Hello all! I’m Hema Thakur from India, and I’m here to share my journey at the University of London International Programmes – this happens to be the first page of my travel’B’logue.
Maths, finance, economic history, unraveling the mystery, it all started with a big gap – my ‘gap’ year! I remember with sheer fondness and nostalgia my first year with the International Programmes (just about two years back). Keen and curious as I was, in spite of being a bit unsure about my pursuit, I wanted to set foot and hold one of them back at the same time. So what I decided to do is hit the runway before taking wing. To warm-up a little bit, I chose to take up just one module in year one (what I consider my gap year) and aimed to complete my degree in four years rather than three years. Gap years are unconventional here in India; people plan for their postgraduate studies as soon as they begin their undergrads! But the University of London degree wasn’t conventional either. If I was willing to go thus far on the offbeat path, I’d be willing to go a bit further. Hence, my decision to start with only one subject.
So I had a lot of spare time on hand, which I needed to manage. I did so by attending various camps, which revolved around philosophy – the apparent purpose behind our existence! Or, as our Lead College, LSE’s, motto states – “To understand the causes of things”! I had gone for them with the intention of managing my time, but they ended up managing me, in that they taught me how to prioritize, they inspired me and gave me a platform to express myself through the group discussions and forums held, along with the impetus to overcome inhibitions through the performing arts and adventure sports.
Here’s a picture of one of those group discussions. I’m on step 3, right side.
All this would have never been possible if I studied in a traditional university here. In fact, I would have spent year one with sixteen (though less intensive) modules and no option to back out from even one of them to leave it for later.
The International Programmes offers so much flexibility – it takes heed of our need.
I was ready to take wing in my second year. Though I did not what altitude I’d cruise at nor did I know what exactly my aptitude was yet…All I knew, that there was a change at the mega-level, in my attitude. I finally decided to specialize in Banking and Finance. I had previously registered for a different course. I recall the theory of asymmetric information I read in my banking finance guide – it said that banks bridge the gap of asymmetric, or unequal information between borrowers and lenders. The spread they earn, constitutes the value of this additional information that only they hold. This struck a chord in me, about the immense power of knowledge – the value of ‘knowing’ more, revealed partly in a banker’s paycheck and partly in my smile when I figured theories.
This brings me to my next point. The University of London International Programmes bridges the gap between high school-level to job-level knowledge, more than what’s imparted by any other college!!
And today, as a third-year student of this degree, I can see yet another gap vanishing – a communication gap. This blog is a testimony to the global reach of the program. It allows me to reach out to all of you, which is indeed an immense pleasure and an opportunity that I’ll always exploit and treasure!
So here’s to a journey ahead that fills gaps and fulfills us..
Hema is studying the BSc Banking and Finance with the University of London International Programmes
