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The best thing about the course is that it’s practical

Rakib Ahmed Noel is from Bangladesh and is studying a MSc in Data Science.

Finding the right path

When I was a child, I wanted to be a doctor, then an engineer, then a policeman. But as I grew older, I knew I really wanted to be an engineer. I graduated from a Bachelor’s degree in the UK 10 years ago. But after that, my mom became ill and I went back to my home country of Banglasdesh where I have worked as a software engineer for the last 10 years. Data and analysis was also part of my job. I love to work with data but I didn’t have a higher degree in it so I made plans to return to the UK to study.


When planning to come here, I initially thought I should go to London as I had already been there, but London is so busy. In 10 years my life has changed – I now have two kids and a wife. Living in London can be tough with a family so I started thinking somewhere else might be better. One of my friends who lives in Gloucester told me about the area. Here, it is so much calmer, it is quiet. My kids love my campus (Park), especially the ducks who live by the lake.

The course

I started my MSc in Data Science last January and I have completed my modules. Now I’m doing my dissertation on the NHS and the post-Covid factors. It will be helpful for the future identification of known diseases. I need to understand and characterise post-Covid effects for the people in the UK and then I can analyse that data and represent it to the doctors so that they can work on it. The best thing about the course is that it is practical and you get to learn how to implement and apply your knowledge.


In the field of technology, everything is changing. I have learned many new things during the course that I have adopted, which I will utilise in my career. I am looking forward to using the new technology I learned at the university. I am still finishing my dissertation but I have already secured a job as a digital technology engineer. My big ambition is to be a divisional head or departmental head of a unit. I want to contribute to society – be it through research, a publication or volunteering.

Support

The teachers here are very friendly and the Helpzones and the immigration team are fabulous. Whenever I go to them with a problem, they give me an answer. Even if it is not a subject-related question, for example I might ask about the bus timetable, they will still help me with every question.

Student ambassador experience

I worked as a student ambassador because I wanted to be more confident when speaking to people. I was very shy at first because my accent is completely different. Through the ambassador scheme I received training in presentation skills, vocabulary and public speaking. After this, I became much more confident and I have used these presentation skills in my job interview. I also made some mistakes when I started but I was given feedback so that I could learn and grow from that.

Advice

My main advice is to speak up. During my Bachelor’s degree, I didn’t speak up that much, but here I learned to express my views and questions. Everyone is here to help. So go ahead and talk to the teachers, professors, and senior lecturers. They will guide you on how to do your coursework or dissertation and achieve whatever you want.