After having studied commerce in my undergrad and then working at a venture capital firm two years post that, when I decided to go pursue a master’s degree, management seemed like the perfect discipline. There’s so much to learn within the field of management that can help you garner professional skills, and that’s what drew me to the discipline. As to why I chose the University of Melbourne, I have to be honest; it wasn’t even remotely on my radar. I was adamant on staying in India and pursing a post graduate program there, but my friend insisted that I should apply abroad and when I started looking for options, the Melbourne Business School really stood out and in no small parts because of how magnificent the campus buildings looked.
My experience so far at the university has been nothing short of incredible. Right from orientation week, where there were just about a million things to do, to how accommodating the university has been with the transition to online learning, I am really appreciative of all that this degree and the university have to offer. Although there were a few hiccups in the first semester with regards to how the recorded lectures were scheduled, this semester has been vastly better. The professors really take a lot of time to ensure that the classes and workshops are made engaging, and interactive.
I had the chance to work with Study Melbourne as a part of the university’s live project subject. It was an incredible opportunity to interact with people from different backgrounds, and also gain some valuable professional experience. I was also the part to the MBS Student Ambassador Program which allowed me to help new students settle in to campus life, much like I was assisted when I was a new student. The MBSSA Peer Mentoring Program has also been such an incredible experience for me and I am sure for my mentees as well. In my first semester, I was lucky enough to have been selected to be a mentee in the Career Mentoring Program, where I was assigned a mentor who was working within the industry and had many valuable insights to share.
The biggest challenge I presume for many students has been the transition to online learning. When we come to Melbourne as international students, a lot of us have expectations about being in a new city and experiencing the campus culture here, but it is sad that we unfortunately cannot do so now. Add up the academic load and a lack of human contact to that, and the situation gets even more challenging. However I realised that being negative about things that are beyond my control wasn’t going to change anything, so now I try to remain positive as much as I can, and tend to appreciate every positive gesture much more. The university has also been trying their hardest to make student life easier, and that has also been a lot of help.
I will suggest every new student to make sure that they are up to date on all the university information. There’s so many things happening at all times, and there are also multiple initiatives by the university at any given point that can be of help to you. Talk to the people at Stop 1 about any queries you may have whether academic or personal. Just try to make most of your time here, there’s often more to do than we think there is and it can be really beneficial to make use of the opportunities available. It is easy to get overwhelmed as a new student, I know I was, but always remember that you can always reach out to senior students, we are always here to help you out in any way we can.
All the best!
Akshita Dhariwal
Master of Management
MBS Student Association 