Mohammed Junaid

Sports Coaching and Physical Education – BSc (Hons)

Mohammed originally wanted to become a PE teacher, but his time at BCU has opened him up to the different opportunities in the sporting world. After studying abroad and working with famous sporting professionals at BCU, he’s now on track to pursue a research career.

“BCU was always my first option. It’s close to home and has great sport facilities. I knew I wanted to go to university to develop my skills and develop my sports coaching knowledge and I knew I didn’t need to move out of Birmingham to make connections in the sporting world.

I’ve always had a love for sports and sport coaching. I joined BCU wanting to be a PE teacher, so I could pass that on to younger people. That’s still a passion of mine, but being at BCU has opened my eyes to the other routes I can follow after a sports degree.

I was lucky enough to go on the HELS Go Abroad trip to Canada. We spent part of the summer at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, where I met different students and lecturers studying a whole range of subjects related to sports. The different roles and research they were doing made me realise that I could do something like that after my undergraduate degree.

We attended lectures from Jean Côté, a leading researcher and expert within sport and coaching development. Hearing from him really inspired me and opened me up to the possibility of a research career.

In Kingston, we also spent a lot of time eating in town and exploring the local area, it was a lot of fun. We then went to Toronto for one week to coach at a kid's football club at Richmond Hill which was a great experience. We had a tour of Toronto and went to Blue Jays and Toronto FC games which we all loved. The trip to Canada has definitely been one of the highlights of my degree.

The Careers+ team and my lectures at BCU have been really valuable in helping me decide if I want to pursue a research career. My lecturers are always available to speak to and help me with anything I’m struggling with. They’ve been great at reassuring me that they’ll always be there to help me in my future studies and career. Thanks to them, I feel prepared to pursue my studies at postgraduate level.

Plus, my lecturers have been great at recommending me for work and volunteering opportunities, such as working at the Commonwealth games and working with Warwickshire County Cricket Club. I was recently lucky enough to spend the day with England cricketer Chris Woakes and interview him about his sporting career!

All these opportunities have helped me improve my confidence and professionalism. Working in Canada, with the public and with famous sports players has given me the ability to work in different environments and succeed. My achievements and abilities have never been overlooked at BCU and I’m proud of the progress I’ve made.

To me ‘I am BCU’ means being proud to be a BCU student and to have had the opportunity to study here.”