By Sachin Amarasekaran, MSc Marketing (Digital Marketing)

Four years ago, I was faced with a decision of making the right choice of where to take on my undergraduate studies. I must say choosing the Henley Business School, University of Reading was worth it.

I undertook the BA Entrepreneurship and Management course and graduated in July 2019. As well as having to write those dreaded essays and exams, Henley was able to expose and develop a lot of practical skills through a lot of projects and presentations; which allowed me to play the role of advisors and consultants. The school also constantly invites speakers and arranges study visits to firms such as HP and Gartner; enabling me to apply whatever we learnt in real-life – I loved this! 

Additionally, I found the diversity within Henley was very good with teaching staff. I got to engage with academics from China, Italy, Belarus, Ghana and Nigeria. This really aided cases and examples in class as I could relate to topics on a more international scale. Besides studies, the exposure to students of different nationalities and cultures on (and not on) my course was good to see. As a result, I have been able to have connections in countries such as Mauritius and Liechtenstein.

The Whiteknights campus is really a home to me as I was fortunate to live in halls for most of my time. The vast greenery and general calmness was a huge influencer on my productivity – a perfect atmosphere for both studies and relaxing!

Having had an enjoyable time as an undergraduate, I decided to stay on and do a masters in MSc Marketing (Digital Marketing).

Being a Sierra Leone national, marketing has always been implemented through the traditional ways such as posters, radio and TV. However, over the recent years, there has been a huge surge in the use of digital platforms such as social media and a number of initiatives into online selling within the country. As my parents run two businesses simultaneously in Sierra Leone: SAB Technologies and the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, I am keen to try and boost the use of digital tools and techniques as the trend shows development.

As the term started, I immediately decided to run for course representative and secured the role. It has been over 4 months into my new course and I have settled in very well. I have made a good number of new friends from different backgrounds and everyone is well gelled as always helping each other out. The postgraduate teaching staff at Henley (especially Irute, Rodrigo and Ruby) are extremely enthusiastic and helpful and this a great motivator to securing that ‘distinction’ come September – fingers crossed!

As well as having to spend those long nights in the library gazing at my laptop screen and reading the books, I must say Henley’s practicality still continues. So far, I have been involved in focus group studies, pitching new products and my favourite, the real-life simulation game. It has also been a privilege for me to be able to listen to even more guest lectures from experts from VF Corporation and Extreme Networks. 

With the second term up and running and dissertation preparations underway, there are still good opportunities I am looking forward to. For example, Programme Director, Rodrigo has given us the opportunity to attend the Fashion Innovation Week in Lugano, Switzerland where we will be involved in a digital creativity challenge. Additionally, I am also anticipating the marketing field trip challenge in Paris, in the summer. 

Interested in postgraduate studies? Ask Sachin any questions you have on our Unibuddy platform here.