'I was beginning to think I wouldn't be able to afford to continue my studies …'

A work placement and fantastic scholarship offer saw De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) Computer Games Programming student John Gardiner decide on a career change.

While working for his undergraduate degree, John went on a placement at Airbus where he was introduced to the world of online security. It piqued his interest in cyber security - and made him think about studying for his master’s.

“I was based in the research division and everyone there had MScs or PhDs. I realised that if I wanted to work in the field, I would have to get my master’s too so I started to look around for funding,” he said. “I was beginning to think that I wouldn’t be able to afford to continue my studies when I found out I was eligible for the Vice-Chancellor’s 2020 Scholarship.”

The Vice-Chancellor’s 2020 Scholarship offers a tuition fee discount of up to 50 per cent on selected full-time and part-time postgraduate courses. Based on academic achievement and merit, it is automatically applied to all home and EU graduates who achieve a 2:1 or higher and who are graduating or have graduated within the past two years. Individual faculties may also set their own eligibility criteria, terms and conditions.

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While John knew it was unusual for a student to move from the world of games into cyber security he was confident that the skills he learnt during his games degree would bring something different to the course.

John said he was happy to return to DMU to study for his master’s: “They don’t mollycoddle you but equally they won’t force feed you either. They give you all the information you need. DMU judges you as a person and as that person they give you all the help you want.”

DMU has the high-tech equipment and software necessary to learn and be up-to-date in a fast-moving industry. John said: “The labs are excellent; you can do whatever you need to without worrying about someone else needing to have access to the system.”