My time as a student at The University of Manchester is almost over. After almost a year of study, I think I made the right decision because I have gained a lot of new knowledge and abilities that have allowed me to pursue new interests. I will next review my research from this year and summarise the course’s analysis.

This course was an unfamiliar subject for me because I had only taken business management courses before. Because I had never experienced it before, I immediately felt a little overwhelmed by it. Therefore, I always took extra time to review the material from the previous lesson until I understood it.

This course is taught in a completely different way. Weekly group projects are part of the teaching strategies in addition to the conventional approach. We can make sure that we can master the topics each week and enhance our comprehension of the material by working in groups to complete the weekly tasks. Furthermore, working in groups strengthens the sense of teamwork, which will benefit the big project later.

Field trips are another type of instruction that I have never encountered previously. Since our course focuses on environmental impact assessment, field trips are necessary to gather information for the ensuing projects and other assignments. This method is interesting because it can help me better understand the local biological ecosystem, and it feels like a journey. My understanding of the significance and practicality of environmental assessment has improved because of the integration of my theoretical knowledge and practical experience. For example:

1. Lancashire Mining Museum: This field trip enabled us to understand how organizations use technologies to adapt to local environmental conditions without destroying them.
2. Wellacre County Park: This field trip required us to gather information for the site analysis and analyse the application of EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) stages into the site developing proposal.
3. Liverpool Sefton Park, Former Festival Garden & Baltic Triangle: The trip to these three urban parks gave us a clear example of how green infrastructure is used in urban areas, and how it could benefit the local ecosystems.

Overall, I enjoy this course and believe I made the right choice. This course teaches me more about environmental assessment and increases my comprehension of the subject through precise knowledge points, unique teaching methods (for me), and practical post-class exams. The course assessment system, which incorporates several types of group projects in addition to essays, effectively blends theory and practice. Furthermore, field trips gave me an opportunity to visit various locations. I learned the value of environmental evaluation, the significance of ecological protection, and how to use the EIA process properly. Relying solely on lectures is insufficient; you must encounter these in real-life settings. However, there are some strains because this course has a substantial workload, necessitates many meetings and discussions, and has a number of deadlines. Additionally, I believe that this course is harder than business management-related courses, so you will need to put in a lot of effort if you want to do well in it. Nevertheless, I think this course will provide you with more than just academic knowledge—it will provide you with real-world professional skills. I want to wish good luck to those who will choose this course and hope you will achieve outstanding results!

Written by Mingyu, current MSc Environmental Impact Assessment and Management at The University of Manchester

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