Tom Geme

Tom, from Uganda, is studying MSc Environmental Impact Assessment and Management.

On my course

The course is not available at any university in Uganda, yet I believe it is important for a nation that is striving to attain a better income status to develop sustainably. Key readings on environmental impact management were authored by Manchester academics, so I thought the University would be a great place to start.

Getting to meet students from different parts of the world has been the highlight of my course so far. Each of them possesses unique experiences and knowledge, and staff are very supportive of international students.

On the student experience

The University of Manchester is home away from home, except for the weather. However, everything here has been a new experience - from the mode of assessment to coursework submission to English accents. I was rather surprised by the high level of politeness and time management here in the UK. This is certainly a skill I will carry back home.

Before I got here, I was excited but rather anxious and afraid of how life would be. To my relief, I was not alone and there were lots of activities in Welcome Week to ensure that international students like me settled in. 

On my future

After the course, I plan to continue work at my former workplace, use the skills from the course to position myself for promotion, and start up a consultancy to offer environmental services.

Every journey starts with a single step, yet many times we are afraid to take that step fearing the consequences. Yet at the end of the course, I shall have an internationalised CV and network, which matters a lot when the world is a global village.