Business student insight: Reflections on the first term at WBS

Student bloggers from our range of Business Masters courses share their insights and reflections on their first term at Warwick Business School.

Julius Boehmer, MSc Business Analytics

Coming from a pure business background, my first term at Warwick was characterised by an incredibly steep learning curve in all things statistics and programming. While this was certainly challenging, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way since I chose the MSBA to learn something completely different to my undergraduate and leave Warwick with a number of hard skills in programming and data science. The quality of teaching exceeded my expectations, while the special benefits given to postgraduates (two 24/7 study spaces, free printing etc.) rounded up my academic experience at Warwick so far. Since my undergrad course had all-year modules, I had to get used to the fast-paced nature of modules being replaced every term. However, this course structure has actually grown on me since it allowed me to build a solid foundation in Term 1, and then choose more advanced modules in Term 2 depending on my personal interests.

Academic experience aside, I thoroughly enjoyed joining societies across campus, playing sports and getting to know my course mates. I felt the entire course to be incredibly close, either through a massive WhatsApp group, dinner parties or the Specialist Master Ball at the end of term. Together with these new found friends I also made use of WBS’s proximity to London, through trips which introduced me to the amazing WBS facilities at The Shard, with the panel talk on consulting start-ups definitely being one of my Term 1 highlights.

Emilia Persson, MSc International Business

Starting something entirely new in your life may seem like a daunting prospect, and starting my masters at WBS was no exception to that rule. However, after the induction day during Welcome Week my nerves quickly faded, as it was clear that the School truly cared about its students and the teaching. Since I had not done a bachelors in anything remotely related to business, I was also worried that I would struggle to find my place here, but again WBS exceeded all my expectations. It was a challenge for sure; juggling four modules, tests, group presentations, upcoming exams; but it was a rewarding one. The professors were always happy to answer emails and to set up meetings if a topic seemed unclear, so I never had to suffer in silence!

I also made sure I got myself involved in the student life to give myself a break from the studies. There seems to be this misconception that postgraduates are not meant to join sports and societies but that could not be further away from the truth. There are so many societies on offer that are both related and unrelated to the business courses, so I spent my first few weeks attending interesting talks and meeting new people at social gatherings. Similarly, all sports teams encourage all students alike to join in, whether you want to compete for the university or just for the social aspect of it. I joined the netball club and I'm so glad that I did; I made some incredible friends and it gave me an excuse to squeeze in some exercise on a Wednesday and Saturday afternoon.

All in all, the autumn term was both exciting and challenging, and I look forward to getting started with the new term!

Ben Son, MSc Business with Marketing

The first term is over. Truly, it has been such a meaningful time and my evaluation for the first term is very positive. The environment of WBS is perfect – staff in the school are supportive and willing to help; hard-working classmates motivate one another and improve the overall quality of lectures; and the web portal (my.wbs), where I have access to all the materials that I need, is well-organised. All the support from WBS facilitates a high-quality education and, so far, my learning experience has been great.

Study is important but, on top of that, there was one thing that I did not want to miss – workshops and seminars. At WBS, numerous events on various topics are organised by societies, students and the School. During the first term, I attended quite a lot of events that took place in WBS because there was something that interested me on every week. I went to one seminar in which speakers and audiences discussed recent trends and emerging opportunities in the tech industry. The quality of discussion was, of course, impressive, but actually, the seminar was also a good chance for ‘networking’. There were people who are professionals in the industry that I am interested in and I was given the chance to talk to the speakers. They gave me advice about this career path that was really helpful and I really appreciate the exclusive benefits that are provided for the students.

Even ‘time flies’ cannot fully describe how quickly the first term has gone. It is a shame that the course is only for a year but I believe the remaining time will be awesome just like the first term. At the beginning of the second term, I really look forward to taking new modules and meeting new people!

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