Umikulthum Chome

Day in my life

My typical day involves attending my lectures, spending quality time with my friends, and working on assignments to reduce the workload daily. I like to relax with light reading in the evening, sometimes academic, other times simply recreational. I try to balance academic focus, career development, and personal growth.

Why Birmingham Dubai?

The reason I chose the University of Birmingham Dubai (UoBD) was that it offers a high-quality British education in the city of Dubai. It is a top 100 global university, and it is triple-accredited. The University has been in operation and successful for over 100 years, and so I knew I could trust the brand and what they say would be delivered.

Choosing to study in Dubai

I chose to live and study in Dubai because of the multicultural nature of the city; I wanted to meet different people from around the world and learn about their culture and experiences. I also wanted to be in an environment that would bring forth growth while allowing me to enjoy myself every once in a while, by relaxing and taking part in the different fun and student-friendly activities in the city.

Virtual Open Days

I attended a Virtual Open Day while I was still back home because I wanted a proper walk-through of the admissions process and to ask questions I had in mind. I wanted to hear directly from the admissions team so that I knew what to expect and how to move forward.

Why I chose to study Financial Management

I chose to study the MSc Financial Management course because I wanted to expand on the preliminary finance knowledge from my undergraduate degree. The modules of the programme aligned well with what I was aiming to achieve, and I also appreciated the different methods of teaching involved, as they had practical aspects to them that I knew would go a long way in the corporate world.

It felt like the right choice to pursue this course at UoBD because of the high reputation and accreditation of the Birmingham Business School.

My Birmingham Dubai experience

Student life at UoBD is 10/10. I can't pick my favourite part of the experience because I enjoy the time spent with my friends both in and out of campus, interacting with my lecturers is great because I always learn something new, and there are so many events and activities to do.

The University has both fun and educational events throughout the semesters, making life interesting because there's always something to look forward to. The general University culture breeds a sense of belonging and creates a home-like environment for students.

Birmingham Dubai’s impact

The University has helped me gain knowledge in the field of finance and feel ready to apply my classroom skills in the real world. I was able to meet a number of industry professionals in the city, courtesy of my professors who brought in a number of guest lecturers.

I was also able to branch out into marketing and gain hands-on experience in the field by taking part in student worker roles.

Scholarships and visa

During my time at UoBD, I have received a great deal of support from the team. Firstly, I received the Chancellor's Academic Merit Scholarship once my application was successful and complete. I was able to sign up to pay my fees in three instalments, which was helpful for planning purposes.

Lastly, the visa process was made easy because all steps were well shared, and the University was there each step of the way.

Advice for students

The advice I would give to both prospective and current students would be to pay attention in classes, follow up when you have any doubts or questions and avoid procrastinating on your assignments or studying for your exams. It's fairly easy to succeed and get good grades during your course if you study with this approach.

Aim to socialise as much as you can and make friends because they make the days lighter and more interesting, easily shaping your experience at the University.

Play tourist in Dubai because it's a beautiful city and there are a lot of places to visit and activities to do. Take advantage of getting a high-quality education in such a dynamic city.