I’m Daniel Asaya, 23 years old and I come from a lovely Christian family in the Western part of Africa, Nigeria. All along, success has always been my watch word and so I strive so hard to attain it. I scaled through four years of high quality learning in Information and Communication Technology from Crawford University, Nigeria where I bagged a first class degree.

I never knew how important my grades were until it qualified me for the automatic Academic Excellence Scholarship when I applied to study a Master’s in Information Technology at Bournemouth University in March, 2013.

While some of my friends chose other universities, some because of the freedom of being far away, others just because they wanted to follow their friends, I chose BU because of its high quality learning opportunities. BU became the first UK University to receive a ‘commended’ status for the quality of learning opportunities awarded by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in 2013. The QAA must have obviously looked into different areas like the quality of teaching, academic support, IT facilities etc. before giving such an award.

My passion for technology and a quality education got me interested in doing a course at BU. Getting money off my tuition fee meant a whole lot to me as it went a long way to reducing the financial burden for my parents. Then I wished I had applied for the full scholarship!

Studying a Master’s in Information Technology at Bournemouth University so far has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me, as the course is filled with units that will help me with the relevant technical and non-technical skills needed to impact today’s industry.

Interestingly, the course comes along with an optional work placement which allows you to put into practice all that’s been taught in the classroom and to learn from experienced professionals in the sector. A work placement opportunity also gives you a fantastic insight into what it’s like to work in the industry and may even open your eyes to a career path you hadn’t thought of before.

Travelling this far to study was a worry as I’ve never been so far from home, but it all changed as I realised everyone I came across was friendly and homely, right from the lecturers to the community as a whole.

HINT: If you want to study at a university where you’ll get exposed to a variety of opportunities through which you can then tailor your career, develop specialised expertise and grow professionally, I’d advise you to make the best decision of your life by applying to Bournemouth University and trust me – you’ll be #BUProud by the end of the day.

By Daniel Oluyomi Asaya