Choosing a field of study is a difficult choice to make, it could potentially shape the rest of your life. I knew I loved Public Relations as a subject as I had studied it in my undergraduate degree. I had also worked at a PR firm and that cemented my decision in choosing this as my career path. Once I’d made that decision, I decided to study it further - but that begged the question where would I study it. Public Relations is such a wide field, so intermingled with culture and global business markets, that studying it abroad to widen my perspective seemed like an obvious choice. Leeds Beckett gave me the perfect balance of theory and practice, with academic sessions as well as live client projects - which is exactly what I wanted from my master’s degree. That was exactly why I chose to study my MA in Public Relations and Strategic Communications at Leeds Beckett.

The course is taught at the Rose Bowl as this degree is part of the business school. The Rose Bowl is situated at the city campus, right next to the Portland building – with classes usually three days a week or so. My favourite part about the building is that it’s completely made of glass and it looks really futuristic. The course has approximately 20 people, and my favourite part about it is how diverse it is. I have friends from the Philippines, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, England, Greece, India, Jordon and Uganda, all from my course. A lot of projects involve group work and this cements our friendship since we spend so much quality time together. Aside from lecture time, all the events happening as part of the course means that everyone is bound to make friends with each other. I especially enjoy learning with this bunch of people because of how interesting and unique they all are. It is so important to make friends with your class mates as they’ll make the whole experience so much more enjoyable.

The tutors all have different perspectives on the subject, which adds to the overall educational experience. Our tutors also took the whole batch of us out for drinks and dinner when our course started, which enabled us to be more comfortable with them. They go above and beyond to be kind and helpful which is something I particularly love.

My favourite part about the course, apart from the modules themselves is the whole learning atmosphere. Everyone has an eagerness to learn, even the tutors. They always encourage us to share our experiences and learn from each other. What I hope to learn from this course is a global perspective. We all live in our own bubbles, surrounded by things we are comfortable with. This course would help me expand my bubble and be more aware of the world I live in. We also have the opportunity to work with international brands such as IKEA, which is a huge opportunity and learning experience in itself.  This helps us step out of our academic life and apply the theory to practice.

Having a global perspective is always a good idea, even career wise. It broadens horizons and adds value to our experiences. I particularly want to work in the music industry, which now has turned into a global industry. With Korean bands like BTS being on the TIME magazine cover, and regional artists rising to the top of the charts; there’s never been a more exciting time for the industry. In such a scenario, having knowledge of just one market is simply not enough. I hope that this course, which I know it will, will enable me to foray into the global world of music but at the same time I know that my knowledge that I will have learned from this will help me to succeed in whatever career path I choose to go into.

Anagha

Hello everyone, I am Anagha Kannan, hailing from Mumbai in India. I currently study an MA in Public Relations and Strategic Communications. I enjoy reading, writing and music. Apart from that, you can find me wherever the coffee and food is at!

More from the blog

All blogs