University News Last updated 08 November 2010
For the first time Birmingham City University will be hosting ‘web chats’ offering course advice to prospective postgraduate students.
The University will be holding a virtual chat event on Wednesday 17 November between 2-4pm. It will give would-be students the chance to ‘talk’ directly with programme tutors and ask questions about the programmes and application process, without having to visit the University at a place that’s convenient for the web user.
Those interested in taking part will need a computer which is connected to the Internet and a web browser. Registration is online at http://www.bcu.ac.uk/chatlive and the Virtual Chat will take place on a specially designed website. Visitors to the site will be able to type in questions to communicate with staff in realtime and a transcript of the chats will be made available afterwards. Although the theme of the discussions will vary according to who will be present at the session, visitors will be welcome to ask any question at any of the sessions.
As well as academic staff, members of the University’s careers and guidance centre and international office will be participating. They will be able to answer queries about issues such as student finance, benefits and accommodation. The chat event will benefit anyone who either lives too far away or has commitments that make it difficult to find the time to visit the University.
Frank Preen, Senior Academic with Birmingham City Business School, part of Birmingham City University, will be one of the academics taking part in the event. He said: “The virtual chats are an innovative development and provide a convenient method for prospective students to find out more about courses within the Business School and the University’s other faculties.”
Latest figures (June 2010) show that applications for the University’s postgraduate degree programmes rose by 26 per cent and in the current economic climate it’s expected applications will continue to rise as people look to improve their promotion prospects, extend their learning or even change career. However not everyone studies at postgraduate level for work-related reasons; some people opt to study to enhance their leisure pursuits.
The University has close links with industry and offers a wide range of postgraduate courses from Architecture to Marketing to Sound Engineering. Courses can enhance career prospects by offering the chance to learn key skills such as structuring workloads, developing powers of analysis, critical enquiry and working independently – abilities that are highly sought-after within the world of work and will prove invaluable within all career paths.