Indian student Koushiki is studying an MSc in Business Analysis & Consulting with us. As part of the course, she's enjoyed a placement with Rolls Royce. Find out below what she's enjoyed most about her course and the placement.
What were you doing before studying the MSc in Business Analysis & Consulting?
I completed my Bachelor’s degree in 2017 and was working on two research projects from 2017 until I joined the course in 2018.
What made you take the programme and why did you choose Strathclyde?
This course is a perfect blend of analytics, business analysis as well as consultancy which is different from similar courses offered in other universities. Other universities have designed the course based on analytics only.
A very attractive feature of this course is that it has a three-week apprenticeship and the opportunity to work in a company for three months during the summer project.
Basically, I loved the course structure. The course also had a QS ranking of 29 globally in 2018 which made it more attractive. I also looked at the profiles of the faculty members of the Management Science department, before applying, and I felt that I will be able to gain a lot of knowledge from them, since they are so experienced. All these reasons have inspired me to take this course. Strathclyde is one of the top universities in the world. It is very famous in my home country, especially in my home city. Many of my friends and acquaintances have studied at Strathclyde. So, I chose Strathclyde.
What do you think of the January placements? Was that something that attracted you to Strathclyde?
I think the January placements are a brilliant way of helping the students apply the things they have learnt in their first semester in the real world, and help get an idea about ways things work in an office.
I feel it makes the course unique when compared to similar courses offered in other universities. The three-week apprenticeship was one of the most important factors which attracted me to Strathclyde.
What was involved in your placement at Rolls Royce?
The placement required us to work in a company where we had been allocated for three weeks. We had to attend the office every day (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm) generally, where we were assigned either an individual or group project. In my case it was an individual project. I had to apply the knowledge acquired in first semester such as spreadsheets, analysis of data, data visualisation, modelling, data collection, data cleansing.
What was it like working at Rolls Royce?
Working at Rolls-Royce was one of the best experiences of my life.
All my colleagues irrespective of their hierarchical position at the office treated me equally as a member of the team. They went beyond their ways to help me feel comfortable and make the workplace enjoyable for me. They constantly supported me to make my work successful. I simply loved going to office. They had flexible working hours and the environment of the office, though formal, was very relaxed. I attended departmental meetings where my opinion was valued, even though I was there for just three weeks.
In what ways did you benefit from the work experience?
I was a fresher with no prior work-experience. This work experience helped me immensely to boost my CV. It also helped me to understand how things work in an office environment, helped me to improve my professional behaviour, enhance my communication skills and learn a lot of new things from my supervisors. It helped me improve my spreadsheet and Vba skills to a great extent. Not only did I get a place to apply the skills acquired during my first semester, but I could also apply the coding skills acquired during my bachelors. Rolls-Royce is a big name and it’s a dream to work in such a company. I am extremely grateful to Strathclyde Business School for making this possible for me.
Has the placement helped you with plans post graduation?
It definitely gave me an insight into the industry and increased my networking and contacts. I received a good feedback for my work from my supervisors, and I feel that their recommendations would help me in my future endeavours.
What do you think of the course so far and what advice would you give to prospective students?
I am enjoying the course very much. It's teaching me more than I would have expected. It's helping me to gain invaluable experiences which I feel would be very useful for me in the future. The course actually equips us in every way for the way things work in an industry. I would definitely recommend it to others to pursue this course.
My advice to prospective students would be to opt for this course, work hard and give their efforts if they take up this course, because they will get much more in return.
