First of all, I would like to say “thank you”! I am proud to inform you that my blogs http://timeforbritain.wordpress.com/ and http://timeforbritain.blogspot.co.uk/ have been visited 10,000 times by people from
roughly 120 countries from 6 continents. They have been especially popular in
the United Kingdom, USA, Poland, France, Germany, and Bulgaria. Therefore, I am
sending “thank you” to UCAS, Robert Gordon University and all of my readers who
helped me to achieve such success in blogging.
Please, do not hesitate to contact me. Leave
your comments and let me know how you feel as new students! By the way, I've
just updated my professional profile on LinkedIn. Why do not you connect with me http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjaskiewicz?
Do you remember about my trip to Glasgow? I
asked you to wish me luck. Well, I think it is high time I told you a little
bit more about my “secret“ excursion…
I was the only student from the Robert Gordon
University invited to attend an interview (Stevenson Scholarship), before the
Sub-Committee, at the University of Glasgow on Monday 15 April 2013.
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| Me and the University of Glasgow |
Stevenson German
Exchange Scholarships
"A Trust Fund was established in 1935 by Sir Daniel Macauley Stevenson, for the purpose of awarding Stevenson Scholarships. The aim of this was to provide “facilities for the forming of friendly relationships between the students of the Universities of Scotland and the Universities of France, Germany and Spain, for the furthering of amity and good understanding, and the training of an ever-growing body of educated men and women, capable of disseminating wherever they go, the ideals of international goodwill and co-operation”.
Candidates are selected annually by an Executive Committee, administered by the University of Glasgow. The Scholarships are open to undergraduates of any Faculty and graduates of not more than twenty-five years of age of any Scottish University, and to students from France, Germany and Spain who wish to study in Scotland. The successful applicants are required to attend the University in France, Germany or Spain of their choice."
The University of Glasgow
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| Before the Stevenson Exchange Scholarship |
The interview was in English but I also had to
answer a few questions in German. Hence,
I was really scared, because my German is a bit rusty. I have not spoken German
for a year! Actually, I had a brief
conversation during my change in Frankfurt when I flew home for Christmas but
it was a sort of “Ich bin Dawid und Ich komme aus Poland. Ich wohne in Aberdeen
and studiere Betriebswirtschaftslehre. Wie geht’s?” hahahah.
Here is the
news…
I still
cannot believe but it look like in September I will be studying Business
Administration at one of the best universities in Europe and representing Scotland
in an ambassadorial role. Yes, I am going to study at The University of
Mannheim -"The Harvard of Germany".
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| The University of Mannheim |
"For the
12th time consecutively, University of Mannheim is ranked # 1 in Germany for
Business. As the first German institution, the Business School of the University
of Mannheim gained the “Triple Crown”: it is accredited by AACSB International,
the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and EFMD (EQUIS)."
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| Mannheim Business School |
I have
already chosen modules which I will be studying there. They seem to be slightly
challenging (some of them are for 3rd-year-students) and relate to
all aspects of business that I am especially interested in (marketing, information systems and finance).
Here we
have the modules:
- FIN 363 Stock Market Anomalies and Trading Strategies 3 ETC
- MAN 352 Strategy and Innovation 3 ETC
- FIN 301 Investments and Asset Pricing 6 ETC
- IS 350 Enterprise Data Management 6 ETC
- IS 301 Foundations of Information Systems 6 ETC
- MKT 401 Strategic Marketing and Marketing in Specific Industry Context 6 ETC
If I pass all of the modules, I will get 30 ETC points which I need to gather during my ERASMUS exchange programme. Additionally, I am going to take 2 Germany modules (I think it is called “Business German for exchange students”) to improve my German and earn a few points just in caseJ
So, let me tell you a little bit more about the
interview. I was asked three questions in English: Why would you be a good
Scotland’s ambassador in Germany? Why did you choose this University and this
part of Germany? What cities are you going to visit in Germany?
Then, I had to answer a few questions in German
and it was a nightmareJ I am not sure if I understood all of them. If
so, the questions were: Have you ever been to Germany? What places would you like to visit in this
country? What is the topic of your dissertation going to be? (During the
English part of the interview I mentioned that I would like to gather
information about the most powerful German companies and compare their
marketing strategies to the ones used by their British counterparts).
That is all
I can tell you about my plans for the next couple of months. The rest is going
to be my secret.
What did I
do in Glasgow?
Since I was very tired (because I had been learning German and
writing my coursework assignments almost all the time for 2 weeks before this
journey), I visited only a few places: the University of Glasgow (obviously),
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and The Herald. It is a shame. I know.
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| Glasgow City Centre |
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| Glasgow at night |
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| Me and The Herald |
Finally! I have just taken my last exam and completed my first year of undergraduate Management with Marketing at Robert Gordon University! Well, I am still waiting for my exam results but I am pretty sure I passed all of the modules: Economics, Management Accounting, International Management and People Management.
Do you remember? In January 2013 I won second
prize in the RGU round of the SIE Competition and entered the national round of
the SIE New Ideas Competition. In cooperation with The Centre for
Entrepreneurship and my regional SIE advisor, I prepared a plan of turning my idea
into a successful new business (Arts/Cultural category). Therefore, I had an
opportunity to apply my knowledge about various issues of Marketing Management
(e.g. branding, advertising, targeting), Management Accounting (e.g. Budgeting)
and Economics (e.g. supply and demand). The task involved creating a business proposal
for a potential firm “Artistic Graffiti Studio” with a view to integrate the
youth of Aberdeen from various backgrounds including the disabled and
underprivileged. Consequently, I presented my idea during the Scottish
Institute for Enterprise Start-up Day in Dundee (2013) and was interviewed by
The Big Partnership Agency as a case study during the Annual Absoft
Entrepreneurship Lecture (2013).
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
It looks like the idea of “Graffiti workshops” is going to be turned into a
successful business by one of the RGU students. I have just received an email
from Karl who is the finalist of the SIE New Ideas Competition. I think I have
already told you that his idea was very similar to the one that I submitted.
Please, read about his success!
“We have actually spent all the money already
on the event, which will be held in this year’s city of culture, Derry city,
Northern Ireland. It is planned for 5th-7th July in the local skate park.
We have
recently set ourselves up as a social enterprise and started to seek further
funding to bring some more artists to the event. I will have some further
meetings with people in Aberdeen over the summer months as I am planning the
enterprise to be in both my hometown of Derry and also Aberdeen, as I want to connect
both cities through graffiti and contemporary murals. I have been painting
graffiti for nearly 10 years and completing workshops and mural arts for near 4
years.
As far as
the enterprise goes we have the summer fully booked in Derry.” Karl
Ace!
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| Child labour by Banksy |
I hope you
will have wonderful holiday and enjoy your first year at university as much as
I did. I will keep you updated. Thank you for following my blog and I am
waiting for your comments!
