Edinburgh Napier University

I researched several post-graduate programmes in my area of interest, and I was advised that the Advanced Security & Digital Forensics postgraduate course at Edinburgh Napier is of the highest standard and incredibly well recognised, hence my decision to only apply for this masters programme.

This course covers just about everything! You study three modules per semester and then complete a dissertation in the summertime.

Like anything, there were some modules I preferred to others - I particularly enjoyed Network Security and Pen Testing. The Network Security module covers the fundamentals of networking at an advanced level and gives you exposure to key security tools and technologies that I now use in my day-to-day work.

The perception of women working in “Tech” is a gap I certainly see narrowing as the need for women working in security grows. For me, it has never been an issue or something I have had a negative experience with.

Working in cyber security means that every day is different. It’s an ever-evolving sector, therefore you are always working on something new. Be confident in your abilities to do well in the industry and try not to fall into a trap of self-doubt. Be open-minded and ask questions, even if you think they are ‘stupid’. Reach out to other females in the industry and form connections to stay up to date on the latest and greatest emerging technologies.

Tell us a bit about yourself

My name is Alex Bantock, I am a 24 year-old international student who has called Edinburgh her home for the past four years. I am currently doing my master’s in Environmental Sustainability, a new-found love which I hope to share with all those around me.

Why did you choose to study at Edinburgh Napier University?

After spending four years doing my BSc Molecular Genetics undergrad in Edinburgh, like most people, I had formed a strong attachment to the city. However, as an international student, the concept of studying further felt far-fetched as postgraduate programmes are often so costly. However, Edinburgh Napier University gave me the opportunity to pursue my growing passion, by providing a top-class programme that is more affordable.

What attracted you into studying your course?

Following my graduation, I found myself looking for a direction, being unsure of whether biological research was my field. I have always had a sustainable mindset, which I felt was growing stronger with each passing day surrounded by the doom-and-gloom of climate change. It often left me feeling helpless and that I needed to play a role in the fight somehow. When I stumbled across the Environmental Sustainability programme, I knew it was for me. The acceptance of any academic background coupled with the programme’s real-world and practical approach to sustainability made me confident that I would really be able to apply myself and engage in this new subject.

Do you have any highlights of studying at Edinburgh Napier University?

My time studying at Edinburgh Napier University, albeit virtual, has been an amazing experience. I have been able to fully immerse myself in a completely new field, and despite sometimes feeling out of my depth, I have been supported and uplifted by all of the academic staff. I am learning completely new skills, such as building design and energy modelling in the Building Energy Performance module, as well as integrating waste mitigation actions into my everyday life for my Waste Management coursework, a 2-in-1!

The range of modules offered at Edinburgh Napier is what attracted me to study this course. I knew it would allow me to further develop as an architect and build on my knowledge in key areas such as building energy performance and sustainable building design, building acoustic performance and timber architectural design and technology.

I have particularly enjoyed modules such as sustainable building design, timber architectural design and technology, building energy performance and the final project which involved designing a new visitor centre and retrofitting an existing officer’s quarters at the Blackness Castle site.

In addition, a visit to the Engine shed located in Stirling was one of my favourite trips of this course as I got to experience a Cross Laminated Timber constructed building which was cladded with zinc. I was fascinated with the building and how it came together, and this inspired the construction methodology for my final project.

Studying at Edinburgh Napier University has enabled me to grow as an academic writer because of the workshops which were organised to help me sharpen my academic writing skills. I have learnt how to effectively carry out research, and I have been given the required resources to get relevant information. I have also had the opportunity to visit different sites related to the modules I studied which grounds the practical aspects of the course.

Being an international student, one of the challenges for me was adapting to a new climate and way of living. Also, designing with timber and the construction methodology in the UK is quite different compared to that in Africa. These challenges were opportunities for me to experience a new culture as well as learn a new way of design and construction.

I would recommend the course to anyone willing to learn more about sustainability, energy performance, timber design and building acoustics. The course adds to your knowledge as an architect or whatever field you are coming from and gives you an added advantage.

Be open-minded and ready to learn because a closed mind will certainly not appreciate new information. In addition, you must be committed to researching, be inquisitive and have a passion for the course.

For my next step, I plan on taking up a job as an Architectural Technologist in a firm or I hope to do a PhD in architecture in the nearest future.

Tell us a bit about yourself
I studied Civil Engineering in Poland and graduated during 2016, but I never had the chance to work as an engineer. In 2018, I moved to Edinburgh and decided to try a Masters in Engineering. I did it because I wanted to raise my qualification as an engineer, improve my English skills and get a Master’s diploma from a UK University. I chose Edinburgh Napier in 2019 because the Advanced Structural Engineering course was the most appealing to me, and ENU has a great employability rate for their graduates.

What made you decide to study Structural Engineering?
I enjoy Maths, Physics and the rewarding feeling of solving complex problems. Calculating and designing structures is my way of contributing to society and helping others. It’s a great feeling to see structures I have designed in real world, and as an international student I appreciate the fact that mathematics and equations are a universal language that any engineer understands, so there are no language barriers in the workplace.

Has your course given you any practical opportunities?
During my course, I joined the BEX (Built Environmental Exchange) placement, where I got help finding an industrial partner to work with during my dissertation. Thanks to that placement, my dissertation was able to address real industry needs for research. As a direct result of BEX, I also got a scholarship which paid off my student loan. Even though my course only lasted for 1 year, I would recommend the placements and internship opportunities to everyone.

How have you found the facilities? How have you used them?
The Merchiston campus facilities are well equipped, especially the Jack Kilby Computing Centre (JKCC). I used it for general study and to work on my degree assessments very often.

What advice would you give to anyone considering a Civil Engineering course?
The MSc Advanced Structural Engineering course is great. I would recommend it to anyone who would like to understand how the world around you works, and I am confident that you will be fascinated by the course content that’s on offer.

“The main reason I decided to do my masters at Edinburgh Napier was because of how vocational it is”

The main reason I decided to do my masters at Edinburgh Napier was because of how vocational it is. I’m 27, I don’t just want a degree, I want a job. That’s something I really like about the course, is that from day one, they say good grades are nice, but we’re aiming to get you a job, we’re aiming to get you a portfolio, connections, and get you straight out into the world of work and straight in to a role.

“I was with a really diverse group of students”

The thing that was a big surprise to me was the really diverse group of students. There were people from many different backgrounds, people working in advertising; people who had come straight out of university; and people like me who hadn’t really been doing anything.

“All of our tutors are people with lots of experience in industry”

All of our tutors, they’re not from traditional academic backgrounds, they’re people with lots of experience in the industry. They give us loads of feedback, they give us advice, and we have a mentorship programme through the university.
“I learnt to manage my workload, to get a little bit done each day”

The toughest part of my masters was just getting used to the workload. If you’ve got a lot of projects on at once and they all have quick deadlines it can be quite challenging. But really, what helped me, was just realising the bigger picture, and just focusing on smaller things - one day I might only get a little bit done, but as long as I get a little bit done each day, that’s good. It’s just the way of approaching each bit, isolating each individual bit and thinking, I can do this in an hour, I can do this in an hour, I can do this in an hour, and then all of a sudden, you’ve done seven hours of work!

What was your background in before studying this course?

Before starting my Masters, I studied a BSc (Hons) Interactive Media Design at Edinburgh Napier and graduated (in lockdown) in July 2020 with a 2:1. Prior to me getting my degree results back I had applied for the Masters and received a conditional offer ‘so long as I received a 2:1’ – so once my results finally came in my place was sealed!
What encouraged you to study your Masters?

I’m a very determined individual and have always been. I wanted to learn more and develop my knowledge so applying for my Masters was the next step to expand on what I had already learnt, whilst learning new skills.

Why did you choose to study here at Edinburgh Napier?

Since I live in a small town, I wanted to study in Edinburgh to experience the city more and meet different people, in a small town it’s really easy to know everyone so I found this as an opportunity and took it. On my undergraduate degree, I was emailed about this course, and did some of my own research. I was really drawn to what I learned about where it could take me in the future. After doing the research and speaking to lecturers I decided to apply.

Would you recommend the course? If so, why?

I would definitely recommend this course; all of my teachers have been fantastic and have gone above and beyond to help their students. As well as this, the course opens further opportunities and shows future employers that you’ve made an effort to enhance your skills and keep up to date with trends.

What made you decide to do your Masters?

In my role as an Executive Assistant, I managed a project to automate a resource planning system within my organisation. After deployment, we realized that some crucial steps were ignored which made us go back to the drawing board again. Apparently, the developers were having trouble understanding the business needs, whilst stakeholders felt developers were too slow in understanding the process. I needed a course that would aid me in being the intermediary between technical team and the stakeholders to explain and interpret to the different parties.
Did you attend an open evening/contact your programme lead in advance of your course?

I had contact with my programme lead prior to choosing my modules. It’s a really a good thing I did, because he asked what my plans were at the time, I explained that I would love to pursue a career path in Business Analysis and he advised me on the modules to choose from. I did choose them and had no regrets.
How do you feel your Masters prepared you for the career you have now?

I work as a Business Analyst in a tech company, where we constantly have to review the processes of organisations and come up with the best system they should adopt. In my Information Systems Engineering module, part of our course work was to review a company, to understand what they want to achieve, and then to lay out a plan for them. This is exactly what I now do in my current job - requirements gathering is the foundation of all our process here in my office.

Can you describe a moment that something clicked into place for you, or you thought - ‘I can do this’?

For my future career, I wanted to be able to explain data to stakeholders in a way that makes it easy for them to grasp my point. Using a Power Bi would help me present data in a more interesting way, so I knew it was important. At first, it seemed difficult and impossible. However, I kept on looking at the videos on my module page, and boom – I was able to do it.

My dream was always to work in the film and television industry, which fuelled my desire to study a masters. I found out about the MA Screenwriting course at Edinburgh Napier University and asked the lecturers what I needed to do to get on the course. They told me about their Introduction to Screenwriting night classes, so I signed up and started the following week. I totally loved it - I completed my first ever script which I used as my application, secured an interview, got a place and I’ve never looked back.

“The university nurtures a community vibe which feels genuinely invested in the success of its students on a personal level.”
I chose to study at Edinburgh Napier after working with the MA course leader during the night classes, as I had complete faith in the staff. The environment at the Screen Academy made me feel comfortable, supported and encouraged. I would extend that to include all Edinburgh Napier staff from lecturers and support staff to canteen staff and library assistants, janitors, administrative assistants and technical support. The University nurtures a community vibe which feels genuinely invested in the success of its students on a personal level. If you give your all to your course, you’ll see results.

One of the key things I learned from my time at university is that any creative endeavour grows and evolves with experience, nothing makes you a better writer than writing. In saying that, the course really helped to ground me with a fundamental understanding of storytelling and narrative structure. Communicating stories clearly and effectively sounds simple, yet it’s a deceptively tricky skill to master. I still have so much to learn, and every new script, pitch and treatment has its own challenges. But the debates, mistakes and research at university certainly put me in good standing to enter the industry. It taught me not to freak out when struggling with a plot knot and trust the process. As my wonderful lecturer put in my notes at the end of my degree: “Less stress, more karaoke”. Something I try to live by. I learned how to be open and vulnerable with my creative work. We shared our early drafts with our peers every week and got used to people challenging our intentions.

I wanted to keep learning about sound design techniques

My background before taking my online degree course was mainly studying for my bachelors in Digital Music Production Engineering in Mexico City, where I graduated with distinction.

After university, I worked in a variety of audio production roles and then made the decision to do a postgraduate degree because I wanted to keep learning about sound and explore different sound design techniques.

I liked the course structure at Edinburgh Napier and the opportunity you get to hear from experienced lecturers
I chose to study at Edinburgh Napier because I really liked the course structure for Sound Design, and the opportunity to hear from guest lecturers who have wide-ranging experience in different fields of sound design.

Highlights of my studies
During the interactive media module, I created an Interactive Zen Garden, which allows people to interact with different plants and depending on where they placed their hands on a particular plant, different sounds could be heard and some parameters were modified.

I also enjoyed working on my dissertation, which involved me learning a lot about Virtual reality and sound for Virtual Reality.

Through my dissertation, I had the opportunity to talk to many sound professionals with past experience in that field and that helped me a lot and encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone in order to meet and interview them.

While writing, and creating the sounds that I needed for the dissertation, I learned a lot and I enjoyed the whole process. Dr Iain McGregor gave me invaluable insights and recommendations about my dissertation.

Having the opportunity to travel to Edinburgh and receive my diploma, and being part of the graduation ceremony was the best part of it all!
Get out of your comfort zone and succeed

The biggest challenge for me when studying my masters was to get out of my comfort zone. During some modules, I collaborated with new people and worked with them on projects.

Other things were also different between my Undergraduate and my Postgraduate courses. For example, my Undergraduate course was a face-to-face program in Mexico City, while my Postgraduate course was an online degree.

Jonny McFarlane is a Project Editor at Newsquest, leading a team of sports journalists to produce high quality, cutting edge digital journalism via a subscription model. He was formerly Live Sports Editor of the Daily Record and Editor of Football Scotland. He was named Digital Journalist of the year in 2019. Jonny graduated the MA course in 2013

"My experience of the MA Journalism course at Napier was fantastic and undoubtedly gave me a foundation that has underpinned everything I have achieved in my career since. I would highly recommend the MA Journalism course to anyone looking to quickly up-skill in a way that leaves you perfectly equipped to enter a competitive industry and thrive."

"Modern journalists need to have varied tools at their disposal and the course helped me to build a solid level of competency in video, audio, voice coaching, presenting and of course, the corner stone of it all, writing. Journalism has many areas, be it newspapers, websites, magazines or broadcast."

What encouraged you to study at postgraduate level?

I left my undergraduate studies feeling happy with the progress I had made regarding my filmmaking knowledge and abilities. But I knew there was a lot more I needed to learn before I could enter the industry. I didn’t know anything about roles on-set within larger scale productions, equipment, or on-set etiquette. I was on a completely amateur level and I really wanted to enhance my abilities. I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy study also, I always took a disliking to school & college, but university had a different working atmosphere of dedication and respect which enabled me to enjoy learning.

Why did you choose to study at ENU?

I had previously studied in London which was fantastic, and I loved every second. But after 4 years in the big city, there are certain things you begin to miss about living somewhere more intimate. I wanted to be able to afford more than just my living costs, and soon, the charm of the attractions began to wear off. I then noticed most of the London universities charged way beyond my means, so I started to look elsewhere and found that Edinburgh Napier had a directing course. The course had received great reviews, had promising testimonies from graduates, and had modules that filled in all the gaps in my knowledge, such as Collaborative Techniques and Creative Practice, with the added bonus of the chance to learn about screenwriting. Upon being invited for an interview, instead of doing it over Skype, I headed up to Scotland in person to take myself on a mini-break to see how I felt about my potential new home - I fell in love instantly and it’s not hard to see why.

What are your favourite parts of the course?

Highlights for me were the Collaborative Techniques shoots, where our tutors, alongside other industry professionals, would attend shoots and observe us as we shot a scene and give critique on our on-set decorum and skill. These shoots introduced me to the role of Assistant Director, a career route I am now pursuing. I felt this module gave us the foundation of knowledge we needed in order to pursue our independent filmmaking in Creative Practice - this being another one of my favourite aspects of the course. Other highlights would include the Critical Film Study.

I searched for the best option for my Materials Engineering courses and found Edinburgh Napier fits my preference because of the programme structure, a wide range of modules and practical course work. The course is also accredited by the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining (IOM3), which has made the course extraordinary.

I can remember my first class was on Ceramic and Composite Materials by Neil Shearer (My programme leader), It was fascinating the way he shared the new topic to us. Besides that, another class I had was Metallic Materials, again, the lecturer really supported me and helped me with so many resources.

I also received support from other students through ENSA. They went through a lot of effort during exam time by sharing cookies and coffee. It was an amazing experience for me.

I believe that the challenges I faced have helped shape me in a good way. I think, these challenges have helped me to grow and develop.

The support is countless if you want to use it. The university has a career service that helps students get into employment and besides that, the university offers multi-cultural programmes that help build a wonderful community for students.

Overall, it is not possible to conclude my experience in words, everything has been a matter of lifelong experience for me.