#DILO (A day in the life of) a master’s student – Pascal

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Through the #DILO series of blog posts, we have been bringing you insights into the life of our master’s students, sharing their thoughts and opinions, ups and downs, and key learning points during their online studies. The whole idea behind this series is to make you aware of the realities of online studies and aid you in decision making.   

This week we take a look at a day in the life of one of our master’s degree student, Pascal. Here are a few insights and some words of wisdom that Pascal had to share from his own experience:  

An Introduction  

Who are you, really?  

Pascal S, a journalist for more than 25 years  

Which Uni are you studying with?  

University of Cumbria  

Which programme did you choose and why?  

MBA Media Leadership, to get even better in my job as a journalist/editor/redactor in chief. And another challenging part was to study the programme in a foreign language.  

  

The Study Plan  

How did you plan to study each module, and what was the reality? How many hours did/do you have to put in each day/or in a week?  

I studied between one and two hours per day during weekdays and at least two hours per day during the weekends, sometimes more.  

What part of the day did/do you find most suitable to study? (e.g. early mornings, lunch break, evenings, weekends?)  

Because of the family and the job, the only suitable time to study was the evenings during the weekdays rather than in the afternoons & evenings during the weekends.  

How much time did you devote for each assignment?  

ItI took me around 10 days for the interim assignment and a little more than two weeks for the final assignment. Coordination for the final assignment is quite delicate as I wanted to end it at least a week before the due date, in order to check, read, correct, Turnitin Test, etc.  

  

Travelling and Communication  

How did travelling impact your ability to study?  

It did not, as I did not travel a lot—only a daily commute.  

How were you able to interact with peers and/or professors given the time differences?  

I consider interaction as satisfying, although I prefer chatting directly with people. But I enjoy reading contributions and experiences all around the world, which is a bonus for online teaching.  

  

A typical day as a master’s student  

What does a typical day as an Online Master’s student look like for you?  

After the daily chores and home duties, I read the assignment documents, trying to find out what is the most relevant or, at least, the general picture. I take notes, references and try to see if there are other sources to complete the assignment. Sources I will use for my final assignment.  

  

Any advice?  

Study a bit each day (one to two hours in a day), prepare yourself a work schedule, take notes, write down your ideas and start your assignment(s) early; otherwise, the time pressure will kill you.  

Well, indeed, incredibly helpful advice from Pascal. A proactive early start not only saves you from an unpredictable situation but also helps you follow your study plan with confidence. To get you through the master’s studies, we have an excellent faculty team of subject-matter experts, who guide and encourage students to achieve their potential.   

If you have been dreaming of joining a master’s programme or have had this personal goal to gain a higher education, now is the time! Take the valuable advice from our current students, gain from their experience, add your own unique study strategy, and make your own success stories! I would love to feature you one ce day on our college blog.  

Chat LIVE on WhatsApp with one of our Education Advisors for more information on all the programmes we offer, the application process, and for information on discounts we might be offering at this time. 

#DILO (A day in the life of) a master’s student – Lebo Buthelezi

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We continue our blog series that answers some of the questions we get here at Robert Kennedy College (RKC) by prospective students looking to join one of our online programmes. We asked some of our past and current students to share their thoughts and opinions, to give their feedback on how they handled the challenges of online learning. Hopefully, this will help you to make an informed decision.   

Hear from our online Master’s degree students about a day in their lives. Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash.

Let’s learn from those who came before and see if what worked for them will help you become a better student!  

An Introduction 

Who are you, really?  

My name is Lebo Buthelezi. I am a family-oriented person, ambitious and can be a bit pessimistic sometimes. Passionate about diversity, inclusion, women empowerment and gender equality. Professionally I work as a project cost controller in the mining industry, where I have been learning the corporate reputation and shaping the perceptions of the company in projects for more than a decade. I am also a founder and director of LebVic Design fashion clothing line start-up.  

Which Uni are you studying with?  

University of Salford 

Which programme did you choose and why?  

MSc in Project Management, I want to have a qualification for the career that I have chosen. I aspire to have my own Project Management consultancy company. I have learned that studying is an incredible opportunity to learn about business prospects and how to effectively transition to economic opportunities.  

The Study Plan  

Time flies, so plan your studies. Photo by Lucian Alexe on Unsplash.

How did you plan to study each module, and what was the reality? How many hours did/do you have to put in each day/or in a week?  

I planned to study at least 25 hours a week: Monday to Friday 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evenings, and Saturday 5 hours. Reality: The study hours fluctuated as I found myself spending more hours of studies during weekends and less during the week as anticipated.  

What part of the day did/do you find most suitable to study? (e.g. early mornings, lunch break, evenings, weekends?)  

Early mornings during the week and most of the hours on weekends.

How much time did you devote to each assignment?  

The plan was to spend two weeks on assignments. In most instances, I overthink and over analyse assignments and end up taking more days after the two weeks.  

Travelling and Communication  

Figure out how to study and stay connected when travelling. Photo by Brett Zeck on Unsplash.

How did travelling impact your ability to study?  

It improved my personal development, discovered different cultures, contributed to a better academic performance and social interaction with other students. Learning in a new or different environment offers a different perspective on how other countries conduct businesses—expanding career horizons when you earn the international qualification. [Editor’s note: remember pre-Covid times? One week long residencies were a thing – and Lebo attended one in Salford]

How were you able to interact with peers and/or professors given the time differences?  

Technology played the most important role, even though there are time differences. Using the online campus gives flexibility as you can communicate anytime, and feedback is given promptly. The way the online campus is set makes life easy because most of the questions are answered on the platform. The zoom classes as well contributed, and a WhatsApp group was created between students.  

A typical day as a master’s student  

What does a typical day as an Online Masters’ student look like for you?  

I would wake up, study for 2 hours, get ready for work, and off I go. In the afternoon, I get home, follow up on business, and study for 2 hours before I sleep. Saturday morning work in my business until lunchtime, after lunch, I study. Sunday, I rest and spend it with family. Studying online comes with the room of being flexible with your studies and making it easy to have a work-life balance.  

Any advice?  

Any advice you have for students to better plan their studies.  

The moment you enrol yourself to study, make sure that you break the habit of multitasking. I had to learn the hard way; managing work, business and studies comes with challenges. However, it is not impossible to manage all of them. It is important to set up a study strategy, have a life study schedule to track your progress. Time management is crucial, have a study plan with deadlines and stick with them. Studying can be challenging and take us out of our comfort zone; when that happens, we should be resilient and disciplined with our studies till we reach our goal of graduating.  

I hope this blog has answered some of your questions, and please watch this space for similar blogs. So, if you have been thinking about doing a master’s degree and now understand how to study better for an online programme, look at our programmes and see if anything interests you.

If you still have questions though, post them here in the comments or, even better, chat LIVE on WhatsApp with one of our Education Advisors for personalised guidance through the application process.

#DILO – A day in the life of an RKC student – Antonio  

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We continue with our blog series bringing you answers to some of the questions we at Robert Kennedy College (RKC) frequently get from students looking to join one of our online programmes. We asked some of our past and current students to share their thoughts and opinions, to give their feedback on how they handled online learning challenges. Hopefully, this will, in turn, help you make an informed decision.  

I believe learning is a life-long process. You never know when an opportunity to learn is thrown your way. Would you grab the opportunity, or would you think it’s too late to learn and study when you reach a certain age? But is age just a number?  

Antonio, an RKC student from Mozambique, is a shining example of how age is just a number when it comes to studying for your Masters. Let’s hear his story!  

Who you are, really?   

Antonio M, from Mozambique. A senior citizen still willing to learn and upgrade my skills in new areas associated with my country development.  

Which Uni are you studying at?   

University of Salford  

Which programme did you choose and why?  

Online MSc in Procurement, Logistics and Supply Chain Management  

How did you plan to study each module, and what was the reality? How many hours did/do you have to put in each day/or in a week?  

Initially, I thought 2h a day would suffice, but I learned that I needed to spend at least an additional hour every day. Let me say, for someone with my slow thinking speed, you need an average 3h a day to be comfortable and do all the homework (forum discussions, contributions). Do this for 6 days a week, 1 day to rest if you can afford it.  

PC: Unsplash.com

What part of the day did/do you find most suitable to study? (e.g., early mornings, lunch break, evenings, weekends?)   

In my case, evenings due to silence and more available bandwidth for Internet data.  

How did travelling impact your ability to study?    

Being an online course, travelling did not impact too much. When travelling, the main issue was Wi-Fi availability.  

How were you able to interact with peers and/or professors given the time differences?   

Most of my peers were around the same or close time. Having a platform and forums eased the interaction. It was not immediate, but I would get the reaction soon enough. With those closer peer friends or people with closer affinity, we shared our mobile numbers, and if required, we would use the mobile phone and interact.  

How much time did you devote to each assignment?    

A lot of time. As soon as you get the assignment brief, start immediately and dedicate at least 3h a day for the assignment. Make sure you state an initial outline as soon as you understand the problem to be solved. Having the outline, Google Scholar all the required stuff, minimum of 15 peer-reviewed references per assignment (my opinion).  
  

PC: Unsplash.com

What does a typical day as an Online Masters’ student look like for you?  

6-7h sleeping, 6-8h working and 3-4h studying, 3h solving family issues, 2h socialising with other people. My community, Rotary, and family would require more of my time and reschedule this time outline.  

Any advice you have for students to better plan their studies?    

Please make sure you do participate in the weekly activities since usually they prepare you for your assignments. If you do it right, you may have a considerable part of your assignment done, at least in terms of the referencing. Going straight to the assignments is the wrong strategy. I did learn with some pain later that if I had done the week activities it would have made my life easier and would have saved time for my assignments. Otherwise, while busy with the assignment, you understand that you still need to do the work you avoided.  

PC: Canva.com

If you have been dreaming of joining a master’s programme or have had this personal goal to gain a higher degree, now is the time! Take valuable advice from our current students, gain from their experience, add your unique study strategies, and make your own success stories! I would love to feature you one day on our college blog.    

Chat LIVE on WhatsApp with one of our Education Advisors for more information on all the programmes we offer, the application process, and for information on discounts we might be offering at this time. 

Student Interview – Tina

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Henrik Johan Ibsen, the Norwegian playwright and theatre director, once said, “A thousand words leave not the same deep impression as does a single deed.” Unfortunately, after his death, this quote was plagiarized and para-phrased into what we know today.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Group photo of RKC 2018 Graduation @YorkStJohn in the Quadrangle

But motion picture has completely changed the way we consume data. Not only does it enable us to take in more information in a short time, but it also makes the information more credible. Hearing it straight from the source makes a difference. 

Robert Kennedy College (RKC) is pleased to share with you, our readers, students, alumni, and potential students a series of video interviews with some of our graduates, sharing their challenges and tips and tricks for successful studies. It does not matter the programme or the university these students graduated from, they were all students of RKC, they all faced similar challenges in doing a master’s programme online, they all faced a decision – to do or not to do an online master’s degree.

Here is your chance to hear directly from our students and hopefully help you make an informed decision, to help you study better, or simply to motivate you to live your dreams and to achieve your goals. 

Meet Christina, RKC alumni and graduate of York St John University, as she shares her thoughts and decision-making process on why she choose to get back to studying and the challenges she faced.  

York.mba – student’s story – Tina

Hopefully this interview has answered some your questions about RKC and doing a master’s programme online, and please watch this place for more similar blogs. You can also chat LIVE on WhatsApp with one of our Education Advisors for a more personalised discussion of your needs and best match with the programmes we offer, and the application process.

#DILO (A day in the life of) a master’s student – Anthony Cairns

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What is the best way to study online? Should you do an online programme? How to better manage time when learning online?

These are all questions that we at Robert Kennedy College (RKC) get asked regularly by students who are looking to join one of our online programmes. Undertaking to do an online master’s degree programme will be an additional commitment to your time and finances, and it is wise to get information beforehand, cross your T’s and dot your I’s before making your decision. 

Through this continuing series of blog posts, some of our past and current students have shared their thoughts and opinions and given their feedback on handling some of these choices and situations. Hopefully, this will help you to make an informed decision. 

Learning from those who came before you is smart. I am not asking you to follow what they are saying blindly, but to take what they said worked for them and see if it will work for you, maybe make a few changes (or a lot). In the end, only you know what works best for you!

Anthony Cairns is one of our successful students who graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Leading Innovation and Change (This programme has been discontinued, we now offer a 100% Online MBA in Leading Innovation and Change in its stead). Anthony says that his experience in doing an MA via RKC resulted in his now doing a PhD. 

On the left Anthony Cairns – Graduation Picture – 18th November 2015, and on the right Anthony Cairns being awarded his master’s degree by the Archbishop of York in 2015 John Sentamu

Once you get the academia bug, there is no stopping the roller coaster! 😉

Anthony Cairns, RKC Graduate

An Introduction

Who you are, really?

I am a software test management consultant, specialising in software testing, governance, and ISO standards.

Which Uni are you studying with?

I studied with York St John University for my MA. 

Which programme did you choose and why?

MA in Leading Innovation and Change 

The Study Plan

How did you plan to study each module, and what was the reality? For example, how many hours did/do you have to put in each day/or in a week?

I decided to study 2 modules at the same time, the reality being that I achieved this, but with detriment to perhaps I could have gained higher marks had I studied one at a time. But the end result was I managed to gain my MA in less time than I would have otherwise taken. Although I was working full-time as a contract consultant test manager, I worked every evening from around 7pm until about midnight. I then got up early at around 6am to do a couple of more hours before going to the office.

What part of the day did/do you find most suitable to study? (e.g. early mornings, lunch break, evenings, weekends?)

I used to personally love the 8pm to midnight, as well as the 6am (if not earlier).

How much time did you devote for each assignment?

Hard to say when I did 2 at the same time, but perhaps I estimate about 20-30 hours each week across 2 modules.

Travelling and Communication

How did travelling impact your ability to study?

Not at all, as when I travelled it was via flight and it gave me extra time to work on my MA.

How were you able to interact with peers and/or professors given the time differences?

There was no real time difference as such as I worked whatever time I need to allocate to get the work done and delivered.

On the top we see Anthony Cairns sitting in the front row with his graduating class, and the bottom picture shows Anthony Cairns with his lovely family

A typical day as a master’s student

What does a typical day as an Online Masters’ student look like for you?

Get up early, do some University work. Go and perform my daily paid-for-work. Get back (to home or hotel), then do another couple of hours before dinner. Stop for an hour or so for dinner, then do another 3-5 hours after dinner in the evening.

Any advice?

Any advice you have for students to better plan their studies.

Perhaps work on a single module at a time. Take all the advice you get from your supervisor, as they have been there many times before. Read, read, read, then read some more. Research is paramount. Give advice and guidance to fellow students who may need a little help and guidance. I did this all the time and found it also personally very rewarding.

I hope this blog has answered some of your questions, and please watch this place for more similar blogs. You can also chat LIVE on WhatsApp with one of our Education Advisors for more information on all the programmes we offer, and the application process.

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