Alice: You may know already that Derby is committed to ensuring graduate careers, and one of the ways we do that is through offering opportunities for our students. I’m now joined by two of our recent graduates, Olivia Wilkinson and Arvin Johal, who are both at the start of a two-year graduate scheme. Welcome to you both.
Olivia: Thank you.
Arvin: Thank you.
Alice: So Liv, what did you study and why?
Olivia: So, I studied Marketing PR and Advertising, and when I started I just wanted a creative career. I didn’t know what pathway I wanted to start or go into but I really liked the sound of marketing at Derby, and they offered a course that was allowed for that creativity with like applied case studies and live briefs. We were able to go out into the field and get hands-on practice, and that’s why I studied it here.
Alice: And Arvin, what did you study and what led you into to that subject?
Arvin: So, I studied a Bachelor of Arts and Business Management degree. Previously, to go into university, at college, I studied a BTEC in Business Management and I really thoroughly enjoyed, kind of, the different aspects associated with business management really, and learning about the different components that you know, make up a business essentially. From HR, to accounting and finance to marketing. So yeah, I really enjoyed it at that level and I just wanted to kind of specialise and kind of keep my options open in regards to what I want to do in the future, which has led me on to working on this graduate scheme now. I’m kind of working on narrowing down in that marketing field, really.
Alice: And you’re both first-class graduates which is a really impressive result. What were your experiences like of being a student, Arvin?
Arvin: So my experience was… I had a very positive experience. I feel like due to the nature of the college work I used to do, a lot of it kind of transferred onto university. So I did a lot of assignment work, a lot of report writing as well. So a lot of assignments that I did were kind of very similar in nature in regards to university level as well. So that kind of gave me, a kind of teaser as such really in terms of what it’s like to study at university, really thoroughly enjoyed it. My experience was amazing, both on an academic sense and a non-academic sense as well. So academically, you know, the support that I received was absolutely amazing. We had something called a Personal Academic Tutor as well, which I used very thoroughly and assisted me throughout, you know, my whole time at university really. And then non-academically as well, getting involved in different societies, different sports clubs, and you know, just getting… getting out there and you know, becoming a student ambassador, a content creator, for example, a marketing representative. So all these fingers in different pies, kind of you know, honed my experience at the University of Derby really.
Alice: And Liv, tell us about your experience of being a student at Derby.
Olivia: Yeah, likewise. My experience was great. The amount of opportunities that we were given was amazing. From careers, there’s societies, I was… I joined the Women’s Football Club which was brilliant. I also had opportunity to join the Student Employment Agency as a social media assistant, mentioning my creative aspirations. I also joined the DRIVEN scheme, which was a marketing internship. So I was able to not just get the marketing study from my degree, but also that application into the real world experience.
Alice: So, lots of things that you were involved in there. How did you find balancing that with your studies, was that easy to do?
Olivia: Yeah, so it was really great. So, at the university, they were really good at helping you manage that work-life balance. I was able to adjust my working hours as social media assistant and during the DRIVEN scheme, and when I was a marketing intern and went on to marketing assistant, they helped me manage my hours around my study so I was able to adjust.
Alice: And Arvin, you were obviously involved in loads of things as well. Did you find it tough, trying to keep all those balls in the air while studying, while trying to do all this enrichment work?
Arvin: Yeah. No, definitely. Because I used to work part-time as well as the hospital, NHS, and I was special constable as well for two years, so kind of balancing that was really, really hard alongside my studies as well. But yeah, I just kind of committed to you know, my career really, as such, and making sure that I honed my skills and my experiences to, you know, my future and what I wanted to do. So yeah, it was difficult. But you know, I made it work alongside my studies as well. And like Liv said, you know, the academics were really, really supportive as well and they kind of assisted where they could as well. And, you know, helped where possible really. So yeah, it was hard but you know, we managed and here I am today. So yeah, really good.
Alice: Great, and you’re both a couple of months into the graduate scheme within the marketing, external relations, department. What have you learned so far?
Olivia: Yeah, so, so far I’ve… the amount of opportunities and the amount of experiences I’ve dealt with is amazing. So, I’ve had so many opportunities to work in loads of different areas within marketing. I’m just learning. Each day I’m learning new things, it’s absolutely brilliant. So, by the end of these two years I can’t image how much I’ll have progressed already.
Alice: And same for you Arvin, how have you found it all?
Arvin: Yeah, it’s been amazing so far. I’ve learnt so many different things that I wasn’t even familiar with before. From you know, SEO, CRM systems and, you know, lots of different areas within marketing that I won’t bore you with it because there’s a lot. But yeah, a lot of aspects in relation to marketing that I’ve kind of learned and developed and, you know, really eager to kind of move forward with as well. And especially working with the events team at the university as well is something that I wanted to really do, not necessarily in relation to marketing as such, but just something that I wanted to kind of get that experience, and it’s great that the graduate scheme allows me to kind of explore different areas within the university as part of marketing as well. So, yeah.
Alice: And, what piece of advice would you give to somebody who’s thinking of becoming a student at Derby?
Arvin: Best piece of advice would just be seize every opportunity during your time as a student. Make sure you do your kind of research with an Open Day, to ensure that you get the best quality of information and knowledge before actually going to university. The kind of worst thing you can do is just apply to a university for the sake of it, or just because, you know, your friends are going there. So don’t kind of be, don’t follow the crowd as such. Just you know, be your own individual, and, you know, make sure that, you know, you’re on your own path and not just tagging along on someone else’s journey. So, yeah, make sure you do enough research into the university that you’re potentially thinking of applying to.
Alice: Anything to add to that, Liv?
Olivia: No, honestly, I just second what Arvin has just said. So, just take every single opportunity that you can, you don’t know where it might lead you. So, I started as a communications ambassador. From that, I was able to get like the social media assistant role, and then, with DRIVEN scheme and everything, it’s just all led up to the position that I’m in now. So, just take every opportunity you can and you don’t know where it will lead you.
Alice: That’s brill, thank you very much both for joining me here today.
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