New term. New subjects. New game. New… me?
Not going to lie, the whole idea of going back to (virtual) university after spending a couple of weeks doing close to absolutely nothing gives me a fair bit of anxiety.
Maybe it’s the fact that I’ll need to return to an intense work routine with looming deadlines almost every week. Or it could be because we’ll be assigned to a completely new team for our group projects, so we don’t exactly have a comfort zone to fall back onto (shout out to my previous team if you happen to be reading this! Term 1 was a fun ride with you guys!). Alternatively, perhaps it is just due to the whole uncertainty of this new term that lies ahead of me. Somewhat terrifying, I’ll admit that.
Nevertheless, even with all that fear, there is still a tiny bit of me that is somehow filled with hope and excitement and energy and… I just can’t wait to get started.
It’s time to upskill
I sometimes like to view my learning journey as some sort of video game. Let’s call it a Game of Life (pun half-intended), whereby taking classes on different subjects meant that you can earn a kind of skill or weapon that will help you to progress on with the storyline (i.e. life).
As silly as how my analogy probably is, this goes on to say that I am looking forward to gaining exposure to topics that I have not come across in my previous studies. For instance, operation management, corporate finance, strategy for digital businesses… I have absolutely no clue regarding what to expect from those modules, but I’m excited to read more about them and explore what I have been missing out on in the past. Besides that, I think it is a nice switch after spending so many years focusing on STEM subjects, where reading primary research papers and writing lab reports were basically a significant part of my life.
Hello new people, my name is…
As much as how controversial this may sound, I would say that one of the good things about the Master’s in Management programme is that you’ll have a lot of group projects to complete. I won’t deny that these kinds of work can sometimes be challenging (or even frustrating) because you’ll need to learn how to work with people coming from diverse backgrounds as well as personalities. Nonetheless, I digress.
I still think that group projects are a nice way for you to get to know someone, which is something that proves to be particularly tricky especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. And arguably, having a common problem that “forces” a group of people to come together and solve it can be a great chance for everyone to bond and learn from each other.
All in all, having a great team to look forward to working with is something that I would like to think is entirely possible, and I’m optimistic that the Spring Term will just be as fun as Autumn Term.
New year, new hope
Having said all of that, I’m pretty sure the upcoming weeks will still constitute their fair amount of stress and anxiety (especially when the second set of exams start to draw closer). But I would like to think that the learning atmosphere would most likely remain as eventful and have its share of fun and games. So, let’s see what the new year brings! In the meantime, stay safe everybody!
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