Shyam
Lakhani

What made you want to apply to study in the UK and NTU?

I wanted to study in the UK because I thought it relates to my high school years, I thought it would be easier for me to go to the UK as we followed the British curriculum at school. I think studying in the UK lets you gain independence, while in Malawi you have a lot of family so you don’t really get the chance to budget everything yourself, experience a life, experience the night life for example. There’s more independence here in the UK and Nottingham. My cousins came to NTU as well. They were always telling me about the University and Nottingham itself, and how multicultural it is.

What do you enjoy most about studying BA Business Studies?

The best bit about this course is that it is very related to real world examples. In high school we had to study off the books and just do the tests. But here we have coursework that relates to business, so you get the feel of the actual subject rather than just studying and writing the test. I just had coursework that is due for one of my modules; accounting and finance. Rather than before where I felt like I was just studying and revising, now I feel like I am actually working as an accountant. The course is also good because there are six modules in first year. You have the chance to have a taste of each module in different areas of business rather than doing something more specific straight away.

What did you like about studying and living in Nottingham? Nottingham is a great city. I just love walking around the streets. I love the vibe – it’s really nice. Sometimes when I’m alone and I don’t have anything to do, I just walk around Nottingham, find new places and tell my friends about them. I made a lot of friends through Welcome Week. I went out at night, I went to a lot of events that the University held, I joined a few societies like the Hindu society, the Indian society, a few sports societies. I learnt that the best thing to do when you arrive is to try and keep yourself active rather than just staying in your room, then you’ll be fine.

More information for students from Malawi