Christina
Tsakona

What made you decide to do a Masters degree?
I thought that it would be a completely new experience for me that would make me step out from my comfort zone and develop myself further. Additionally, I would be given the opportunity to meet people from other countries, practice my language skills, build my resilience and most importantly make a smoother transition from university to the workforce.

Indeed, this has been a year full of deep reflection, personal challenges, tight deadlines, enjoyable learning and definitely, strong friendships.

When picking a Business School to study a Masters what do you consider it important to have?
I considered a number of factors before I picked the universities I applied for. Initially, I tried to achieve a trade-off between the benefits that I would enjoy (accreditation, scholarships, Masters rankings, and city) and the related costs (tuition fees, cost of living, etc.). After having selected the most appropriate ones, I thoroughly researched the different courses and their structure in order to identify which of them fit me the best.

These steps were proved to be really helpful for me in choosing and applying for the three universities that were more relevant to my needs.

Why did you choose Nottingham Business School?  
I decided to study at NBS due to the good ranking held by both the Masters I was interested in and by NTU. Also, I visited Nottingham before my studies and I really liked the idea of spending a year in this beautiful city. Finally, being awarded a scholarship finalised my decision to do my Masters at NBS.

Can you explain a little about your course?
The course has a really reasonable structure that enabled students with completely different backgrounds to keep up and for the rest of us that were familiar with marketing to engage with the course and deepen our knowledge.

Before I started my Masters, I expected that this course will be quite similar to my undergraduate degree and therefore it would only offer me some additional knowledge. I would never imagine that I‘d be able to enrich my knowledge and enhance my critical thinking skills to a much higher degree.

However, I believe that further enhancements should be implemented to ensure consistency between the different tutors when delivering the lectures and marking the assignments. Moreover, I think that it would be good to add more modules or adjust the existing ones in a way that they will cover more aspects of a student’s major subject (Marketing, Digital Marketing, Branding and Advertising).

How has the Masters degree differed from your undergraduate experience?
Normally, an undergraduate degree gives students an overview of the basic theories and concepts with the aim of familiarising them with their subject. Personally speaking, although my undergraduate degree brought the best out of me in terms of knowledge, theories, creativity, and innovation, I was not expected to work extensively on my critical thinking skills. In this regard, I decided to go for a Masters degree with the aim of getting a more in-depth experience.

Indeed, my postgraduate studies helped me to enhance my ability to critically analyse and evaluate the existing theories and support my arguments with evidence.

What key skills have you developed during your studies?
My postgraduate studies helped me a lot to develop myself both personally and professionally. Now, I feel more confident because I managed to effectively handle all the challenges related to a Masters degree for an international student (e.g. homesickness, communication gap, many deadlines) and build my personal resilience. Apart from that, my academic supervisor and my tutors encouraged me throughout and helped me to greatly enhance my critical thinking skills.

Most importantly, I raised my awareness on the ethical and global challenges that our society faces and I discovered the ever-growing importance of sustainability issues in making business drive social change.

In Semester Three, what option did you pick to do as part of your ‘Major Project’ and why?
I picked the Consultancy Experience Project as I consider it to be an amazing opportunity for me to both gain work experience and further enhance my teamwork skills.

Did you get involved with any other activities in Nottingham Business School?
I participated in some CPD events that were organised by the Employability team, while I also attended some really inspiring and thought provoking sessions during the Personal Development and the Global Experience Week. Overall, I am satisfied with the quality and the variety of the events provided by NTU throughout the year and I found them to be a valuable learning experience for me, as they helped me to develop myself personally and professionally.

How does Nottingham Business School provide you with support, advice and guidance?
First of all, my academic tutor was really supportive during the year, especially at the very start of my Masters, she helped me a lot to gain a deeper understanding of the course’s expectations and the importance of being critical. She also made me feel comfortable, encouraged me to freely express my feelings throughout and asked for my feedback to ensure that everything was on the right track.

Moreover, my tutors were really close to me, always willing to support me and provide me with further guidance when needed. Finally, when I encountered some health issues, NTU accepted my request to get an extension, which helped me to maintain the quality of my work.

How has the course influenced your future plans or career aspirations?
The course helped me to deepen my knowledge within my discipline and at the same time it made me discover myself in more depth. I now have a better view of where I want to be in the future and what I want to achieve. On this basis, I feel more confident and motivated to start my career and reach my personal goals.

What advice would you give to students considering studying at Nottingham Business School?
If you decide to do your Masters at NTU, you should definitely use as many support services as possible to get the most of this experience. For example, don’t hesitate to book a one-to-one appointment with a librarian to provide you with advice on your academic writing skills.

Moreover, you should reflect on your past experiences, identify your weaknesses and work consistently on improving them.

Doing a Masters degree is one of the few opportunities that you will have in your life where you can fully dedicate time to improving yourself, broaden your horizons and set yourself up for a fulfilling career.