Inspirational Student Stories: International Students in the UK

We’re sharing inspirational stories from our UK international student community in honour of International Students’ Day. As part of the #WeAreInternational campaign, these students have shared their experiences of what coming to the UK to study has been like, how they’ve been inspired and what they’re going to do after their studies.

Meet Minh Loan

Minh Loan came to the UK from Vietnam to study an MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at Swansea University.

Helped by a generous scholarship, she was the first in her family to go to university and wants to be an English university lecturer back home in Vietnam.

“Studying in the UK hasn’t just benefitted my education, I am a completely different person now. I’m more independent and confident and see other people’s points of view more.”

Meet Charles

Originally from Nigeria, Charles came to the UK to study an MSc in Public Health and Community Wellbeing at Anglia Ruskin, with the aim of working for the NHS or in disease control back in Africa.

He sees his Masters as a way to give back to the community, and has already made a difference as an International Student Ambassador and as part of the SHoKE programme (Students at the Heart of Knowledge Exchange). He even won an award for all his volunteering (over 50 hours!).

Charles’ main piece of advice for anyone thinking about coming to the UK is that “you must be open-minded to new possibilities. This helped me to integrate and embrace life here.”

Meet Isabel

Isabel loves the UK so much that she chose to move here from Spain to study her undergraduate degree and then stayed to study her Masters. She’s hoping to stick around for a PhD as well!

She chose to study an MSc in Pure Mathematics at Imperial College London, and was awarded a scholarship for women in Math, which made a huge difference to her career path. She’s also made a difference in her department, doing a review of the tutor system as a Course Representative, and has had her findings implemented.

“University has been transformational for me. I’ve learned so much about myself. I love the freedom this has given me because it’s really allowed me to blossom as a person. That’s what life has brought in the UK.”

Meet Yi

Bringing a cultural influence to her designs on her MA in Landscape Architecture at the University of Sheffield, Yi is determined to make the world a safer place through her career in socially restorative urban development.

Originally coming from China, it was Britain’s long and rich history as well as it’s classical literature that drew Yi to choose the UK. Through working alongside her degree, Yi now feels more capable of making huge changes in her life and accepting challenges.

“My advice for anyone considering studying here is be brave and keep trying. Practice the language as this gives you more opportunities to work and socialise.”

Meet Siri

Having already been a successful business owner back in India, Siri has always had studying an MBA in the UK as her goal. She chose to apply her experience to the MBA with Advanced Practice at Wrexham University and wants to use her knowledge to create a new business in the UK that helps people access healthy food.

“I always believe in a career rather than a job and we should all have the opportunity to have a career. To me, education is power. I don’t want to just experience it, but also drive it and help others in the UK and really achieve something for me, and them.”

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