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The university offers the support and community that lets students make the most of their education and time here. BA Business and Management Ratul Chaterjee experienced this even before he joined. From visa queries to the intricacies of residing in the UK, someone was always available to guide him. And it wasn’t long before he made new friends, thanks to the many welcoming societies on campus.
“I think that being part of a society helped me more socially and mentally because you have lots of lectures so you need to have something that gets you away from all of that,” he says. “I have been surrounded by some great people and I’ve definitely made some friends for life.”
In September, Portsmouth was awarded the highest overall rating of Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023). Source: University of Portsmouth
Chaterjee credits the Res Life team for all their help when he was facing difficulties. “You know you’ve got them there if you need to speak to somebody,” he states.
For those venturing into placements, a dedicated team in the Richmond Building has their back. When he first arrived, he didn’t even know an international student could take part in placement. The team not only informed Chaterjee about placements but also helped him to secure a year long position. During this time, a personal tutor, a placement officer and various members of Portsmouth’s Careers and Employability team were always checking in to see how he was doing.
While Chaterjee completed his placement at Eli Lilly and Company, other BA Business and Management students have secured paid roles at IBM, SAP, Hewlett Packard, Oracle, L’Oreal, and Goldman Sachs. Many companies also offer full-time graduate jobs to Portsmouth students following their degree.
The BA Accounting with Finance is equally impressive — a programme uniquely accredited by four key accounting bodies: ACCA, CIMA, ICAEW and CIPFA. It focuses on modern accountancy, equipping students with the knowledge to understand, visualise and present financial data to help businesses make the right decisions. On this programme, students are frequently expected to work on real-world case studies in small groups that mimic the workplace. Guidance is provided by professionally qualified accountants who have worked with KPMG, Deloitte and HSBC.
“They’re really good,” says student Zulfat Adenji. “They make a real effort to support your learning at Portsmouth. The little things make a huge difference, like recording classes so you can just go back and listen or revise for yourself, or suggesting websites where you can go and learn more. And their notes are always well explained.”
Beyond the classroom, the Richmond Reception has never failed to provide Adenji and his peers with valuable resources to overcome common challenges faced by international students. The Academic Skills Tutors have been incredibly helpful, too, offering guidance on essay writing and how to cite sources.
It’s this level of support that encourages students to aim higher. For Adenji, this meant serving as class representative — a role key to fostering open communication between students and teachers. “This really helped me to be honest because if the teacher was too fast or too slow or there were other comments we wanted to make, I was able to talk to them to try and improve it for everyone,” he says.
Adenji finds his peers just as ready to help and connect. “We all work together, and it’s really culturally diverse,” he says. This diversity was first vividly illustrated to him during his first year at Portsmouth, when he attended the Cultural Festival in the Student Union. The event was a melting pot of traditions, with students proudly displaying their native attire, sharing their culinary heritage and engaging in joyous dances.
What Chaterjee and Adenji’s journeys both have in common is that they both highlight the University of Portsmouth’s dedication to providing an environment where students can flourish academically, personally and professionally. To find out how else it empowers students to embrace the full spectrum of their learning experience, click here.
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