Francine: [Savior for overseas students] A treasure case for all business school subjects

I am a business school student who major in Finance. I went to middle school in the UK. To sharpen and polish interdisciplinary knowledge, I decided to take a short-term course called Business Analytics (also referred to as data analytics or data science) at Imperial Business School. Although the course is not very difficult, the fast-paced teaching style can still be challenging. Since most of my classmates are STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) majors, I need a tutor to help me keep up with the class and learn better. That’s why I turn to Candice for help.

Candice is extremely resourceful. Her team has math teachers, statistics teachers, IT engineers, etc. I was able to find different teachers for each subject in a very short period of time.

Probability and statistics module: Po-Yu and Stefano helped me understand key points quickly. They also helped me recall the basics of statistics (various distributions and their assumptions, bayes theorem, and central limit theorem) that I had learned in high school and the first two years at the University. Thanks to their guidance, I can absorb new concepts and improve my statistics knowledge in the shortest possible time.

Linear & Discrete Programming module: Topics for assignments and case studies vary greatly and are very flexible. All the tutors are very helpful. For example, Keven patiently helped me review AMPL code. Kevin and Po-Yu patiently explained various application problems in detailed so that I can pick up a new field fast and also be able solve different questions.

Linear regression and introduction to machine learning module: Since I had studied further maths in high school and statistics in first two years at the University, I thought that I had gained almost all theoretical knowledge of linear regression. “Learning this module is easy,” I thought to myself. However, Po-Yu concisely pointed out my shortage! This is my most unexpected gain. Besides, he helped me build up a solid foundation for my learning path on data analytics in the future!

Learning with Candice’s team allows me to participate in class discussions with fellow math graduates in lectures and seminars even on my weaker topics. This helped me learn more, and I was able to pass the final exam and achieve an overall grade point average with distinction.

A message to students

Notes for group assignments in business schools in the UK (2-3 students work together to solve a set of problems, write a report or essay, etc., and grades are assigned to the entire group):

1 Language and cultural barriers:

Having a diverse perspective and seeing things from a variety of perspectives are important in today’s world. That makes diversity a very crucial advantage in teamwork. However, it also means that communication and collaboration among team members can pose a challenge. Communicating with others in a foreign language requires more patience. Listening, patience, and mutual respect make team members feel comfortable in expressing their ideas.

2 Unbalanced workload:

Sometimes, one or two students tend to have heavier workloads than others. Tracking the progress of assigned work regularly and sharing the workloads in a timely manner can reduce the burden of team members. On the contrary, there is a free-riding problem in group assignments. Some group members have relatively low workloads. If you have low workload, ask whether your team members need help, and think about how to solve the problem together to complete the assignment efficiently.

Every group assignment taught me more than I ever could have imagined!

In addition, business schools in the UK offer fast-paced and extensive courses, so you need to spend a lot of time to read and build up your basic skills. It is recommended to spend more than 6 hours a week on a subject (for every 1 hour of instruction for a course, you should study for 2 hours). There are very few quizzes in business schools in the UK, so the final exam covers almost all the material in the course. Therefore, we need to arrange our own study schedule, self-assessments and review. Self-discipline and time management are important! Studying in the UK is not an easy task, but it’s definitely worth the time and effort. Keep it up!