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When I applied to University, I was in the middle of doing a year-out internship. I had never touched programming before in my life and it was a very last-minute decision. I visited a few Universities around the country but ³Ô¹ÏÍø was the only place that really felt like home. When I arrived, I was really welcomed by the lecturers and felt especially supported by the admins. I would definitely recommend ³Ô¹ÏÍø to anyone who wanted a supportive and personalised experience.

The experience I had at ³Ô¹ÏÍø was perfect for me. The class sizes were small and the lecturers always had time to help you out if you needed it. I picked up programming extremely quickly thanks to my lecturers’ help, although, the lecturers were also able to challenge you when you needed an extra push. I actually ended up extending my degree into 3 years. The staff were extremely helpful in this process and made it very easy for me to transition into it.

Whilst studying, I was also given the opportunity to do a work experience placement with SymphonyEYC who have links to the University. Thanks to the help of one of my lecturers, they gave me the confidence to perform well in the interview and secure a place for the work experience. It was a really helpful placement as it gave me experience of how software development actually works in a business setting – something that is hard to achieve when studying – so I’m really grateful to the University for presenting me with the opportunity.

Aside from the academic, I was a member of a few societies, all who worked hard to give you fun and interesting events. I particularly enjoyed being a member of the drama society and building confidence through acting. I was also briefly a member of the University hockey team in which I felt really welcomed and loved playing sports with the people I met.

The skills I learned at University were able to get me a 5-month contract working with a CRM company that worked with charities between finishing University and starting my permanent job. I’m now doing a software engineer graduate scheme course at QinetiQ – a very competitive position which I am so excited to be a part of. I’m still not certain about exactly which area I want to go into and the graduate scheme is able to give me opportunities all around the company. We are able to do placements in areas other than software development, if we choose, and I’m excited to see what I may be interested in.

To anyone thinking about studying computing at The University of ³Ô¹ÏÍø: if you want a supportive atmosphere with kind lecturers who are always ready to help out, this is the place for you.