How Ghulam found life in Preston

I was among the select few from my country (Pakistan) who were awarded Chevening Scholarship from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office UK to pursue a post-graduate degree. I opted to join UCLan as the university was offering a wonderful MSc Financial Investigation programme, a Master's course which is not very common in the UK. I had never been to UCLan or Preston, so I was a bit worried when I started my course. But when I reached Preston I realised I was worried for nothing.

Preston is a great city with all the facilities one can expect from a big city like shopping malls, cinemas, clubs, mass transit system, security, restaurants etc. Moreover, the city has a very diverse population comprising of a large international student body. This helped me to settle in quite easily as the diverse student body is very welcoming, especially for an international student. Apart from meeting people from my own community, I had the opportunity to interact with people from other communities and countries, thereby getting a true global experience. In fact, I made a lot of new friends from different parts of the world and now I can say that I have contacts all over the globe.

.Like the city, I also had a wonderful time at the University. The campus is extremely big and takes a couple of days to get used to. I must say that UCLan has all the facilities one can expect from a world-class university. The campus is equipped with excellent lecture rooms, 24/7 access to library, wonderful student accommodation, indoor and outdoor sports facilities and my personal favourite – state of the art gym with free membership for students. Similarly, the teaching faculty is excellent and the teachers are always more than willing to help students. Also, there are other student support services like Careers, the Students' Union, Medical Centre etc that assist students throughout their studies.

Apart from the numerous services and facilities offered by the University there are a lot of extra-curricular activities that students can engage in. For instance, there are loads of societies and clubs that students can join. One can easily find an activity or a club to get involved with. This is a good way to meet new people and make new friends. Believe me there is a club or a society in the University to cater to your interests. So much so, that I came across a ‘chocolate appreciation club’, so even if you feel like doing nothing, you can get together with your friends and eat and appreciate chocolates!

If you are planning to work part-time along with your studies, the University has that covered as well. There are a lot of work opportunities offered by the University. I myself did two jobs during my studies at the UCLan. I became a language assistant and took conversation classes with students wanting to learn my native language i.e. Urdu. This was a great experience as I got to share my culture with different students. In fact, the Worldwise Language Department at UCLan offers a lot of languages that the students can learn for free. For the second job, I became a student ambassador and worked at different events organised by the University. This job really boosted my organisation skills apart from giving me an invaluable experience of working in an international environment. Plus, the extra money never hurts!