Excellent Faculty Plymouth University
- SaraItaly
- University Of Plymouth, United Kingdom
- BSc Maritime Business and Logistics
- Undergraduate Degree
- 2009
I was born in Italy, Tuscany, in 1988. English is my second language and I have always been passionate about other languages and cultures. Travelling is indeed my favourite activity, and I have been visiting most of the world since I was three. In the pursuit of being able to mingle with different people and cultures in different countries, I studied languages at school, also convinced that this would broaden my career opportunities. After high school, I decided I wanted to study abroad, possibly in a multicultural environment that would enrich my experience. Multiculturalism is also a typical feature of the career in the sector that I had decided I wanted to pursue - maritime business and logistics. The UK was one of the first countries I considered, because of its reputation in the matter of university education, and because, having visited it already several times, I knew I could see myself living there for a few years.
I applied for the BSc Maritime Business and Logistics at the University of Plymouth. Maritime Business and Logistics is an extremely interesting, exciting and very well taught course. Maritime business has always been a very fascinating matter to me, and I therefore decided to pursue a career in this sector, which is one of the most international in nature as well. The University of Plymouth is very well known in this sector, and I came across the brochure of the University while I was studying English in Plymouth during summer. I did a brief amount of research and found out that the University had an excellent reputation for this course, among others, and since I already knew I would like the city as a place to live in, I had no further doubt that Plymouth would be my choice. I therefore decided to apply, which I did through UCAS. As an international student I had to sit the TOEFL exam, which I did successfully, thereby securing my place on the course. Throughout the application process the admission and accommodation staff was helpful and made things easy for me.
The quality of teaching is excellent. All the teachers and professors have had many years of experience in the industry and are therefore able to give lectures that go beyond theory in textbooks. Indeed, lecturers encourage students to be as aware as possible of what is going on in the shipping industry. The staff always offer students support, and invite them to have private meetings, which I must say is a very useful thing because it gives the students the chance to discuss and deepen some of the subject area studied in class; this kind of support becomes essential in the third year, and particularly during the preparation of the dissertation.
Studying at the University of Plymouth surely has enriched me as a person, as well as a student. It made me firmer in my belief that living and studying in a multicultural environment stimulates people to be open-minded and tolerant towards differences. It also made me realise that University is really not about "getting a piece of paper"; it is being part of a network of people, my ex-colleagues, that is international in nature and that will be useful and nice to meet again in the near future, maybe at the work place. I would definitely recommend to anyone contemplating applying to the University of Plymouth to do so. As stated before, not only the University gives students a good degree and broaden the career perspectives, but mostly it is a life experience, and not an easy one to forget.