MA International Retail Business, Sustainability & Technologies

Using the many transferable skills I learned on the MA has enabled me to pursue a new career with an international humanitarian organisation.
Mervat has been working at NGOs for over 10 years in the UK and the Middle East. She is currently working as a Programme Officer (covering Iraq Programme) at an international humanitarian organisation.

Prior to that, Mervat was working in theatre management serving under-privileged children and young people through cultural and educational interventions. That’s what led her to completing her Master’s Degree in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy.

For Mervat, studying at Goldsmiths was one of the best experiences she had, the MA Degree allowed her to pursue a new career using the many transferable skills that she learnt, starting a new life in the UK and meeting many of her close friends there.

I graduated from MA Arts Administration and Cultural Policy in 2018, I am now in charge of research and international affairs at the Association for Corporate Support of the Arts. My main responsibilities include surveys for corporations and their art and cultural activities, I then issue research reports based on the survey results every year. Our surveys are a commisioned project from the Agency for Cultural Affairs for the Japanese government.

Before studying at Goldsmiths, I already studied for two Masters degrees in Japan: a Master of Business Administration and Master of Arts. Studying at Goldsmiths was an opportunity to get international knowledge and experience, and was really the final stage of my academic journey before working again. Regarding my current job, I always use what I learned during all of my studies. Having a knowledge of art and the cultural policy situation in the UK and other European countries is very useful for my research job.

I found out about Goldsmiths because of my previous boss in a gallery I worked at recommended it to me because. She said it is one of the most creative schools in the art field and it is well-recognised in China's art scene, which means it will better for my future job hunting after graduation. Before I came to Goldsmiths, I was working in MD Gallery, an international Gallery founded by a Paris woman. I was also working as a volunteer in Himalayas Art Museum, which is one of the largest museums in Shanghai.

I found my course a little bit tough as it was sometimes hard to find a balance between reading more books and seeing more exhibitions, while also spending a lot of time absorbing knowledge from lectures, too. As an international students, you can use a lot of energy to transfer English and Chinese and try to understand the deeper meaning of what the teachers said.

We all loved the college's atmosphere, both the physical environment and the artistic and creative atmosphere here. Everything here is so different from what I've experienced in former traditional study atmosphere. I would always walk in London centre and go to a lot of exhibitions as well. Finding new pubs or cafes in London helped me to immerse myself in London culture, too. The academic studies and research have been the most important channels to lay a solid foundation to realise my dream.

My ambitions to work as an excellent art administrator in an art institution such as an art museum have come true. Since completing my MA in ICCE, I now work as a core team member at the Start Museum. I am responsible for exhibitions assistance, researching artists and collections.

The Start Museum is a new contemporary art museum opening in Shanghai at the end of 2019. It's located near the West Bund Cultural Belt, Xuhui District in Shanghai, and was designed by the famous French architect Jean Nouvel.

Thanks to what I've learned and experienced during my MA, I have improved my thinking and research abilities and have helped my job.

"This programme proved to be a vital asset in my involvement in the field of Events Management as well as Music Business."

Angelos is a MA in Arts Administration & Cultural Policy: Music Pathway graduate. He was a Goldsmiths student in the academic year 2011 - 2012. This programme proved to be a vital asset in his later involvement in the field of Events Management as well as Music Business. Since his graduation, he has worked in the field of Marketing for acknowledged agencies (HarrisonParrott - UK) as well as Account Management and Marketing for large ticketing companies in Greece (Viva.gr - GR). From 2015 onwards he has concentrated in the field of performing music, working as a session, touring and recording musician. His latest personal project is called 'Pelion Rivers' and refers to a folk persona who is writing music between travelling destinations. His first video, 'Pixels', was recorded live at an abandoned 20th century station in Central Greece.