The best option for my career was the UK

When I started planning to do a masters, it was always in my mind to do it in Europe, however, the more research I did, the best option for my career was the UK. I am an architect and I have been always passionate about sustainability. After deep research, I found that they were way more advanced than in Mexico, with plenty of strategies already implemented all around the country, and even on the university campus. This was the main reason for deciding The University of Nottingham. The main campus is huge and astonishing, and the Faculty of Architecture had integrated many sustainable strategies that would be taught throughout the course.

Nevertheless, my first approach with Across the Pond was when I was not sure of which university to choose and my advisor helped me to do it. After lots of corrections to my application I finally was accepted by the university, but what I consider the main support, is to get the scholarship acceptance which, for me, was the most important factor to study abroad.

A few weeks before starting the course her help was an enormous support. She contacted us with other Mexican students who were going to the same university and she even told us where to buy duvets and warm clothes.
 

Student and social life in the UK

A couple of days before the start of the course I found lots of Facebook groups about activities for the new students at the university. There is also a “welcome week” where you can get to know all the available societies you can enrol. This was completely new for me, as when I did architecture in Mexico, we were only focused on our university studies. There were societies that I had never imagined before, like the magic or yoga society. So, besides doing your postgraduate course, you also had the opportunity of doing extra activities which was an excellent option to make new friends.

During my course, I had classmates from different parts of the world, such as Greece, Italy, China and of course, the UK. For me, it was really interesting to know more about their cultures and their perception about architecture and sustainability topics. It was enriching to see how things were being done by their countries to achieve sustainability goals.

In the same way, there were lots of things to do for social and nightlife. There were plenty of options depending on your mood. The public transportation system, even though it was a bit expensive for me, was incredibly awesome and easy to use. You could check on an app which tram or bus to take and how much time it would take you to get there, even though the city was not that big. However, if you decided to walk, you could feel safe anywhere at any time.

- Eduardo