Anita Shih

Hey everyone, I am Anita, currently pursuing a Masters degree in Consumer Analytics and Marketing Strategy. This is my fourth year at Leeds after completing my undergraduate degree in Food Science and Nutrition earlier this year.

The University also offers a range of other supports from career to wellbeing to studies.

I initially chose Leeds in 2021 for my undergraduate degree because of its strong reputation for the School of Food Science and Nutrition. It was among the top in the UK and the University is also a member of the Russell Group. This obviously indicated that a promising high-quality education will be delivered, and this was in fact the case during my three undergraduate years. The School of Food Science and Nutrition would invite industrial professionals from across different food and packaging companies such as Quorn, Nestle, Amcor and many more to share insights of food product development, packaging considerations, and product marketing etc. Additionally, to further enhance our laboratory skills and understanding, we consistently had in-person practicals since year 1. These practicals informed us of the kind of work we would do if we chose to go the more lab-based route and also prepared us for our dissertations in our final year.

Another reasons to why I decided to come to Leeds was because a friend’s sister who was also a student here recommended the excellent student support services that the University offers, particularly for those living away from home for the first time, like me. After further research, it was heart-warming to see that the University offered free pick up services for new international students the moment they arrive in the UK (Leeds or Manchester). This was extremely considerate of the University since the new students would definitely be anxious and nervous arriving in Leeds for the first time, and this effectively eases their worry. In my case, because back in 2021, there was COVID going on and I wasn’t able to arrive on time in September due to lockdown issues back at home. As a result, I emailed the school regarding my late arrival and they arranged a taxi for me from the Manchester airport to my accommodation.

Traveling alone to such a far place without my family for the first time, I felt reassured and grateful for their support.

The University also offers a range of other supports from career to wellbeing to studies. For instance, the career support provides free CV online checks, in-person interview practices and provide advice on job applications and interview answers. And the best thing is that this service can continue even after you have graduated from the University! As for support related to studies, Skills@Library is a very useful resource for developing academic skills such as literature research, referencing and writing. It also provides maths and statistics support as well as workshops. Moreover, an academic personal tutor will also be appointed to you throughout your years in the University, whether it is an undergraduate or postgraduate degree. Your academic personal tutor will check-in with you once in a while regarding your academic progress as well as personal and professional development. Also, they are also the first to contact if you feel that you may not be doing well in your studies or need support on your wellbeing, they can make referrals to the appropriate services and faculties to minimise your worry.

Apart from the amazing teaching quality and services provided by the University, the city and the people here are also equally as amazing.

The city centre is just located around 20 minutes walk from the Parkinson Building, and many of the accommodations (including the university ones) are located between the city centre and the campus. This positioning makes it extremely convenient for students to get to class as well as enjoy their free time and get their groceries in the city centre. Although some may think that the city centre is quite small, personally I really like how clustered everything is. It is easy it is to walk around the area and to the train station/ coach station since most of the time it is just a straight line down with a few turns here and there. The city centre and the campus is also packed with a range of cuisines that are affordable and tasty. My favourite restaurant in the city centre is Crust Heaven, a Vietnamese restaurant that offers student discount, and my go-to dish is the special banh mi which I always get when I crave Vietnamese food. As for on campus, my favourite is little snack bar’s spice-salt chicken, which takes me back to the night markets of Taiwan.

Also, something I really love about the city is how friendly people are here. I would get smiles and greets from random strangers on the road and seeing that the majority of the people living in the city centre are students, it makes me feel extremely comfortable and safe to just take walks around the area whenever I needed a break from sitting too long.

Overall, the University of Leeds and Leeds itself are both amazing and very student friendly, so for people who are looking for a campus-like, convenient place to study, Leeds is it! Feel free to get in touch with me via Unibuddy or email me at anita-link@leeds.ac.uk if you have any questions.