Before studying at the University of
Sheffield I was raised and educated
in China. I went to an international high school in
Beijing where I meet various people from a wide range backgrounds and nations.
During that time, I had a taste of British education and was looking forward to
a higher education experience in the United Kingdom.
The University of Sheffield has a good
reputation in academic performance, research and student life. I chose to study
Materials science and engineer because I believe that a material scientist is
able to design a new material, which is the very kind of life I was dreaming
about in my childhood. As I read through the department’s website articles and spoke
to a student studying this course, it’s clear that studying Materials Science
and Engineering at Sheffield is highly regarded.
Sheffield is a nice city with good history and
is known as a steelmaking city. As an international student, I have a good
experience with the University. People are very welcoming and friendly; I found
it is easy to get involved in various student events and societies. The
atmosphere here is great for studying and living, I really enjoy meeting new
friends and making new friends from all over the world.
One of the scariest things for me as an international
student is graduation because I‘d have to decide to whether to stay in the UK
or go back home before my student visa expires. With such pressure, I started
to search for graduate jobs seven months before graduation. No one is born
successful, finding a job is no easy path and I was rejected numerous times.
After a few attempts, I came to realise that applying for job without the
correct mindset is like shooting targets with your eyes closed. This is the
experience I would like to share with anyone who, like me, is trying to find a
job in the UK as an international student – ask yourself what your biggest
advantage is when a company is deciding to hire you. For me, and I believe this
also applies to the majority of international students that, the strongest
point is the experience of western life and at the same time the ability to
speak other languages. After I came to realise this point, I started to look
for job targets to international students only. In the end, I am very lucky
that I found a job that requires my engineering expertise and my language
skills – the company deals a lot with China and is planning to grow their
business in China. Again, no one is born successful; it is all
about adjusting yourself when you are taking actions. This is my story, what is
yours?
Chen
Earlier this year, the Sheffield Engineering Leadership Academy (SELA) organised a networking skills session for its members. A few of our ambassadors are current members of this program and have been speaking volumes in praise of the session and the facilitator - Will Kintish.
