Tanvi Raut

What are your career goals after graduating?

Initially, coming onto this course I wasn't sure which path I wanted to go down. I knew I loved science, and research was an area I didn't know much about, so this course felt perfect, as there was some teaching as well as a nice 8-month research project in a lab.

Whilst on this course, I decided to apply for the Scientist Training Programme with the NHS. I was lucky enough to get the job; my experience here gave me the tools to do well in my interview. I was able to reference conferences and work experience I gained during my masters, which aided my responses, giving me real life exposure.

Tell us about the teaching environment and lecturers on your course

So between October to Christmas, we had teaching on 3 different modules. Cardiovascular biology, Clinical cardiology and Practical skills toolkit. These were taught via lectures and teaching sessions. Because of the small group size, we got to ask lots of questions in session, which made learning more interactive and engaging. The teaching sessions were especially useful as we were given the material beforehand and came to the session having read up on the topic. This allowed us to ask more detailed questions and go through case studies/specific examples. The clinical cardiology module was predominantly taught by clinicians from the hospital next door (QEHB). This was particularly interesting to me as this is where my interest lies. It was exciting to learn about the most up to date research in the field and real-life examples from patients. Additionally, it enabled us to build connections and gain work experience in the hospital. This can be quite challenging to get otherwise. We had assessments in the form of essays, a presentation and other written work and then some in person open book exams, each helping us strengthen our skills in different areas.

Tell us how the course has helped you to develop your skills for your current/future career.

This course gave me a much deeper insight into the world of Cardiovascular Science, both the research side and the clinical applications. Going to conferences and work experience placements deepened my knowledge of the field but also opened my eyes to the different jobs available in this sector, within industry and academia.

What are the best things about your course?

Firstly the staff on this course are so lovely and giving with their time and encouragement. They truly want to see you enjoy the course and thrive in whichever career you choose to pursue; even if its completely different. The content is broad, interesting and taught by professionals working in these areas and pushing forward research everyday. The course has a nice amount of teaching and the choice of many research projects in the labs as well.

Why did you choose to study your current course?

I chose this course because I have an interest in cardiology, but never quite knew exactly what to do following my undergraduate degree. Personally, because I did my undergraduate at Birmingham, it was familiar and I knew the course leads were lovely so I was happy to pursue it. The idea of an MRes over an MSci was appealing too. This MRes had flexibility in the research projects and the opportunity to be part of a research lab, whilst still getting that taught components that spans many areas of Cardiovascular Science.

Why did you choose to study at the University of Birmingham?

Again, because I live here and did my undergraduate here, I wanted to stay somewhere familiar. To other students I would say that the community and campus is friendly and welcoming. The medical school has great links with the QEHB and the cardiovascular research at Birmingham in excellent, providing amazing opportunities to work on exciting projects and build connections with amazing, intelligent researchers and academics.