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JAI SHAH
Under Grad: ISME Mumbai, Business Management in Entrepreneurship & University of Mumbai, B.com.
Post Grad: University of Bath - Masters in Entrepreneurship and Management
Current Role – Assistant General Manager at Giving is Receiving Innovation Private Limited.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaishah7/
"Make the most of your time abroad because this is something that will never come back and you will miss it the most for the rest of your life"
1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Your Educational and Professional Background? Which college, company and role did you work in to get you where you are today?
- My name is Jai Shah and I am just finishing my Masters in Entrepreneurship and Management from University of Bath.
- My under graduation was in Business Management & Entrepreneurship from ISME Mumbai & B.Com from University of Mumbai.
- Interned at several companies like IIMUN, Percept, SAMCO Securities, The Alpha Urbane Project and currently bagged a job in a start-up as Assistant General Manager
2. What was your undergraduate Major? What prompted you towards it?
- I majored in Finance, purely because of my love for numbers and how important finance is in life.
3. When and why did you decide to study abroad?
- I decided to study abroad in Aug 2018, applied in October 2018, and received my offer in December 2018. I had always wanted to go abroad for my Masters to experience education abroad and graduate from a reputed University.
4. Did you receive a scholarship? Do you recommend any good organization/institutions that provide for scholarships or financial aid?
- Yes, I received the School of Management Scholarship from the University of Bath of £5000
- Individuals with a good profile should also apply for the KC Mahindra Scholarship
5. Is it worth taking a loan to study abroad? How does one measure one’s ROI?
- If the financial condition is good then no, but if you need financial assistance, you can take student loans.
6. Why did you choose that particular course in this particular university/college for your studies abroad? What was the process you went through while choosing the university/college?
- Since the first year of undergrad, I have always been determined to start my own business once I completed my studies and entrepreneurship was always something I was passionate about and so I had a clear picture of what course I wanted to pursue.
- I had only applied to University of Bath because I was 100% sure this is the place I wanted to go. I had attended their Winter School and I was very impressed by the course.
- I also visited the city of Bath a year before and checked out the campus and all.
- This is how sure I was.
7. Any particular advice you would like to give for the application process from SOP Writing to Academic GPA to other things which you thought were important that helped you get into that course at that university?
- Please write your own SOP's and don’t let the counselor write it for you. You are the best person to sell yourself. No one will do justice to your SOP as much as you.
- GPA should be above 3.5/5 or above 8/10 or University percentage of 75% and more.
- IELTS score of 7+ with over 6.5 in all sections
- A diverse profile i.e. great academics + extracurricular
8. Were you satisfied with your choice of university? What is your most and least favorite thing about the university experience?
- 100% satisfied since I had done my homework and visited the University
- Best Experience: The Freshers Week, Christmas in Bath & UK
- Least Favorite: There can’t be a bad experience when you study in Bath.
9. How was the Indian fraternity over there? How was the overall campus diversity?
- Very diverse university.
- More than 170 nationalities
- Indian clubs and unions are very popular, mostly handled by the undergrads
- Lots of Indians for undergrad and masters
10. Tell us something about the faculty and resources which were there on campus
- Resources that university provides is something you will never get in the Indian education system
- Access to any online journal or paper
- Access to library resources offline and online
- Faculty is great, few yet follow the traditional methods (since they are old) but the way the test you is 100% application-based, unlike Indian rote learning.
11. Tell us about your journey from the first semester to the last both academically and non-academically? What was campus life like? What were the extracurricular activities on campus?
- It’s been a wonderful journey through my journey was cut short to 7 months because of COVID -19.
- The campus is the most beautiful place to be at; it is on a hill 10 mins from the city center
- Bath is home to one of the best sports facilities with an Olympic Size swimming pool, running ground, football fields. I did not get much time to involve myself in sports mainly because of how heavy the course gets
- I did travel a lot in the 6 months in the UK, France, and Switzerland.
12. What did you learn and what were your most dear experiences? Any suggestions or recommendations for freshers starting out?
- Make the most of your time abroad because this is something that will never come back and you will miss it the most for the rest of your life
- Do different things and get yourself involved in clubs, sports, community service, etc.
- Just don’t focus on academics only, though it is what you have come here for. Try aiming for a distinction.
13. How is the quality of education compared to Indian institutes? What were the gaps in both systems? How did you manage to cope?
- The Indian education system is almost a decade behind the western countries. A simple concept like referencing and citing is not taught in most of the Indian colleges and they do not have a culture of this in particular but in Bath, or any university in US or UK for that matter, if you don’t reference and cite properly, it is considered a crime and you can be expelled too.
14. What were the career opportunities available? How does one manage to grab them?
- The careers team is good and supports you at every step of the way
- The University of Bath is well-reputed and has some good career opportunities
- But here, there is no concept of placement. While the careers team will help you with everything, it is you who have to go to the companies and apply to them.
15. Tell us a little bit about your current job profile and work.
- I am currently working in a start-up, it is called Giving is Receiving Innovation Private Limited as the Assistant General Manager
- We have two brands: Impava, which is a crowdfunding platform & The Alpha Urbane Project, which is a student leadership organization
16. Any other suggestions or pieces of advice you would like to give students who are starting out the study abroad process?
- Make up your mind by narrowing options from the beginning
- Do not apply to 5 to 8 universities
- Do your homework and choose 3 wisely
- Make sure your grades are in place
- Build your profile and plan everything well in advance and not leave anything for last minute
17. How did a study abroad help you?
- Helped me become independent
- Helped me to value my friends and family more
- Helped my value money and manage it.
- Helped me build a lot of skills.
- Helped me network with the best of the brains from all across the world
- Helped me make the best set of friends
This journey wouldn’t have been possible without my parents, my Dean Dr. Indu Shahani, the teachers at ISME and my friends who have supported me at every step of the way.
Thank you Nirali Advisory for this feature!
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