Student Blog

This is a guest blog by BA (Hons) Finance & Economics* student, Noah Ahwe.

Bournemouth University has excelled in my expectations by providing me with real-life applications, assisting my academic progression, and developing my soft skills, which are highly important to graduate employers. What attracted me to Bournemouth University initially was the variety of courses in the Business School. With an interest in Financial Markets and the Global Economy, BA (Hons) Finance & Economics* was the perfect course for me. I was also attracted to the optional sandwich year on the course, which is a placement year in Industry, that you take between your second and final year.

In the first year, you have lots of opportunities to get stuck into university life with Freshers week and lots of social events which help you find your feet as moving away from home can be daunting to some. The Accounting, Finance, and Economics subjects are integrated in the first year with everyone completing the same fundamental units. These units provide a strong foundation to build upon in the second and third years and allow you to decide which pathway is suitable for you with the flexibility to change courses within this field. For example, if you are studying Accounting, but in the first year you particularly enjoyed Finance you have the option to combine and study both after year 1.

The placement year for me was one of the highlights whilst at Bournemouth University, although you are not on campus you have regular help and catch-ups with your placement advisor who assists you in finding relevant work experience or sorting out any issues you may have. It is important to undertake work experience, especially going into Financial Services as the environment for graduates is extremely competitive and an internship or relevant work experience will really help you stand out from the crowd upon graduation. I managed to land a 9-month internship at a boutique consultancy that specialised in value enhancement for Private Equity firms with help from my placement advisor. As a result, I have secured a role in Asset Management when I graduate, this would not have been possible without undertaking a placement year.

At Bournemouth University especially in the AFE (Accounting, Finance & Economics) department, they stress that having a degree is not enough, there have been many useful professional development workshops such as using LinkedIn effectively and networking sessions. These skills will set you up for success upon graduation. Some of the units are very practical and hands on, for example using excel to model financial risk and using business simulation software to promote growth in a company. These skills are exactly what graduate recruiters are looking for.

Overall my personal experience of Bournemouth University has been great, and if your still unsure we also have Bournemouth Beach which is insane in the Summer!

*BA (Hons) Finance & Economics is an old course – we now offer BA (Hons) Finance and BSc (Hons) Economics.