I was 29 when I joined the University of Salford in September 2005 as a Chevening Scholar sponsored by the British Council. A United States graduate, after 2 years of working I decided that it was time to pursue a higher degree. I am currently a Director of an Incubator Program, The Knowledge Mine (TKM) and like what I am doing. I am looking forward to utilizing the knowledge that I will gain in better serving the organization that I work for.

I like to experience new cultures and different environments so I chose the UK as I had earned my bachelors degree from the United States (Florida Atlantic University). That and the fact that three of my siblings went and are still going to colleges in the UK encourage me to pursue my higher education here. I found out about Salford from a Salford University regional representative in an exhibition held in Oman. I got acceptances from three different universities and I consulted my British colleague at work, as well as the British Council, and they recommended Salford based on different factors. Most important of all was the ranking of the Information Systems Institute of Salford.

Here there are a large numbers of international students with different background experiences and there is interest in the faculty to share, listen and interact with people from different backgrounds and diverse working experiences. I believe that we will stay in contact and share experiences, and I would not be surprised to meet some of them in an international seminar somewhere in Europe or any part of the world related to our field of study. There is also a friendly and very social atmosphere combined with respect of different beliefs and backgrounds. I felt most comfortable when I found a masjid (mosque) inside our campus. At first I felt comfortable knowing there was a large group of international and ethnic groups in Manchester. You can meet so many people from all over the world. I can find Halal food in almost every corner of Manchester.”

The course is intensive but in shaa Allah (By God’s Blessing) I am up for the challenge. We have got a mixture of students representing different backgrounds who bring experiences from different fields. Academically it is a rejuvenating friendly atmosphere. The age group ranges from 23 to 40 so I have got young and enthusiastic classmates as well as grown up and experienced. As a result we have interesting collaboration and discussion in the classroom. Lecturers are very experienced, and what I like about them is that they bring real life experiences into their lectures.