Day in the Life of a Business Student
Ever wondered what a typical day for a Business student looks like? Business Management student Caitlin takes us through her day from start to finish!
7:30 – I wake up nice and early to get ready to spend the day at university – making sure to pack my laptop, notebooks and revision guides for today's lectures and seminars. Then, I take a short walk to the train station to commute into the city centre.
8:30 – Once arriving at Birmingham New Street, I make my way to the university – enjoying the fresh air to wake me up in the morning. My first stop is Starbucks – for my daily dose of coffee! I might even pop to the Curzon Canteen for some light breakfast to give me some energy for the day.
9:00 – I've booked a study space in the Curzon Library to get started on my university work. I like to check my emails, review lecture notes and search for references for my dissertation. The library has reading lists for specific courses, including Management – I use my reading list for ideas on books to read and take out a couple on loan to guide me with my coursework.
10:00 – Catch up with my dissertation supervisor on Teams to check on how I am getting on! I'm just starting my first chapter, and we are discussing topic ideas, aims and objectives. My supervisor gives me some additional support on resources to read up on for guidance. My dissertation is a placement project – focused on my experience as a Marketing Intern at Spin Master.
11:00 – Today's first seminar is 'Innovative Thinking'! We are learning about the design-thinking process and developing our own business idea based on real-world problems. This is one of my favourite modules because it allows us to be creative, practical and involves entrepreneurship.
13:00 – It's lunchtime! There are lots of places to choose from within Curzon – whether you fancy a meal deal from the Campus Shop, pizza at Eagle & Ball or something hot from the Curzon Canteen. This week there is the Fuel at BCU food market – I've opted for a curry and some brownies to take back for my housemates.
15:00 – Now it's time for research! I'm meeting with the STEAMHouse manager to discuss my 'Innovative Thinking' project working with small businesses in Birmingham. With access to the Incubator space in Millennium Point, I can meet with other students who have their own small businesses to carry out research for my module.
17:00 – Debrief time! I'm meeting with some of my friends for a short study and catch-up session before our final lecture. There are lots of study spaces in STEAMHouse and a small coffee shop where we grab a drink and some snacks.
18:00 – It's the final lecture of the day! We're back in the Curzon building for our dissertation lecture – we are focusing on research methods and have a talk from one of the Business library staff on how to use the library's own database to search for journals, reports and use platforms such as Mintel and MarketLine Advantage for company information.
19:00 – Home time! Me and my housemate take the train home, and once back, I start cooking dinner. We chat about how our classes were today and start talking about how we are getting on with our coursework.
20:00 – Now it's time to sit down and relax after a long day of studies. While having dinner, I like watching reality TV shows or a film on Netflix. Usually, it'll be something funny like The Office or Big Bang Theory!
22:00 – It's important to get a good night's sleep! Balancing university with my part-time retail job means I need to make sure I go to bed early so I have energy for the day ahead.
