Heena Rani

Civil Engineering BEng (Hons)

After moving from Italy to England, Heena struggled to understand the education system and the application process. With a background in foreign languages, she’d often been put off following her passion, but after attending an Open Day at BCU and chatting to a Head of School, she was soon on her way to becoming a Civil Engineer.

"I always wanted to go to university and continue with more specialised studies. Unfortunately, when I moved from Italy to England, I didn't know anything about the educational system here and how to apply. Slowly, I found out about UCAS and I attended an Open Day at BCU. Here I had a chance to talk to the Head of Department in Civil Engineering. This opportunity gave me a better overview of Civil Engineering and how to progress my application.

My background is in Foreign Languages, but the tutor assured me that it wasn’t a problem. This was really refreshing as previously people would judge my choices and discourage me from following my passion. The staff at BCU were very supportive and I received all the guidance I needed from them.

I found my first semester very hard and the lectures were complicated. However, with library resources and guidance from module leaders, the second semester went very well and I am continuing to second year studies.

Until now, I have tried my best to stay on target with my goals, which is not only to graduate but to adapt what I have being taught to benefit my career. Birmingham City University has given the possibility to fulfill my dreams in the desired field.

I joined a society last year, Wise and I was also part of the campaign "It’s not always banter".

To me, ‘I AM BCU’ means discovering your own identity because of Birmingham City University."