my life. I knew that it was going to be a difficult task to live away from home.
However, London was a pleasant surprise. Westminster Business School has a great reputation in United Kingdom and India. I was one of the lucky students who was awarded a full scholarship to pursue a Master’s Degree course at the University. I chose MA Marketing Communications (MAMC) for my Masters at the Westminster Business School. The expectations regarding the education standards and the quality of experienced faculty were surpassed from the first week of induction. The modules were taught in great depth and each student received personal attention from faculty. The combination of lectures and seminars were well balanced and the faculty made sure that the two complemented each other well. The students including me felt at ease in every situation until the final days of exams by faculty.
Westminster Business School provided a variety of extra-curricular opportunities for students to get a first-hand experience on applying what we study in classrooms in the real world. Coca Cola Digital Hackathon was one of the valuable opportunities. In February 2012 the students of the University of Westminster were given an opportunity to take part in the Coca-Cola Digital Hackathon. The competition was open to 22 teams from all campuses and required students to make a Digital Marketing Campaign for Coca-Cola and one of its restaurant partners in the UK. I took part in this competition along with four other students from MAMC and we won the runners up prize in the competition. Along with prize money we also got the all-important experience of pitching a Digital Marketing plan to the Directors of Coca-Cola and to the Senior faculty of the University.
The year at the University ended with the Dissertation in which I chose to use my knowledge in Finance and Marketing and made an “Integrated Marketing Communications campaign for the Introduction of Current Accounts by Virgin Money in the United Kingdom.” This was a great experience and I was able to complete it successfully with the help of my supervisor Carol Blackman who is also the Course Leader for MAMC.
Through out the whole year at university I was regularly in touch with the Business School Dean, Professor Barbara Allan. The support and guidance I received from Professor Allan and her team was very helpful.
The year wrapped up with the Convocation Ceremony on 12th November 2013 at the Royal Festival Hall. It truly was a royal affair, the ceremony, and at the same time, an emotional one. The friends I made from across continents were reunited together, possibly for the last time. The overall experience at the Westminster Business School was the best I could dream of in the heart of the best city in the world.
This blog post is written by Ankit Joshi . Studied MA Marketing Communications (MAMC) at Westminster Business School and is currently living in Mumbai, India.
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