Ryan Mak, a MPharm student from Hong Kong speaks about his experiences at the University of Birmingham and how he has been supported as an international student.
How did you feel before you came to University?
Before I come to UoB, I was a bit nervous and worried about the social and cultural differences that I would have to encounter. However, I was also excited about studying in UoB that after I got the offer, I spent all time familiarising myself with the campus and the Birmingham city. Recalling what I have experienced, I felt glad and welcomed when I got plenty of assistance and check-in by the international student team for the documents required for registering, they are very helpful and understanding especially when some of them had slow progresses or tricky to fill.
What does it feel like to be studying and living far away from home?
Studying and living abroad from home can seem challenging, however, once I overcome and adapt to living in UK away from family, I started to enjoy the university life here. This feeling of freedom and independence is indescribable, which meant the trust from my parents and learn to be responsible of myself.
Sometimes, I’ll get homesick, but nowadays with video calls readily assessable, I can frequently talk through the call like a face-to-face interaction with my family.
Also studying in a vibrant Birmingham city provides me with plenty of leisure and entertainment to experience and think about, allowing me not to linger to my ‘comfort zone’ in HK, which is a great starting point to discover UK and its culture/ history.
Why did you apply to do your chosen course in the UK and specifically at the University of Birmingham?
Since my high school years, I have always aspired to become a pharmacist which allowed me to work beside different healthcare professionals to provide patients with quality healthcare. UK is one of the proud countries to provide their nationals with a free NHS healthcare, which prompt me to get myself a chance to study as a pharmacy student here to become a competent and thoughtful pharmacist in the future.
UoB MPharm course provide students with plenty of practical learning and early placements in different areas around Birmingham, allowing us to apply our knowledge to actual practice, expose us to different situations and help decide the future career path we would want to pursue. I always believe that learning from practice and experience with knowledge from books is more beneficial and meaningful, thus I applied to UoB and luckily get to study here.
Do you feel you have been supported as an international student at the University of Birmingham? If so, how?
I feel well supported as international student at UoB since quite regularly, they sent us emails or calls to check up on our situation now and give us any advises needed. For example, the international student team gave me the assistance when I was needing to give the immunising record needed as per the MPharm placements in hospitals, they have assisted me to get my immunisation record that I got in Hong Kong by suggesting different sources of record to get from and eventually, I have successfully provided the record. Once they have even found someone who fortunately knows the procedures in Hong Kong to provide me with more accurate and helpful advice. I am very glad to receive such great support.
What advice would you give to prospective international students thinking about studying on the course?
The advice that I would give is that according to your interest or your dream job, choose your course wisely, if you are not sure, in Open Days you can go talk to the students for the course or attend teaser lectures of your course. This can clear up any confusions and consolidate that you are going to the right place. For Pharmacy specifically, I would suggest you to check the recognition of the course in your home country and the procedures for the registration.
And when considering the university you want to study in, besides the fame or ranking of the university, whether you like the structure of the course and the feedback from the alumni should also be of consideration. Some would also consider the local neighbourhood of the university, do you enjoy the calm and green cities or you are outgoing and would like to be in a busy and populated metropolis? There can be many more factors to it and in my opinion, asking current students or alumni feedback are the factors contributing the most.