Vijay

Why did you choose to study your course at Surrey?

When I decided to pursue a masters degree in Human Resources Management, I picked three key factors for my decision making: availability of a placement year, CIPD accreditation and the campus. The first two already made Surrey one of my top picks, but where I truly fell in love with Surrey was the campus. My undergraduate degree was in a place where there wasn't a sprawling campus so to have a full university experience and a beautiful campus was quite important to me as well. The icing on the cake was Surrey's strong background in hospitality education and its industry connections. Coming from the hospitality industry, I knew that I wanted to gain my HR qualification and work in hotels. Surrey was that perfect centre in a Venn diagram that consisted of all these factors. 

What are the best things about Surrey and your course?

The campus is amazing! The people are kind. Guildford is such a beautiful place that you will struggle to move out when it's time because it's so walkable, has everything you need and is well connected to London.

The course was great due to two factors: excellent academic staff who genuinely cared for each student and gave us their time. I was lucky to also benefit from an incredible set of fellow students in my cohort. I learned so much from them and made friends for life. 

What are the best things about life here as a postgraduate student?

Empowerment. You are actually treated like an adult and you need to learn to use your time wisely. Nobody is here to spoon-feed you every piece of information. This can be a culture shock to many but I loved having that empowerment to make my decisions. 

There's so many activities on campus and there's enough time outside of lectures to participate in them (no matter how busy you think you are). 

What are your career plans?

I've recently been promoted to the role of an assistant talent and culture manager for a cluster of five hotels. I hope to further grow within my organization and eventually make it to senior leadership teams.

Throughout my time at Surrey, my research and papers were focused on the impact of diversity and and benefits of L&D. So I hope to use these two as the foundation to my HR direction - empowerment through L&D and to create a workforce that's diverse and inclusive. And along the way if I can have a positive impact on people, I'm sure I'll have achieved success. 

What advice do you have for students thinking of doing this course?

Do it!! It was the best decision I've made. Decisions like this will always be subjective but it's important to weigh up the most important aspects associated with a career in HR. Being CIPD accredited gives us a massive head start. 

The industry connections and the success of my fellow students is a testament to the platform that Surrey provides. Again, nothing is handed to you and you must work hard to get these things but Surrey provides the right setting for you to do that. The education, the people, the reputation and the campus - all ticked my boxes.

Surrey forever!