Sugandha Bhandari (India)

Hi! I am Sugandha Bhandari from India, currently doing my master’s in Corporate Communication at Bournemouth University. I did my bachelor’s in Communication Arts and Public Relations at Assumption University in Thailand, which is one of the first International Universities in that country.

Practice vs theory

The United Kingdom and Thailand are 5,000 something miles apart, which not only makes the culture, language and traditions different, but also the study environment. My major being Public Relations, I was taught everything about it, but it was very theoretical based. I was lacking the practical experience in the field. After starting my postgraduate at Bournemouth University, I talked with students who are currently doing their bachelors in Public Relations about the opportunity they have to do a one year work placement. Now I wish I had the opportunity to do my bachelor’s here as well.

The freedom to express your views

In Asia, we are taught that our teachers and lecturers are always right and that we should “worship” them. It is right to respect them because they teach us and all the knowledge that we have is influenced by them. However, while studying in Bangkok, there was a time when I made a point and later was asked not to do it again, because it was taken as an insult by the lecturer. That ended up with me keeping all my doubts inside me. That one encounter turned a confident into a self-doubting person.

One thing that really surprised me at BU was that every lecturer was ready to listen to my point of view and discuss it with me. There was no right or wrong, there was no insult. I was given the freedom to speak up my mind and share my thoughts with my cohort. In the MA Corporate Communication we have a unit called “Crisis Communication and Reputation”. This is the unit that I have very much enjoyed because we were able to discuss different case scenarios and share our viewpoint, freely.

Useful resources

BU offers several useful resources, such as the iBU App, which provides details on your timetable, the university bus schedule, and much more. When you are a BU student you also get to download the Microsoft Office package for free. And if someday you have forgotten your laptop at home, you can borrow one from the library!! How cool is that?!

Just be yourself

Along with this, the best thing about studying in the UK is that you are accepted the way you are because everyone is different. You blend in easily and by the time you are done with your second term, you have developed skills that will last lifetime.

BU surely has made me a more confident person. I am not afraid to share my views anymore.

Sugandha Bhandari, India, MA Corporate Communication, 2017/18