"I got to know about the University of Sunderland through a co-worker in my previous workplace. I'd been working with a Diploma in Nursing for eight years and noticed most organisations are encouraging higher academic achievements amongst their employees. I also noticed all the work I've been doing is more routine rather than challenging critical thinking. I wanted to attain a better academic status for future employment, change my thoughts in work and challenge myself to do more, even though I'm already working comfortably.
The EAP and EBS courses helped prepare me in using the library, understanding academic literature, and constructing my own academic writing. I was better able to understand the content presented by the lecturers. The language courses helped give me more confidence with my course so I didn’t need to rely on lecturers as much.
I found the English language courses helpful for my main course as I was able to understand how to search for, read, and understand academic materials in a much more comprehensive way. EAP lecturers were easily approachable for constructive feedback.
I was working as a Nursing Continuing Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (CQI&PS) Facilitator (equivalent to Nursing CQC, supervisor level), but I wanted to learn more and provide more to the organisation in addition to my existing skills.
There are a few things that I really like about the course. Firstly, the classes run virtually at the moment, which means that I don't have to physically come onto campus. Secondly, the classes only run on Tuesdays, which gives me more time to read and prepare. Thirdly, the University cares about supporting international students, for example student admin, my course coordinator in Malaysia, transportation arrangements, financial support, wellbeing concerns, library staff, and so much more. Lastly, the availability of English classes for international students, as these helped me to become more confident to speak, listen, and write in English.
Prospective students should prepare their required documents ahead of time and discuss the process of enrolment with student admin who are really knowledgeable and fast to respond to any queries. I'm not currently working, but there are a few managers who are willing to take me on once I'm registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
The University is very caring and provides a lot of support. I would recommend all international students to enrol on the EAP and EBS courses.”
Published 4 August 2021
Tejaswini Rangaswamy