Being a third-year student studying BSc Information Technology Management for Business, I feel that I have learnt a lot of different things throughout my first and second years at university. But there are a few things I would like to highlight that would have really helped my first-year self and hopefully, it can also help you.

I would advise my first-year self to strengthen my time management abilities. Having a strong sense of discipline and getting up early can help with this. It enables you to accomplish more throughout the day, whether it be attending all of your lectures, working out, or having coffee with friends before lectures. Additionally, I’ve made it a point to show up on time for every lecture. This also teaches you when to begin working on your assignments; most people rush through them at the end, but in my opinion, you should always submit work that you are satisfied with.

Asking questions is the second piece of advice I would give to my first-year self. I frequently resisted asking questions during my first year because I thought it would be embarrassing. However, I am aware that there are times when you simply lack the necessary skills, despite the professors’ desire for you to

Lucan and his coursemates in AMBS

succeed. Because of this, I believe that every student should utilise a professor’s office hours for one-on-one meetings. Typically, the professor will even share additional suggestions and strategies in these meetings that will improve your grade. An example of this is last year, when I was completing a course work in a module, I got confused about what theory I should suggest. I then scheduled a meeting with my professor. During that meeting, all my questions were answered, and I even got a lot of new ideas to add to my work, resulting in me getting a higher grade than expected. This is why I think asking questions is really important.

The third piece of advice is to pursue your passion and be authentic with yourself. I am aware that many people advise you to do everything during your first year, but I contend that you should pursue your passions rather than merely pursuing the idea of not missing out. I participate in a variety of societies, but over time I discovered what I enjoy. This also applies to the modules you select; don’t just pick one that is simple or that everyone else is already using it. Choose a module you enjoy and want to learn.

I promise you that these three pieces of advice will help you succeed and make your time more enjoyable throughout university.

Written by Lucan, a current BSc ITMB student at AMBS

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