Robert Gordon University Studying Abroad, India to Aberdeen, Scotland

Studying Abroad, India to Aberdeen, Scotland

Travelling abroad was one of my dreams from childhood, but I had no idea that it would happen to undertake a master’s degree. My journey from India to Aberdeen to Robert Gordon University (RGU) started almost one year before I arrived to start my course.

After graduating as an Electronic Engineer, I started working in one of the most reputable hospital groups in India – KIMS. Whilst working there, I kept thinking more and more about my field and what I could do next. At that point, I thought of doing my master’s degree, and being from Kerala, studying in India was my first option as I was not aware of the international education opportunities. One day I talked with one of my school friends who was doing his post-graduate MBA course in Canada and asked him how it was studying abroad. This was the actual start of my journey from India to Aberdeen and thinking of it right now, it was quite an exciting one!

I opened my laptop and started Googling for master’s programmes abroad. As there was so much information on the internet I did not know where to start. To get a better understanding of what the next steps were, I got advice from a few education consultants. I also enrolled in classes for my IELTS exam. During this time, I kept planning my move abroad, everything was going according to plan.

From the very beginning, Canada and the UK were at the top of my list. As the weather was one of my major considerations, my focus turned to British based universities only. Once I got accepted for the MSc Biomedical Technology at RGU, I got in touch with other students studying there to have my questions answered. This was also when I applied for the Saltire Scholarship, a scholarship from the Scottish government open to students from Canada, China (including Hong Kong), India, Japan, Pakistan and USA. 

One day, I woke up to a Facebook message from Akhil who was living near me and who, too, was going to study in Aberdeen. How amazing, I thought, I have a friend to travel all the way from India to Aberdeen, my first friend to share this journey to Aberdeen!

The next hurdle was to book my accommodation, which as daunting as it sounded was one of the easiest tasks thanks to the RGU Accommodation page. There was lots of very helpful information about the different accommodation types and information on how to book one.

Once I ticked accommodation off my to-do list, it was time to do all the shopping. With the help of my friends, siblings, and my girlfriend (who helped me pick up my new pair of shoes) I got ready and I started packing. Meanwhile, I got my visa and booked the air tickets.

Finally, it was time to say goodbye to my motherland, my family and my girlfriend. My feelings were mixed. I was sad but also super excited to catch my first flight to a place that I’ve never been before. A place that would be my second home for the following years to come.

My friend Akhil and I completed our security checks and started our journey to Aberdeen at around 5:00 (Indian time). We reached Aberdeen airport at 8:00 pm (UK time), picked a cab and headed towards our accommodation.

As I am not used to the single-digit temperature I was freezing. The very next day we found some shops to do our weekly grocery shopping in, as well as finding some clothing shops.

My journey as an MSc student in Aberdeen has just kicked off and I am so excited for whatever is to follow!

Why not take a look at the beautiful RGU campus through the virtual campus tour?

Sankar

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