Vasudha's journey at Warwick Business School

BSc (Hons) Management with Placement Year student Vasudha shares her university experience of personal and professional development.

Stepping out of my comfort zone

When I first arrived at Warwick, it was overwhelming for me and difficult to adapt to the culture as I am an introvert. It was a tough decision for me to leave my home country and pursue higher education in the UK. However, I wanted to step out of my safety net and push through the boundaries to live my big dreams. I chose to apply to WBS because of its reputation in research, strong teaching faculty, solid connections with top employers, and the flexibility that it provides in terms of choosing the modules.

Building a strong foundation of business knowledge

WBS prepared me to unleash my potential both personally and professionally as it encouraged me to keep improving my skills. I developed the willingness to accomplish my goals by having an optimistic and progressive mindset. Every module I have taken has involved critical thinking, teamwork, business analytics, and a lot of operational decisions. It further allowed me to extend my understanding by applying these techniques to solve real-life case scenarios.

Being an experimental individual, I decided to maximise the various opportunities provided by WBS. Outside of my studies, I took part in other activities from participating in decision research and psychology experiments, being a Crew Trainee at McDonald’s, a WBS Ambassador, and being part of Student Panelist for the Institutional Teaching and Learning Review and Warwick Education Conference. I was also able to build a very motivated network through the Rock-Up Badminton Sessions provided by Warwick Sport and the Employer Relations Days at WBS.

Gaining business-related experience

Taking up a work placement year was never a part of my plan until the outbreak of COVID-19. I decided to opt for a 12-month work placement, as I did not want to continue my final year online, I had chosen to study at WBS for a life-changing experience and wanted to be able to interact with students and be a part of the communities physically. Therefore, I took the entire lockdown period as an opportunity to merge work experience with my education, as I believed it would open up future job windows upon graduating from WBS. I secured a six-month placement at a start-up known as Ambertstudent.com as an Intern. Depending on how efficiently I could practice and apply the knowledge and improve upon the work allocated to me, the company would provide me with the possibility of a full-time job as an Associate. Amberstudent.com encouraged a positive work culture thereby encouraging healthy competition as we had to meet our respective targets, which helped me stay motivated and focused. During my time at the company, the team’s performance was reviewed and the group’s contributions were assessed. These collaborative sessions helped me gain a 360-degree perspective on how constructive learning could lead to beneficial results. In the company, there was complete transparency in communication between management and leadership, which showed employees that their opinions were valued.

I would highly recommend students take up a work placement year because it helps you to understand expectations in a working environment and to understand what or where you want to see yourself in the future. The placement year allowed me to learn about my goals, develop my understanding of this industry, and was an exhilarating experience. It educated me on cultural awareness and has enabled me to experience the power of diversity and differences in thought, culture, way of life, and background.