By Francesca Hall
At the University of Sheffield you will be encouraged to not only excel in your studies, setting you up with a degree from one of the top University’s in the country, but to take on a host of extra activities and opportunities that will set you even further apart in the competitive world of employment.
As I enter my final term at the University of Sheffield on my three year Business Management course I can safely say my University experience has exceeded all my expectations. I remember clearly the first day I arrived into Sheffield, a car full of clothes, bedding, and empty notebooks, and with it a tonne of nerves and excitement. Having read every student review about the University of Sheffield that I could get my hands on (thank you ‘whatuni.com’!) I had high hopes for what lay ahead. Two and a half years later, I have not been disappointed.
What has surprised me most -beyond the hospitality of the locals, the quality of teaching and facilities, and how there is a society for every activity you could imagine- is how the University itself has gone above and beyond duty, offering me so much more than just classroom learning. I have found myself frequently inundated with opportunities to do exciting new things, and taken-up many, but the one which has had the most profound effect on my life is studying abroad.
In my second year, with ‘YES’ as my go-to word, I embarked upon a five month adventure studying a semester at Copenhagen Business School as part of the University’s Erasmus programme. Towards the tail-end of January I once more packed my life up into suitcases, and boarded my flight into the unknown territory of snowy Copenhagen. The first week was terrifying and overwhelming as I realised the magnitude of what I had signed myself up for (5 months and over a thousand miles from home) but my nerves quickly dissipated as the floods of new faces became friends and this alien city grew to become home.
Studying at Copenhagen Business School -one of many prestigious universities the Management School is partners with, and living in Denmark’s capital was an incredible experience. Whilst I wasn’t so keen on the three hour classes or the four hour exams, I seized the opportunity to immerse myself in a new way of learning, grateful to explore my passion for business through a different array of modules. Trying to settle down and study with the sunshine and city calling your name was definitely learning curve, but with a work-hard, play-hard approach I had the most wholesome experience I could have asked for. Copenhagen itself is a stunning city, vibrant, packed full of culture, with so much to see and do. I have an abundance of fond memories, from city strolls and bike rides, canoeing on the canal, and enjoying the Tivoli gardens and Lousiana, to partying at Kulørbar, eating Smørrebrød at Torvehallerne, and enjoying good company by the canal on a warm evening. However, whilst I can’t imagine a city more fantastic to study abroad in than Copenhagen, if it’s not your cup of tea, you can take your pick from the University of Sheffield’s other partner universities across Europe, in Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands or Sweden. Not to mention, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and the USA if you choose to study International Business Management!
To say
that studying abroad changes your life is no understatement. I have made life-long friendships with an array of amazing people from across the globe, experienced life in another culture, and studied with a further fantastic university. With it, I have returned to Sheffield with more self-confidence, patience, awareness, and as clichéd as it may sound, I have grown as an individual beyond measure. I feel eternally grateful to the University of Sheffield and the Management School for giving me the opportunities that I have had, and without their continual support it would not have been possible.
I hope you too will have a fantastic time studying at the University of Sheffield. If I had to give you one piece of advice it would be, to say yes often, and push yourself to do something new. If you do that I guarantee you’ll be leaving University with more than just a degree to show for it!