Vietnamese Student Ambassador Mia Nguyen has enjoyed all aspects of her time studying at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, from the amazing staff to the wonderful facilities
As I have now done two years of my BSc in Business Information Systems, I am happy to report that all the “international stuff” (including moving to a new country, living on my own, starting on a new path in life) have been completely worth it. Why? Simply put, the perks. In other words, what offers extra advantages is worth extra efforts!
Perk one: Interactive study life
The part of it all I admire the most: the staff at GMIT. Your voice – or I should say your opinions – will be heard here.
The staff pay great attention to opinions, problems and to the studying process of the students here; they always make sure to offer their best educational services towards us. It was a surprise to me at first finding out how communicative the lecturers could be towards not only the class representatives, but also every individual student.
During the course, there have been times when different lecturers personally advised me on my problems or specifically focused on my class’s weak areas to improve our academic efficiency.
Going to college, I can see that there is an ongoing attempt to improve the course itself and students’ satisfaction. As a student, I feel respected and very much appreciate the staff’s efforts towards us.
Perk two: A selection of electives
My course – Business Information Systems – is run by the School of Business at GMIT, and it is one of a few schools, if not the only one, in GMIT offering a diverse list of elective modules.
Within each semester, students get to choose one elective module, and usually, it is ranging from five to seven selections including business-related modules and language ones! Some business-related modules are Academic Writing, Macroeconomics and Organisational Behaviour, while the language modules include French, German, Spanish and Irish.
Personally, I find taking a language module while doing the degree very beneficial. Imagine graduating a degree studied in English during which I spend four years studying another language (in my case, French). I will have had three languages in my pocket, including my mother language which is Vietnamese. How exciting is that! (And how ambitious am I!)
Perk three: Superb facilities
Words cannot describe how much I love my course’s facilities. Being a bit of a geek, superfast computers with 4K resolutions with a full set of Adobe applications are the pathway to my perfect world.
Even better, with the staff’s interactive and improvement-focused way of helping, there is no limit to the technology buff of those computers
Quick story: coming back from my winter holiday in Vietnam this year, the School of Business welcomed me with a total revolution amongst all its computers by making them all dual monitor!
Perk four: The modules (of course!)
The most important perk should be left to the last. GMIT is one of a few institutions in Ireland offering a recognized undergraduate course in Business Information Systems.
With the development of information technology, there are more and more corporations engaging in modern technology tools to increase their economic efficiency. Thus, people who are qualified in both the fields of business and technology are highly sought out.
The BIS course in GMIT provides sufficient knowledge and skills for students to meet those requirements, with modules about business operation, operational technology, foundational IT skills and how to bring BIS knowledge into a business and handle it well.
One of the course’s best features is that it offers a work placement semester in the third year. Students have the chance to tailor their own studies and career path by applying to the company which can bring out the best of their knowledge and skills. This will then reflect on their experience and students can use it to further his or her studies in the final year.
For my final words, I would recommend the Business Information Systems course to anyone interested in business as well as IT systems. Pursuing my studies at GMIT with its significant perks has been an interesting and pleasurable period for me.