For most foreign students, including those from Pakistan, getting admission to and studying at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and universities in the UK is like a dream coming true. This is obvious keeping in view the quality of education and international standing of most HEIs in the UK. Studying for an undergraduate or post-graduate degree at these institutions immensely enhances one’s life skills and knowledge and hence the prospects of getting good jobs abroad or on return to the home country.
There are multiple benefits of studying at such educational institutions of international repute. These include exposure to state-of-the-art educational facilities, vigorous academic and research environment, high calibre and accomplished academics in most subjects, and an environment of multicultural learning and collaboration. The overall impact is not only an enhanced understanding of one’s relevant subject but also a wholesome personal and professional development.
Further, studying in a foreign country, away from the home and the comforts and warmth of the near and dear ones also helps in improving most students’ chances of learning to live independently and to cope with the stresses, strains and problems of life on their own. In short, studying abroad is valuable in more than one ways and hence it is always useful to avail opportunities to go abroad for higher studies.
However, studying abroad is not without its problems that, if not properly managed, could lead to frustrations, disappointments and even failures for many students. The following lines are, therefore, aimed at highlighting some of the issues that international students could face, and the steps they need to take to deal with those issues to make good use of their study abroad. We could describe these under two headings: the intrinsic and the extrinsic requirements
Intrinsic factors influencing one’s study abroad might include aspects such as one’s subject choice, interest and motivation level and determination and persistence to deal with unexpected situations. These are factors that are extremely important when one has to stay away from home for longer durations such as for three to four years undergraduate and PhD programmes.
In many cases this long-term involvement in academic life away from home causes feelings of loneliness, homesickness, frustration and disappoints. Such degrees should, therefore, be taken as a marathon race and one should be mentally prepared for such eventualities. An analysis of one’s interest, motivation level, determination and persistence before beginning such study programmes abroad is, therefore, of extreme importance and would save one from falling prey to failures later during the course of studies.
In a one year Masters programme, this usually is not a big issue but for longer term PhD and undergraduate programmes, these factors need to be seriously considered, as one PhD scholar at a UK university suggested, “I am not sure what to say to the aspiring Master’s students, but for the PhD students, I must say that doing a PhD is a serious business that requires absolute dedication over a long period of time (an unparalleled experience to any of the present Pakistani degree experience) ... they should carefully think and rethink, not in one session though, over their own dedication and passion for the subject, as without passion and dedication attaining a PhD degree may turn out to be an elusive dream ...’.
Intrinsic factors also include issues such as the willingness and ability to adapt to a different social and cultural environment and to cope with possible ‘cultural-shock’. Another respondent, an international student from China said that one should be prepared psychologically for “the student life in the UK which is a combination of loneliness and big pressure. Try to be open-minded and always help self to face difficulties and talk to people.” Also on this level were mentioned factors by a number of respondents such as emotional strength and support, the ability to priorities, and the ability to comprehend and communicate effectively in the English language. Independent learning and the ability to think liberally and initiate activities and projects without always depending on the teacher/advisor’s advice (as is likely to be the case in the home country) were also indicated as very important qualities on the intrinsic side.
Extrinsic factors pointed out by respondents for this article included funding issues, visa and related considerations, the choice and selection of the subject, the department and the university, the topic one wants to explore in research degrees, and most importantly the choice regarding the supervisor(s). In terms of visa and funding issues, for instance, one Pakistani PhD scholar at a UK university suggested that before embarking on the studies one should “take an acceptance letter of five years for visa from the beginning and assure four years funding.” Funding and visa issues are extremely important to sort out from the onset as these could at times become very big hurdles. On a very practical level another postgraduate student from India suggested that one should “have all documents ready along with photocopies, should have plastic money and only 100-300 pounds in cash.” She suggested that morning arrival to the UK is safer and more comfortable than evening or late night if one has to move further to another city beyond the arrival airport. Induction or pre-sessional course at home country and planning one’s journey well before departure were also pointed out as very important.
A key issue raised by another Pakistani PhD scholar studying at a UK university is the equivalence issue on the Master’s level in the UK and its value in terms of job prospects in Pakistan. The Masters degree in many UK HEIs is a one-year degree and might no more be acceptable in many academic institutions in Pakistan for higher academic positions such as for the post of assistant professor at a university. The advice, therefore, from this respondent, to aspiring master degree seekers is to look for countries where the degree is of two years duration such as might be the case in the USA, Australia or Canada and some other European countries.
For research/PhD students this respondent suggests, students should go beyond the reputation of the HEI/university and explore the ranking of the particular department he/she aims to study at and more specifically the expertise and standing of the supervisor(s) who will be supervising his/her studies. Emphasising the role of the supervisor, he elaborated, “My advice for the research students is that do not go for the rank of the university but be very choosy in the selection of a supervisor. Your whole research degree will be dependent on your immediate supervisor, either from a higher or lower rank university. It is like getting married in a well-known family but at the end you have to live with a single person. Along with reading his articles do ask from his/her current and most importantly from previous students…”
He also cautioned against being too optimistic in the current circumstances about the prospects of finding jobs while on a student visa in an environment of increasing inflation: “Remember that gone are the days when students used to do jobs and then pay their tuition fees and the living expenses. Even finding [blue-collar] jobs is quite difficult and very competitive. If you are lucky enough to get one in your allowed working hours, you will still not be able even to bear your living expenses.”
However, for those who have the means to come to the UK and study either through self-finance or adequate scholarships, it is a great place to be in for academic and intellectual grooming at an internationally competitive level, he argues.
The writer, a lecturer in education at Hazara University.