I’ve been quite busy since I last wrote. I moved house this weekend, which turned out to be the hottest of the year; don’t believe anyone who tells you we get bad weather in the UK, it’s actually been warmer here than most of the rest of Europe! I had some great news this week; we got our exam results back…and amazingly the hard work has been worth it and I have passed. I confess I would have liked to have got slightly higher grades but am so relieved that I have passed. And at least my results were better than the England football team…most disappointing that we are out the World Cup…hope we do better at Wimbledon! It’s such a relief though; I now have two-thirds of my masters and just have to complete my dreaded dissertation!
I have also been to India on a work trip for the international office. I did actually want to combine it with a holiday to Goa but unfortunately it was the monsoon season…so not a good time to be lying on the beach! But it was nice to be back in India, if a little hot and sticky. I visited Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Jaipur. It was my first visit to Jaipur or the “pink city” as it was nicknamed in 1876, after it was painted pink by the Maharaja Man Singh II in honour of Prince of Wale’s visit. It was nice to meet more students wanting to come to Brunel and of course I had a little free time to enjoy the sunshine in Delhi and for shopping…I was able to buy some new things for my new flat - any excuse for shopping!!
On my trip to India (Delhi) I was very lucky to chat to one our alumni students, Shivani Bhalla who completed her masters in MSC Corporate Brand Management last year. So it was a great opportunity to ask her how she enjoyed studying at Brunel, what she thought of the course and most importantly how the course has helped her career. I thought you might like to hear her answers;
Brunel & Me-
“One of the best years of my life was at Brunel University. It has given me memories that I will treasure forever! It’s a fantabulous university with amazing people, diverse culture, excellent student facilities, and remarkable professors: veterans in their fields & I made some amazing friends for life! I would like to extend my warm thank you to Brunel and my fellow students for making my journey at Brunel just Superb!”
Corporate Brand Management
“Wow, the moment I heard the name, I knew this is the course I want to do & no stopping from there. Brands always excited me and studying about them/for them was my dream. The course curriculum was so interesting and provides a different perspective to traditional marketing. My assignments were challenging but extremely fulfilling, I really felt I learnt something concrete. The projects on BA and London Transport museum visit were a terrific learning experience. I would like to thank each and every professor who taught CBM 08-09, including Prof John Balmer, TC Melewar and Manto Gotsi.”
My Job
“I am now working for the Times of India which is a brand under the Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd. It’s the largest selling English daily newspaper in the world. The course MSc Corporate Brand Management certainly helped me position myself as a ‘Brand’ for interviewers after I graduated and returned to India. Prior to joining Times of India, I was working with a small branding consultancy and I learnt the value of my course was there in the Indian market, not only for the money I was earning, but the kind of work portfolio I was getting! That’s extremely satisfying as a fresher “
“I am now really looking forward to return to London in July, one of my favourite cities in the world. I can’t believe it I will be attending my graduation ceremony, I’m so excited to be coming back to Brunel.”
If you would like to ask Shivani Bhalla any questions about studying at Brunel and life in the UK, you can always join the Official Brunel UniversityFacebook Page and our Brunel International Facebook page, in which Shivani is an active member.
Next time: Enjoying the British summer and my final weeks of study…
