Shannon is currently studying Marketing with Digital Media at Edinburgh Napier and joins us on several episodes of the podcast, including 'S1E5: Get Ready'. She talks about her path to university from college, her experience on moving to Edinburgh to study and tips for the move. Read on to find out more about her university journey.
The Course
Tell us about why you decided to choose Napier?
I chose Napier because of it's practical aspects within the courses. I am someone who is very hands-on and learns by doing, so I knew I wanted to study somewhere that would let me be creative and get involved with lots of different projects. When applying, I researched the university and spoke to a current student on Unibuddy, which helped me learn more about the course and the university itself. I also knew I wanted to study in a city, and living in Edinburgh was a big dream of mine, so I was delighted to get an offer!
What do you like about your course and why?
I love how practical the course is and that every module is so different. Marketing and digital media encompasses so many different areas, so one day I would be studying social media analytics, the next day I was out in Edinburgh filming content, another day I would be writing reports and essays, the next I would be learning how to animate. The course gave me an insight into lots of different creative areas and helped me gain the skills required to go into a variety of job roles. The lecturers were all very positive and interactive, especially within tutorials - in one tutorial we had to scroll through TikTok for a couple of minutes and count how many ads and sponsorships we saw, which was fun. The coursework is very up-to-date with a lot of current real-world examples. The facilities are also great, especially within the digital media sector where we got to use computing labs and the Jack Kilby Computing Centre.
What's your dream career/job and is your course preparing you for that?
My dream career would be working in marketing for a publishing company as I'm a huge reader and President of the Book Club. The dissertation I'm currently writing is on social media and book-based content creation, so I've really gotten to combine my two interests, and my supervisor has been great at encouraging my ideas and exploring this topic. Outside of this, a lot of my modules are very up-to-date and I've gotten to study marketing analytics, create content, learn graphic design, videography and animation: all of these modules have really helped me gain the skills to prepare for a role within the marketing industry.
Have you had the opportunity to undertake placements? Tell us about your experience.
I undertook a work based learning placement in 3rd year. This was with Dads Rock, an Edinburgh based charity that supports dads and other male parental figures. This placement gave me the opportunity to be the social media manager for a small charity, completely on my own. I was responsible for all content creation and posting, photography, videography, blogs, newsletters and website updates.
To prepare for this, we did a trimester of work based learning preparation, which included classes on CV writing, interview preparation and employability skills, as well as preparing for the portfolio we'd have to submit at the end of the placement. This made me feel more confident when applying. The university then advertised opportunities, meaning I was able to apply directly through them and I found this really helpful to have all the opportunities in one place and know exactly what was required of me. Throughout the placement there were several placement support sessions with the university where we spoke more about the portfolio, what we enjoyed about the placement and if there was anything we were finding challenging. This was a really great way to keep in touch with classmates because outside of the placement, we didn't have classes.
What advice would you give someone just starting your course?
My biggest piece of advice is to take on as many opportunities as you can! The marketing industry offers so many different roles, so get involved as much as you can in your modules, and take on extra work experience if you can, especially if you can do social media or something like this within a sport/society.
Keep in touch with your lecturers and ask them for help, no question is a silly question and they will genuinely all want to support you to do your best.
Student Experience
Is the support available at Edinburgh Napier what you expected and how would you describe the support?
Yes. The support has been really good. I've used a lot of the support that the Wellbeing team have, such as their counselling sessions, 1:1 advice and therapets. All of this has been really great for supporting my wellbeing. If things have been difficult, my lecturers have also been very supportive, and have given me deadline extensions and the accommodations I need to succeed.
Are you involved in clubs/socieites and what do you enjoy about them?
I am the President of the Book Club, and it is absolutely one of my favourite parts of university life. I love getting to chat about books with other people, share recommendations and get to know students. I think the best bit about being in a society is making friends you wouldn't have otherwise met - many of my friends from Book Club study completely different subjects from me, so we most likely wouldn't have met if it wasn't for Book Club! I love getting to lead a committee and take on lots of ideas on what events we can host, what themes we have for our Book of the Month meetings, and getting to know what type of things encourage people to join us. It's been such a fun experience and has really improved my confidence in myself, especially in a leadership position, which I never would have expected myself to do.
I also love getting to host events with Book Club. We've had a variety of events, from cosy study nights, cafe dates, laser tag and bowling, and book crawls around the city. This has been a really fun way to make new friends and chat outside of uni.
Studying in Edinburgh
What's the best thing about studying in Edinburgh?
I love how beautiful the city is and how much it has to offer. I moved here from quite a small town, so for a start it felt a bit overwhelming. However the city has really grown on me, and I love how much there is to do. I enjoy going to a cafe to study, or taking a break with friends for a walk. There's so many small businesses to support and places to see, I genuinely don't think I could ever get bored here! Plus the bookshops are absolutely fantastic, there are so many independent bookshops here which I love supporting.
How was your experience of starting university life and what advice would you give to others?
I was quite nervous to start university as someone who previously came from college in a smaller town. However I felt once I got here, and the transition felt really easy. Even when it felt hard, I felt really supported. I would advise getting involved in as much as you can, especially in Welcome Week. ENSA have lots of different events and there's lots of different ways to meet students and get involved. Make sure you also take time for yourself and don't just throw yourself into studying 24/7 - it's a huge transition and it can feel mentally exhausting, so take some time to chill, do your favourite activity and relax a bit. There's also lots of support out there if you're struggling and people who want to help you.
College to University Transition
What are the benefits you have found of joining university direct from college?
I found college was a great stepping stone for me for joining university. I would never have had the confidence to move to Edinburgh on my own at 17, so going to college felt like a great step. It helped me begin feeling more independent and also manage my own workload independently, as I was only in a couple days a week rather than a 9-3 5 days a week school week. Here I learned how to balance study with working and other commitments, how to organise my time and also how to confidently communicate. I also found I felt treated more like an adult at college than what I did at school, so this really helped the transition. At university you're responsible for your own workload and have to be organised, so college really helped me with this. The independence and confidence I gained helped me move to Edinburgh and be completely independent too.
Have you felt supported in your transition from college/your apprenticeship to university?
Definitely! The induction team were great at ensuring we could have access to as much socialisation as possible. I felt really supported in this time, and also found the support throughout the next few years really great. If I struggled with going from college to university-level academia, I was able to talk to the Academic Skills team, and if I was struggling mentally, the Wellbeing team were great. There was lots of support which helped me feel settled at Edinburgh Napier, and I found this really beneficial in boosting my confidence.