Fatma Elasouad

What was your motivation for undertaking postgraduate study?

I undertook postgraduate study because it presented me with an opportunity to study computer science without having studied it before. The conversion course allows anyone with no knowledge of computer science to have theoretical understanding of the field as well as grounded and practical skills of programming. I also knew that having a postgraduate degree under my belt will increase my skill set and make me that much more employable in the near future.

What, for you, are the best things about MSc Computer Science?

One of the best things about this course is the wide variety of help available to me, from the lecturers to the teaching assistant, to the weekly tutorials to the many help desks for the different modules I take. Also my classes are filled with people from such a wide variety of backgrounds, where everyone has their own strengths that I am able to learn from my team members during group work assignments or even just while we study together!

What piece of advice would you give to anyone considering MSc Computer Science?

To anyone looking to study a postgraduate course, I would immediately recommend to look over the modules of a course, understand what will be taught and how much it aligns with what you want out of that year, and for your career plans afterwards. For me, I wanted to understand the theoretical underpinnings of computer science, but I also wanted real practical coding skills, and in looking over a variety of computer science conversion courses, this course at the University of Birmingham fit the best for me. I would also recommend either going to the campus, asking questions to the postgraduate recruitment team, or even browsing online forums to understand the culture of the university you will be studying at.