Cost of studying in UK depends on University and Course: Queen Mary University of London Alumni

Shiksha spoke to the Queen Mary University of London alumni Vatsal Parikh about his study abroad journey. Since September 2022, he has been working as a National Officer at NISAU UK, a not-for-profit organisation. He has completed dual LLM, one from Nirma University, India, and another from Queen Mary University of London. 

Read here the excerpts of the interview:

Q: Can you please tell us about yourself and your Educational background?

A: Yes, I am basically from Ahmedabad India. I grew up in Ahmedabad where I completed all my schooling. I did my B.Com and LLB from Gujarat University and I did my first masters in Constitutional and Administrative Law from Nirma University in 2018-19. By profession, I am a qualified Lawyer. In 2021 January, I decided to move to the UK to pursue my second LLM in Commercial and Corporate Law from Queen Mary University of London. Following that I have been living in the UK for the past three and half years and I have been working in the UK for two years after completing my masters.

During my LLM at Queen Mary, just to break the ice, I improved my personality traits by actively participating in different volunteering societies, such as working as Head of Communications at Queen Mary Student Advancement Society and Vice President Competition at Enactus Society of Queen Mary.  Beyond my professional pursuits, I am deeply passionate about volunteering. Since September 2022, I have been working as a National Officer at NISAU UK, a not-for-profit organisation. This role has allowed me to enhance my social and transferable skills significantly. I play a crucial role in helping Indian students to make them feel 'home away from home' and contributing to a 'living bridge' between India-UK in powering the global knowledge economy. I would describe myself as creative, punctual, adaptable to change, a responsible individual, who is a fast learner, flexible, skilled barista, having skilled knowledge of preparing different coffee, and someone who loves networking over coffee. In my spare time, I enjoy watching and playing cricket and reading books.

Q: What motivated you to apply for the study abroad program?

A: My motivation to apply for the study abroad program in the UK stemmed from several factors. Firstly, the UK is renowned for its high-quality education and prestigious universities. When it comes to the law, many legal professionals aspire to pursue their master's degree in UK, because the UK is equipped with the most robust legal system in terms of education establishment and also in terms of professional aspirations. Moreover, UK is a country that provides lots of opportunities in terms of networking, there are lots of events happening for eg- I am more fond towards Arbitrational Law, so UK is a hub for Arbitrational Law and even Commercial Law too. I adapted myself so that I could step out of my comfort zone and grow. I always had a plan, right from the time when I had my first master's in India that I want to pursue my second master's in UK to broaden my academic and professional horizons. So these were the main reasons why I decided to study abroad.

Q: Why did you choose this country and Queen Mary University of London?

A: UK has multiple prestigious universities, which provides you a platform to enhance your skills, and networking opportunities and to learn from the scholar professors who are experts in their particular fields. Another thing is before getting admission into the Queen Mary I researched myself and applied to different institutes like the University of Durham, King's College London, University Warwick, and Edinburgh University after researching and taking reviews of alumni and particularly of my LLM specialization in Commercial and Corporate Law, I particularly then narrowed down the choice and I finally decided I want to pursue my masters at Queen Mary University of London. Another thing is that my specialization Commercial and Corporate Law is one of the most popular LLM specializations across the UK and particularly at Queen Mary University of London, The Professors are experts in their own field and they are very renowned and I also got an opportunity to network with students from across 160 countries from all over the world. So, it has given wings to my career.

Q: Did you receive any scholarship?

A: Yes, I receive a partial scholarship of 2000 pounds. I didn't apply directly for any scholarship. I was a direct recipient of the International Postgraduate Scholarship given directly from the Queens Mary University London School of Law Department. I was one of 40 people selected for this scholarship from a pool of 600 applicants in the LLM batch of 2021.

Q: What are your major academic interests and why?

A: My academic interests lie within the realm of commercial and corporate law, as the world has become a global village. The nature of transactions occurring around us, governed by laws such as banking and finance, and competition laws, all revolve around commercial and corporate law.

Q: What are your long-term and short-term goals both academically and professionally?

A: My short-term goal is to just keep myself engaged with all the seminars, events, and webinars that are happening across UK and India both just to enhance my legal knowledge. My professional goal is to qualify as a Solicitor in the UK by the end of 2025. In terms of my long-term goals, I would like to keep myself engaged and gain expertise in particular areas of Law - Corporate and Commercial Law, Banking and Finance by pursuing different certificate courses from renowned institutes and professionally long-term goal is to just gain expertise in my own particular field, leverage my skills and knowledge, and also keep on advancing my career in the legal field.

Q: How do you see the study abroad experience contributed to your career?

A: Studying abroad, particularly at Queen Mary University of London, has profoundly contributed to my career in multiple ways - the first is regarding the networking opportunities, since I came to UK I met people from across the globe and there are some par excellence intellectuals that I have never seen in my life whether it from the academic side or it may be from the professional side, from meeting them and learning from these kind of people had definitely added values to my life. Another thing is that, academically Queen Mary School of London has given a lot of boost to my professional career in terms of job opportunities, and in terms of societal respect too, the third thing is the cultural thing, I am the kind of person who never wants to stay back in my comfort zone, I would always like to keep myself away from comfort zone. I always like to immerse myself in different cultures and adapt to the new environment and I also honed my interpersonal communication skills during this period of time.

Q: Do you have any advice for students who are aspiring to study abroad from India?

A: Yes, my main advice to students is to make the best out of it while studying abroad, not just in the UK but anywhere else in the world too. Also make sure that the universities you choose are best in their own particular field like for eg- Queen Mary University of London is renowned for its law education, so make sure the particular course you are deciding to pursue in a particular university is the best amongst all so that it can help you later in terms of getting good jobs because nowadays in foreign countries getting a job is becoming more and more harder due to more competition. If you are coming to UK to pursue your higher education irrespective of your discipline, make sure that you are participating in different volunteering societies just to gain your transferrable skills and lastly make sure that you are networking with the people as the world is very large, you have a lot to learn and your learning should never stop.

Q: Did your university require any additional skills, or screening process including interviews and rep meetings?

A: My course was a master's course it did not require any interviews but I heard that in several undergraduate courses, the universities do take interviews.

Q: What is the cost of studying in UK including living and tuition fees?

A: It depends from course to course and university to university, if you are coming to the Queen Mary University of London to pursue a master's, irrespective of the discipline, it will be somewhere between 26000 pounds to 30000 pounds and then you can add 12 to 14 lakhs of your accommodation cost and another thing is that there may be some other expenses depending upon the type of courses that you choose like if you are choosing something related to Science then you need to get some certificates from UK's some of the departments. It will be somewhere around 40 to 45 lakhs if you are in the top UK universities but if you are studying from non-Russel universities then it would be somewhere between 25,000 to 30,000 including all.

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