Northumbria University

Northumbria University First Class Honours Graduate (2021)

Attaining a Degree has always been a personal goal of mine and achieving it has proven my capabilities. It has served as a ticket to job interviews and opportunities for career advancement. As my Diploma was in Legal Studies, it meant that I had no business-related background. Knowing that attaining a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management would add value to my portfolio, I chose a University with modules with real-world practicality.

Northumbria University was my choice as it is well-established and recognised worldwide, holds the Dual AACSB Accreditation and offers a Direct Honours Business Degree.

Through this journey, I learnt the important life skill of time management, as I had to manage my full-time job while attending classes at night and on the weekends.

I stand by the belief that the decisions I make today will determine the direction of my life tomorrow. Even though the journey was not smooth sailing, the support given by the University was immense and I am proud to have completed my programme with First Class Honours.

I had worked full-time at the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities Senior Activity Centre for three years and recently started working as a Programmes Executive at YWCA. Here, I aim to equip young women and mothers from marginalised backgrounds with work skills to improve their lives through employability.

I find it meaningful to work with the elderly and devise interventions to help with their gradual memory impairment and physical limitations. I am also passionate about reaching out to people in difficult situations and making a difference in their lives.

These reasons motivated me to pursue my education with Kaplan, first with a Foundation Diploma, followed by the Diploma in Psychology. This then gave me exemptions to pursue my Bachelor’s Degree with Northumbria University, where I chose to study the Bachelor of Arts in Guidance and Counselling.

The Degree is well-suited to my goal of becoming an asset to organisations that strive to improve the welfare of those in need. Northumbria University is well-recognised for its outstanding teaching, so I feel confident about achieving my Degree here. The lecturers, who are experts in their respective professional fields, also share their experiences and knowledge with us.

The programme may serve as a stepping-stone for those who aspire to expand their career opportunities in the sector and work with people from diverse backgrounds. All the modules covered have been comprehensive and applicable to my job scope.

After I have completed the programme, I plan to further my education with a Master’s Degree in order to be empowered to care for and understand how to work with people from diverse backgrounds.

Northumbria University First Class Honours Graduate (2021)

It was through a recommendation by a friend that I decided to study with Northumbria University at Kaplan to formalise my experience. Furthermore, Kaplan offers module exemptions for the course for those with prior qualifications.

The modules I took in my Mass Communication Diploma programme about 15 years ago, in addition to my relevant professional experience, allowed me to graduate with a First Class Honours Degree in only one year.

Realising how important communication is in our digital world was what sparked my interest in the Northumbria University Bachelor’s in Mass Communication with Public Relations. I saw this Degree as a ‘stepping stone’ to advance my communication education.

The Public Relations and General Mass Communication modules that I took have been applicable to my current job. Using the modules, I helped a tech company to evaluate its business, and reposition and brand it. During my time as a Technology Director at that company, rebranding it was my greatest achievement.

I would recommend my friends to study my course, as it is a quality course with practical and theoretical elements, taught by industry professionals. As for campus life at Kaplan, it was fun, with a good mix of mature and younger students.

I decided on Northumbria University because I liked the University’s approach to my programme, even within each module; and I chose my major because it perfectly complemented my career aspirations.

The programme has helped enhance my job performance. I now take steps towards self-improvement in my problem areas and continuously learn by setting personal benchmarks and reviewing them regularly. Learning leads to a better quality of life, boosts confidence and aids in personal development.

I would recommend my University to others as my overall experience was fantastic! I made a great group of friends as my class was big, and we always had laughs with the tutors.

Thanks to my tutors’ help and the content delivered, I exceeded my own expectations by achieving excellent grades. The lessons are completely related to the job you want to do, and the programme has made me rethink what career I want to pursue because it has opened the door to so many higher-paying jobs!

Northumbria University First Class Honours Graduate (2020)

I decided to study with Northumbria University at Kaplan in Singapore as it is among the top 1% of elite institutions worldwide*. I was also attracted to the largely assignment-based learning, which allowed me to better plan my time around my work schedule to complete and submit assignments. As for my choice of major, I chose it as it is related to my current job and I wanted to enhance my knowledge in the field.

The programme has helped to strengthen my job performance. With its assignment-based curriculum, it gave us a more practical education, allowing students to apply the knowledge learned in classes through the assignments given, which were similar to projects assigned at work. In addition, all the research done based on real companies or situations gave me much exposure to current market sentiments and trends, to learn and improve on some “outdated” practices.

Given the good reputation of Kaplan and its collaboration with reputable universities, taught by very knowledgeable lecturers, I would recommend Kaplan.

*Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

Northumbria University First Class Honours Graduate (2021)

My first choice was Northumbria University as it is one of the largest universities in the UK, and its programme structure was suitable for me as a working professional. The subjects offered in the Business with Logistics and Supply Chain Management Degree programme were diverse in scope and relevant to my current job in the Service industry.

While pursing my Degree, I had just started a completely new job after working for more than twenty years in the military. However, I succeeded in balancing the challenges of my new job and coping with lectures and assignments at the same time, which eventually led to me graduating with First Class Honours.

I would recommend my University to others as it is a widely recognised University with a good track record and the curriculum offered is relevant to today’s industry context. The lecturers are specialists in their own fields and are always willing to share their wisdom.

Northumbria University was my top choice because of the Degree programme’s industry relevance – learning the essentials of business strategy and management, as well as understanding how supply chain processes can be optimised, adds value to my current role as a continuous improvement lead.

As a leader, I can deliver better results for my organisation through the Japanese concept of kaizen, or continuous improvement, and the application of lean management. The effectiveness of my training programme has also improved with my new wealth of knowledge.

Another reason for my choice is due to its location – the University is in central Singapore, which made it optimal for my part-time study efforts. The overall travel time was not excessive.

Being a customer-centric professional and having a passion for the logistics industry, I chose to study for a Business with Logistics and Supply Chain Management Degree.

My work in the oil and gas industry is very demanding, which means I often work long hours. During class hours, I had to leave the classroom to answer calls from clients and calls about work operations. Having to do this while the class was in session was not easy as it meant missing a fair bit of what the professor was teaching. However, the programme’s assignment-based curriculum, comprising self-paced research and project work, enabled me to get through this period of struggle and learn more effectively. Despite the difficult circumstances, I eventually completed my programme with Second Class (Upper) Honours.

On the whole, the programme has taught me several important lessons, including the need to collaborate well with clients so as to nurture better working relationships. The knowledge and skills that I acquired through the programme have helped me to build a strong rapport with my clients and established a more credible and trusting relationship with them.