Parijat Bhattacharya has recently graduated from the University of Limerick with a first Class honors Masters in Interactive media.
In all honesty, choosing to do my Master’s abroad was one of the biggest decisions of my life, going forward with it though, it was one of the best. It was one amazing journey from start to finish, and this is just me attempting to share bits and pieces of my experience.
How UL Happened
When I decided to get a Master’s degree abroad, I wanted to pick a European country that was affordable as well as being full of opportunities. Ireland being an English-speaking country that also fulfilled the above criteria fit my needs perfectly. I did apply to a few universities here but chose UL for a few reasons. After studying graphic design and animation for my undergraduate course, I was particularly interested in graphic design and UI/UX design. The Masters in Interactive media at UL was perfect for that. Secondly, I received a fifty percent scholarship from the Science and Engineering department and finally, Limerick was an inexpensive town compared to Dublin.
At UL
Considering the fact that I’d never been abroad before, it was incredibly fascinating for me to adapt to my new environment and I had all the help I needed.
The staff at the International Education Division were always helpful and answered every single query that I had. Finding accommodation was a little difficult, but we all found our way eventually. I chose to stay off campus, but my place was quite close to the university.
There are loads of things to do on campus, especially for international students like myself. The International Society organises trips at very cheap rates to various parts of the country. There are also tons of events like the International nights, International food fests and so on. There is no shortage of things to do and that along with the coursework provides a very balanced university life!
What now?
After my first two semesters at UL, I started working as an intern at an events company based in Dublin as their in-house graphic designer and illustrator. During my internship, I was also working on my Master’s thesis during the summer months. Balancing the two took a lot of effort but in the end, it paid off as I completed my thesis successfully and graduated from my Master’s with a First-Class Honours. I’m also presently working as a permanent employee at the same company.
I’m really grateful to UL for giving me the opportunity to come to Ireland and have all these amazing experiences. I’m currently living in Dublin and looking forward to what life has in store for me ahead!
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