Father’s footsteps, cosy city and COVID-19

I grew up in Kolkata, India. My father is a chartered accountant, and he was the one who first sparked my interest in accounting and finance. That interest grew during my final year of high school when I studied business commerce. As a result, after school, I decided to enrol in the Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance programme at Shri Shikshayatan College in my home city. During my studies at that university, I undertook an internship at PwC. There, I enjoyed being part of a large and diverse community. That experience led to the idea of studying accounting and finance at one of the UK universities at the master’s level. I hoped that after graduation I would be able to find a job and gain international experience in the UK.

I submitted applications to five universities and was accepted to all of them. The MSc Accounting and Finance programme at the University of Dundee School of Business stood out from similar programmes at other universities. What attracted me most was the flexibility of the programme. There were only two compulsory modules and around fifteen optional modules to choose from. Another factor in favour of Dundee was my desire to study in a compact city. My home city is a relatively large one – six million people live there – and I wanted to have some rest from big-city life. That was especially crucial given that it was the first time I had left my family home. I wanted the place of study to be nice, friendly, and safe – qualities that are found more often in small cities than in big ones.

The team at the University of Dundee helped me solve all the crucial initial problems I had. They helped me find accommodation before my arrival and to get connected socially via induction events and by adding me to a Facebook group of students from India.

I think the social experience was as important as the knowledge and skills I gained during my studies. It was fascinating to see that what is normal in one culture can be unacceptable in another. Within several months of starting my studies, I made friends with people from different countries, and we still keep in touch. Many people in Dundee were warm and friendly, and I was happy that I decided to pick this city for my studies.

As for my studies – the approach was quite different from what I had experienced during my bachelor’s years. There was an emphasis on critical thinking, objective analysis, and being able to read and understand academic papers. Initially, it was tough. However, the lecturers were helpful in guiding me and my peers through that challenge. I was especially impressed with Dr Suzanne Fifield. My first impression was that she was strict and unapproachable. Very soon, I found out that I was terribly wrong 😊 She turned out to be someone you could talk to easily about a wide variety of subjects. She was always happy to clarify things that I struggled to understand on my own. She asked rather deep questions during lectures and tutorials, and we needed to really understand the material to participate in such discussions. In addition, I was impressed by her erudition and depth of knowledge in the module she taught us.

Unfortunately, the timing of my graduation was awful for my initial plans. I finished in January 2020, and when COVID started to spread around the world, I decided to abandon my plan to find a job in the UK and return to India. In India, I applied for jobs at PwC and EY. Both companies offered me a position. The knowledge and skills I acquired at the University of Dundee School of Business helped me achieve that result.

Since my graduation, more than 30 people have contacted me on LinkedIn. They were considering going to the University of Dundee School of Business, and I shared my experience and recommended the school to them.

Looking back on my studies, I think that even despite COVID, it was worth it. My experience in Dundee transformed me into a more independent, knowledgeable, and skilful person with a much broader view of the wonderfully diverse world we all live in!