As mentioned in my first blog I highly recommend attending the teaching weekends. They are motivational and there are always some take-aways from the CLMS employees and of course other students.
Regrettably, the next one (next week in fact) I will not be attending. I am only 7 weeks away from submitting the dissertation and the pressure of on. Plus my supervisor is in Hong Kong. So all in all, I decided that my time was better spent sat in front of my PC putting the final touches to the dissertation.
So to all of you who will be attending, I wish you a great time, I’ll be thinking of you and I wait to hear how it was in just over a weeks time.
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Awesome post! I will keep an on eye on your blog.
Dear Sue
I have been reading your blog which I have found to be most interesting. I have successfully been awarded a Masters of Arts in Diplomatic Studies from Leicester University and would now like to pursue an MSc in Human Resource Management and Training via Distance Learning.
Given your extensive experience, I understand that the course is not CIPD Accredited and is this absolutely necessary. At some stage, I would like to secure a position within the European Union, United Nations or even the Middle East and I feel that it is not essential to be CIPD qualified as this is most relevant if I wanted to work in London where I was born and brought.
I would very much appreciate any help or advice regarding the CIPD as I am keen to study with Leicester University again rather than going for any other institution.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Miss Saima Ahmad
Dear Saima,
Thank you for your posting and my apologies for delay in replying. I have been on holiday.
To find out if the course you wish to study is CIPD accredited you should contact the Centre for Labour Market Studies at Leciester University (if you haven’t already that is). I’m afraid I don’t know if the course you wish to study is or is not. The contact details are as follows:
Centre for Labour Market Studies at the School of Management
School of Management
Ken Edwards Building
University of Leicester
University Road
Leicester
LE1 7RH
T: +44 (0) 116 252 5954
E: clms@le.ac.uk
You will know more than I about the EU, UN and Middle East and whether being CIPD qualified is important. I am CPD qualified and it has little or no value in Norway where I now live. However in the UK, as you have indicated (London), it certainely does have value. If I were recruiting for someone to work in HR in the UK I would look to see whether they are CIPD qualified.
For me, the choice of univeristy was simple – Leicester was the only university offering the course I wanted to study plus the university had been recommended to me. For you, I get the impression that your decision also seems relatively straightforward as you have indicated that you are keen to study at Leicester again. There is of course one other factor that you have mentioned (CIPD recognition). Why not ask your network if being CIPD qualified is necessary in the countries where you wish to work? Perhaps this will help steer your decision one way or the other.
I’m sorry that I can’t be of much help on this occasion Saimi. I wish you well with your decision and of course, your future studies (at Leicester? 🙂 ).
Best regards,
Sue Schoormans
Hi Sue, thanks for your tips and advise. I will be ordering some of the books you suggested in prep for my dissertation (still working out a few ideas. I hpe yours wen well. PS. Thanks to Wassila for the feedback too. I will certainly try to make a teaching weekend (my first) in Autumn. Regards, Brian
Hi Brian, You are most welcome. Enjoy the dissertation. I found it to be a challenging yet rewarding experience. Best wishes, Sue
Hi Sue,
Glad you liked it. It’s always good to share our study experiences here. I thought it would be useful for those, like yourself, who couldn’t make it, to get the feel of how our Teaching Days in Leicester went:)
Hope the work on your Dissertation is progressing well as I am guessing you must be so busy going through the final stages of your paper submission these days. Maybe next time you’ll be the one relating your successful Dissertation experience to the rest of us still not quite there yet:)
Best of luck with you Dissertation paper:)
Cheers,
Wassila
Hi Sue,
Following on the thread of your blog, I’m happy to say, I really enjoyed attending CLMS Teaching Days last week. I managed to arrive a day earlier and had three very interesting and informative days in Leicester. It was my first trip to the city and with plenty of time on my hands, I took the opportunity to explore more of Leicester centre and uni campus.
On my first day, I managed to attend two very interesting events conducted on campus. One in the morning, being the Festival of Postgraduate Research, which gave me the opportunity to view and discuss with some of the presenting PhD students an array of outstanding work being conducted by Leicester students from a number of disciplines and fields. I must say, it was a real treat for me and an eye opener to the most up-to-date students’ works and research being conducted this year at Leicester uni.
Later on in the afternoon, after taking a very pleasant, yet breezy stroll on campus, I headed to the second event, the Annual Sluckin Lecture on the intricate and mysterious subject of ‘Memory, Brain and Genes – and some Educational Recommendations’. Here too, it was lovely to take part and meet a much older group this time, including a very brief encounter over drinks reception with Professor Sulckin’s lovely widow (extremely vivacious and sharp past 90!:)
After a little tour and a light bite at the Art Gallery, I headed to the Library and was very impressed to see past 7pm the number of students gathered around study stations, very serious at work in front of their screens, some in heated discussions in groups, with their laptops, their books, their files and papers, extremely submerged in their studies and research! With such a studious environment, it didn’t feel too awkward taking out my laptop for some study and research of my own:) It was past midnight and the Library still buzzing of students in serious study, I decided maybe it’s time to head to my hotel! Luckily the bus stop was just round the corner! Surrounded by few exuberant young students, it was a relatively short wait before the bus came and very conveniently, dropped me outside my hotel:)
Leicester city centre didn’t seem too big to me, all within walking distances. Buses were going up and down the main London Rd from the rail station towards the University Rd passing Regent Rd. Within 20 minutes or so, I was heading towards Charles Wilson building where we had another two interesting days to cover. Meeting CLMS team was heart-warming as it’s always nice to get the chance to meet those we’ve been communicating with over a number of months. Having to finally meet face to face is definitely a nice plus:) Alison, Rita and Mark have been great at welcoming us all on that first day! Our kind professors on duty were great at keeping us all engaged, going through study sessions and informative lectures with fellow students, sharpening our focus to the important points of our studies. It was pleasant taking breaks, walking around uni grounds despite cold winds, and enjoying informal friendly chats with those present. Our Friday evening dinner was a real treat for all, the atmosphere was lively and the food plenty. It was just lovely to enjoy a pleasant evening together:)
It was great meeting so many of our fellow students and I think everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves and benefited from the shared experience of our studies. Attending the organised presentation by Guest speaker: Becky Rowdon was simply spot on and a wake up call preparing us to what’s coming, what to expect from our dissertation, but most importantly, what is expected from us in order to perform at the best of our abilities.
Distinction is an amazing accomplishment! I know it was wonderful listening to Becky relate her experience in achieving that prestigious target and go beyond. Talking with other fellow students, I know we all have hopes of achieving success at the end of our long and laborious study journey. Becky certainly made us dream of all the possibilities ahead for us all, and perhaps hopefully, those not too far off within reach:)
Best wishes to all!
Wassila
Hi Wassila,
Thank you so very much for your posting. It makes an excellent read – I was totally with you on your journey in Leicester.
I am so pleased to hear you had a great time during the teaching weekend also and made the most of the opportunity. They are most certainely well worth the investment.
For now, enjoy the rest of your studies.
Best wishes to you, Sue
Hi Sue
Thank you for a great blog and your positive attitude.
I have to say I have felt a bit isolated in my studies, less interaction between students then I expected and I feeel that the blackboard discussions arent really accessible and not much discussion about the material. (in my oppinion)
I am working on my module 4 assignment now and picked a topic (well an idea) for my dissertation, I plan to be at the May teaching days (for the first time) – taking your advise 🙂
br
Sigridur Elín Gudlaugsdottir (Ella)
Hi Sigridur, (Ella)
Thank you for your posting.
I really believe that attending the teaching weekend will help. Regrettably, I won’t be there this time as my dissertation deadline is so close. Nonetheless, I’m sure you will have a terrific time and besides the learning will come away with lots of new contacts…..that should make your feeling of isolation disappear. Your comment on blackboard is a valid one, as I mentioned inteh first blog perhaps it’s because we are following a course that few others are?
Great news about module 4. I wish you well with that.
Best wishes, Sue