Candice Zhao

Country of origin: China

HR Trainee: China Industrial Bank Research Company

One of my seniors at Nanjing University recommended the University. She mentioned the living environment, the learning atmosphere and classmate relationships there. I found it suited me a lot, so I chose Lancaster University as my first choice. During the application period for my Masters degree, the patience and time given by the staff also impressed me a lot.

I liked most of the parts of my degree, the MSc Human Resources and Knowledge Management. My two favourite things were the Knowledge Management (KM) module and the team-working projects. The KM modules are well arranged. KM is quite a new theory for me. However, the easy but informative teaching method was helpful and the active discussion parts involved me in the class very well. I did not have many opportunities to participate in group-working projects during my undergraduate degree and I enjoyed the group work a lot. The cooperative mode of working inspired me to search for new information and encouraged me to think, which is good for keeping up your enthusiasm.

Life at Lancaster University is rich and colourful. Living on campus is so convenient: we can find everything we need at the University. Also, it’s easy for us to get help from the staff.

During my course, we did our KM project as a group with Barclays Bank in Lancaster. The whole project was amazing and we learned a lot from every part of it: arranging the time schedule, getting access to the company, interviewing the manager, collating materials, writing reports and giving the presentation. The whole process developed our problem-solving abilities.

Within the whole experience, what I learned was that we should always do our best, and it’s not just a famous slogan, it’s a principle that we need to engrave on our minds, always.

My experience at Lancaster has been like a dream for me, a dream that I will never forget. It was a really good decision for me to choose Lancaster University to do my Masters degree. I met excellent teachers and classmates there. The living environment, the forest, the squirrels, the lawn and the rivers are all amazing. I miss my inner peace there. It’s really a good place for deep thinking.

The Masters course has helped me improve my CV. In addition, the team-working practices I learnt helped me stand out from all the interviewees in group interviews. Now that I’m working in a graduate job, I find that the KM and HRM knowledge that I gained on the course has given me another way of thinking and solving problems. My managers have also adopted some of my ideas, which has encouraged me a lot.