Aleksandrs

My name is Aleksandrs, I am a student of the University of Derby doing a degree in International Relations & Global Development and Business Management. The main reasons I decided to study abroad are: being independent, having the opportunity to improve my English and get internationally recognized education. Let me explain why – I have always had that desire of being able to travel around the world, meet people, explore new cultures and discover different places. These aspirations were set in my mind at an early age - I always knew I will study abroad but did not know where exactly. I kept questioning myself - Where? At one stage of my life I luckily came across „Linkturs”, and that certainly led to fulfilling my big dream of studying abroad. It was quite a difficult decision to decide on what exactly I wanted to study out of all those things I was interested in and for sure with the help of „Linkturs” the choice was finally made!

I believe that the key thing to success is a language – being able to communicate fluently in the internationally recognized language gives me the freedom– the freedom of choice of where I want to live and work in the future without any limitations. On the other hand, I understood having an internationally recognized diploma would enhance my future employability opportunities even more, consequently I made a decision to study at one of the UK universities.

I am a final year student about to graduate from university without any regrets I can definitely say that this was the right choice to study in the UK. I have met so many people from various backgrounds, made friends from around the globe, being able to travel and try new things. This whole experience of studying abroad, I believe, makes you a stronger person, makes you realize what you want to achieve in your life, it changes the way you think, it gives you a new perception of the way you live as well as your friends and society you live in and the society you are coming from. Some people may ask why exactly I choose to study at the University of Derby as it is not the top university. Personally, I think that it is not the university that leads you towards the success, but it is your own personality, willpower and motivation to become who you want to be. The university initially to me is a place to develop the language and a set of different skills, to get an international diploma; in other words, it builds the foundation and the rest will depend only on me!

For the future students I wish not to expect that everything will be there ready for you. You are the one who controls your own life and makes memories as well as the whole university life experience – so go out and take every opportunity that is out there! Talk to people – make friends! Make Your student life - the way You imagine it!

As a part of my International Relations & Global Development course – the University of Derby sends their students on a field trip to the United Nations in Geneva.

Discovering the lost city of the Inkas and one of the wonders of the world – Machu Pichu in Peru.

Studying at a UK university allowed me to discover the world and make friends.

While studying at the University of Derby, I have joined an International Student Society and got elected a President of the society in my final year!