A De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) student has landed a full-time job at a top banking company before graduating with her Master of Business Administration MBA (Global) degree, writes Kerri Stevenson.
Yihan Zhu, an international student who studied for her Accounting and Finance undergraduate degree in China, will begin working at Barclays this August.
Her role, as a finance business analyst, will include delivering accounting, advisory and reporting services as well as working with clients and senior professionals within the bank.
Zhu credits DMU with helping her become employed so soon, as her course has included employability coaching from Associate Professor David Gordon as well as team work and specific employability modules.
She said: "My course has included a language module to help improve my academic English skills, as well as work professionalism skills, where I could communicate with people in different industries to gain more of an insight into how they work.
"Working in a team during my course has also been very important in helping me become employed, as it has enhanced my skillset so I can solve different problems and complete my work to a high standard."
Acquiring guidance from her lecturers has been vital to Zhu's success, as she feels this ensures her work is always on the right track.
She also recommends DMU to international students due to its diversity and multicultural nature, which she feels was an advantage for her as it gave her the opportunity to work with students from a range of backgrounds and countries.
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While studying for her master's, Zhu is set to complete an Executive Company Project (ECP), which is available across selected business master's courses at DMU, including the entire portfolio offered by Leicester Castle Business School.
Providing an alternative to a traditional dissertation, the ECP offers organisations an opportunity to benefit from the skills of a master's student for a specific project, while the student gains valuable work experience.
Zhu said: "I chose DMU mainly because of the ECP project, as it will allow me to gain work experience in the UK and also because of the new equipment and buildings, which really helped me while doing my assignments.
"The university has such a welcoming atmosphere for international students and in different societies at the Student Union you can find other students with the same interests as you and make new friends easily."
Accessing career resources on My Gateway is also important for Zhu, as she has used them to complete online tests, practise video interviews and read through the online newsletter, which informed her about what is happening in the business industry.
In the future, she hopes to further her career in finance, while continuing to work in a diverse environment and learn new skills from those around her.
Posted on Friday 24 February 2017