Don't panic: guide to being a QMU student: About the authors

Ciao Folks! I’m quite sure no one is going to read this part but for those 5 people who will… I’m Bianca, I graduated with a First-Class Honours degree (drop the flex) in International Hospitality and Tourism Management. Before that, I studied history for a semester at Georgia Piedmont Technical College in Atlanta and have done an exchange semester in Finland during my third year at QMU. This to say that I had the opportunity to gain different perspective of university and what it means for different people in different context. I have never gone to University in Italy but know a fair bit about Italian universities as well. I’m happy to write this guide as I do remember how terrified I was when I moved to Scotland at the age of 20 with my American accent, a bag full of fears and an outrageous amount of hope for my future. I hope you can get at least one useful notion from this guide or worst-case scenario it will be a procrastination task to read all of this from the actual work that you need to do.

Hello, I’m Ellie, I am far less interesting than Bianca and I didn’t need to travel as far to study at QMU compared to my Italian friend, being born and bred in Edinburgh I provide the Scottish input to the guide. I graduated from QMU with a 2:1 Honours degree also in International Hospitality and Tourism Management. Prior to my journey at QMU, I achieved a HND in Travel and Tourism at Edinburgh College and joined uni as a direct entrant straight into third year. I hope by having a DE’s input into this guide helps others navigate the change between college and uni along with tips to completing fourth year and the dissertation. I am also excited to share with you all the not so glamourous life after uni, it’s a weird phase but I want you to know you’re not alone, we all experience the strange withdrawal from uni into real life.