I am Bushra Arabi, an International Student studying BSc Entrepreneurship and Management, currently in my final year at Lancaster University. I have completed the Foundation in Business and Management at LUMS as well, helping me gain significant experience and knowledge in different aspects of businesses and their management styles.

I chose to do Entrepreneurship for multiple reasons. One is both my parents are Entrepreneurs and have established numerous businesses. I would eventually like to join the family business, and in the future develop my own in a different market sector. As I wanted to gain further knowledge in multiple business aspects, this naturally led me to the Entrepreneurship courses.

The International Study Centre team were very welcoming and made me feel at home from the beginning. Representing my family as the first person to study abroad, I was nervous, but the support team provided me with guidance on hope to cope with this and suggested diverse societies for me to join. Spending time with different communities combined with regular classes made my first year fruitful and enjoyable.

The first year was exciting, as my course is made up of practical paths, where I had the opportunity to be involved with practical business activities. Having the opportunity to implement practical skills, along with the theory studied in class, provided me with vast knowledge. Group projects gave me space to grow my confidence and gain friends along the way. I enjoyed listening to the Entrepreneurs in Residence during academic lectures and collecting their insightful opinions on our group work. This combined helped me better understand the mindset of Entrepreneurs, and how they create and maintain their businesses.

In the second year, we ventured deeper into Entrepreneurship, with modules such as networking and selling, which built up my soft skills. Having a variety of coursework and presentations to complete throughout the year developed my essential skills. In a module called Business Startups, we were asked to prepare a demo business plan for a tech company, which involved extensive research into the Tech Business.

In another module, I got to work in a team with a legitimate company called Better With Jam for 10 weeks. This is a Marketing company based in Preston. Our task was to analyse their business pattern and recommend what activities they could add to make it more profitable. At the end of this course, the business owner liked our group report and made some changes. I also got the opportunity to attend a two-week leadership programme at Boston University, USA. This was organised by Common Purpose and Lancaster University. As a team of 30, we went to Boston and met leaders of different business sectors. They shared their stories of how the Boston state was and what rules and regulations were implemented to improve the condition. We visited multiple organisations and in the end, we presented our ideas as a team including what else could be added and how those ideas would improve transportation and living in Boston.

My final year was even more fascinating as I got to specialise in what I wanted to do and start writing an actual business concept for approval with help from the enterprise team. Moreover, my dissertation is a business proof of concept, helping me analyse the business I want to start. Several other modules like Strategic Management helped me create strategic business decisions too.

Starting from the first day, I have been taught to engage in entrepreneurial activities and have gained experience of being involved in multiple Businesses, so that in no time I started mix-matching ideas, theories and practicality. Every lecture and workshop was designed to explore something new in the market, helping me to choose some sectors in which I wanted to gain expertise. I gained insight into management through the Entrepreneurs in Residence coming into lectures and collaborating on company studies, which has developed my knowledge even further.

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