Quyen Dao

Why did you choose the University of Westminster?

When I started looking for a new Master's course I knew I wanted to study AI and data. The inspiration came from my thesis for my first Master's course, analysing the symbiosis between humans and AI robots in the film Ex Machina. I wanted to study something new to help me understand the relationship between us and technology and to help me develop my future career, applying technology to different aspects of life in a humane way.

Choosing London as the next destination, I started searching for a course and found the Data, Culture and Society MA at the University of Westminster. The course was actually the only course that seemed to offer what I wanted. For that reason, I chose Westminster, and I haven't ever had any regrets about my decision.

How has your experience been studying in London?

For me, it's been a challenging but exciting and amazing year of living and studying in London. First of all, the course opened my eyes, giving me the opportunity to access various new sources of knowledge and information. It was overwhelming sometimes but I was happy to have a chance to absorb that much knowledge. 

Secondly, I've been so grateful to have met amazing people here, from my professors to my classmates. I've learned so much from them, and the best thing is that they are still my friends after completing the course.

What have you particularly enjoyed about your course?

As I mentioned above, the course offered an amazing chance to study data, AI, and the relationship between humans and technology. I don't think there are many courses that can do the same – analysing technology from the perspective of culture and society and aiming to develop technology in a humane way. 

Today, when many people tend to take technology for granted and still consider them just machines, it's time to take a step back, observe the big picture, understand how technology is changing the way we live and communicate with each other and welcome new opportunities that technology offers us. 

How have you found academic support as part of your studies?

Although we studied online due to the pandemic last year, I found the lectures very informative and full of inspiration. I would say Blackboard is a great platform for online learning and teaching, and it is suitable for proactive and independent students.

I also want to emphasise that my professors were successful in delivering their lectures to students. They provided a huge quantity of documents and references, which, thanks to online learning and teaching, was easy to be saved, archived and looked up via the internet.   

Tell us about your experience of using the University Careers and Employability Service 

I joined the Career Mentoring programme and searched for jobs on Engage, the University’s online job platform. The Career Mentoring programme was a great opportunity for me. My mentor was a BBC journalist. Thanks to him I learned so much about the media and journalism in the UK and had a chance to discuss different topics related to my studies. 

Searching for jobs on Engage and applying for them was good preparation before finally getting a job offer. I could see that Engage has introduced many interesting jobs that offer students a chance to either gain work experience or start a career in the UK. 

Tell us about any activities that you have undertaken outside of your course 

I spent most of my time studying, looking for jobs and doing internships. I got a temporary job for a short time and a 3-month internship with a media company. All of those have helped me improve my CV, skills and experience. Although sometimes, it was overwhelming when I had to find the balance between working and studying, I think my endeavour was valuable because I got a full-time job after a few months of job searching.  

What would your advice be to someone considering studying at Westminster?

You'll never find yourself lonely at Westminster because you'll be offered so many chances – there are societies to join, new knowledge to explore, and amazing people to learn from.

Just stay proactive and humble.

What's the best aspect of being a University of Westminster student?

Because of all the friends I have met at Westminster, I would say the best aspect of a University of Westminster student is being independent and open-minded. It may sound boring to you, but I personally think being independent and open-minded is essential for anybody, especially at the moment. We are living in a chaotic period with an overload of information and the dilemmas each individual has to face. However, this is the time when we are offered so many opportunities to explore the world and even beyond. Who knows where technology will transform our lives next.

What was the most surprising or unexpected aspect of your Westminster experience?

I never thought I would meet friends from Lebanon, Jordan and many other countries. If I hadn't participated in the course, those countries would have stayed in my imagination forever.