Profile: Nhung Tran
What attracted you to the University of Reading?
Frankly speaking, previously I had no idea about the University of Reading because it is not very well-known in my country. Luckily, I have friends who are living and studying in the UK and they recommended it to me for studying in one of the top ranking universities for research. University of Reading has a diversity of courses and favourable geography, it is near London and convenient to travel around the UK as well.
My undergraduate major is English, and although I had an offer of a linguistic master degree, I decided to take the business management course in the UK instead as I wanted to do something different and also widen my knowledge to other areas.
One thing that makes me interested in studying here is the knowledgeable and friendly lecturers. I enjoy all the lectures and of course learn a lot from them. It's only one year of studying at University of Reading but things I've gained are tremendous (and practical)!
The other reason I enjoy studying at Reading is because of its international environment, I've met and made friends with many people from other countries & continents. We've exchanged our cultures and isn't it great to have such a widely-international friend circle?
What do you enjoy about living in Reading?
Reading, in my opinion, is a big and modern city. I've been to quite a lot other cities in the UK and recognise that Reading town centre is beautiful with modern buildings, especially the Oracle - the shopping centre – where you can find everything you need. It is lively and crowded and busy all the time (but not too crowded). Other than that, Reading is still very peaceful with the Thames river running through, romantic scenes on the riverside and I love all the green parks where you can lie down peacefully, enjoying the sunshine in the summer and breathing the flower fragrance.
Besides, you can take the bus for only half hour to the Henley-on-Thames, a famous beautiful riverside town with cruises for tourists. Do I mention about delicious ice-creams there? You should go and try them!
Being an Asian means that I thought it'd be difficult to have Oriental ingredients in the UK. But, to my surprise, it turns out that I was wrong. Additionally, See-woo, a famous Chinese supermarket chain in the UK, in Reading is quite big.
Lastly, I feel Reading, maybe because of its geographical position - located in the south of UK, makes its climate warmer than other places.
Have you experienced any difficulties?
Every coin has two sides. Apart from many positive things a foreign student can have when studying in the UK, there are difficulties they need to be aware of. Firstly, homesickness is absolutely unavoidable. But don't worry because most of the time your mind will be occupied by assignments, presentations and exams. Yet, there's time when you're free, like during Christmas time when almost all of your friends go home to spend the vacation with their beloved families, you will feel very lonely and homesick. What you need to do at that time is hang around with friends who can not go home like you or go shopping (Christmas time is ideal for big sales, so prepare your money), or you can surf the net to update yourself with many interesting things (news, gossip, rumours, movies, music, etc.) that you might miss during the term time.
Secondly, not being an English native speaker brings you troubles especially for students as we have to do a lot of writing, reading, listening and speaking to accomplish our degree. My advice for you is to prepare yourself before going abroad for study. You need at least to be good at grammar, then, once you come to another country, immersing yourself into a different culture, trying to communicate in another language rather than your mother tongue as much as you can may help you improve your language skills. Make friends with people from other countries rather than trying to find people speaking the same language as you. Get a part-time job. And please don't be afraid to speak out our thoughts, don't be afraid of making mistakes, every human being makes mistakes. Finally, be confident!
Did you receive any scholarships?
I received a part-scholarship called the Dean scholarship. The sholarship is not much in comparison to the tuition fee for international students like us, but it is a way of encouragement. I feel honoured to be able to receive that scholarship and that forced me to work harder.
Have to got any advice for future students?
One thing I'd like to recommend is the International Focus Organisation. Like its name indicated, this organisation is for international students. I had a lot of fun and made many friends when taking part in its events. We were able to travel to many famous places at low cost and had a good time at parties. We also learnt about others' cultures and even learnt their songs and dances.
What are you planning to do after you have completed your studies?
I was a student of the English Department at Hanoi University. After finishing my undergraduate degree, I had a 3 month internship at a research institute. Although the working environment was good, I felt the need of further studying and expanding my knowledge to other fields besides my major at university. Moreover, I think that I should learn when I am still young and my brain is still working (as many people tell me that once you begin working, it's hard to resume studying).
I hope after finishing my course, I will be able to have some work experience before returning to my home country. And in fact, I found a job that I like here. So my plan now is working hard and hope for one day that I can become an employer.