Blog: Fiona and Victoria, HNC Administration and Information Technology students
We spoke to HNC Administration and Information Technology (IT) students, Victoria Waller and Fiona Gordon, to discover why they chose to study with us, their goals, and their advice for those thinking of studying.
Hi, could you start by telling us a bit about yourselves?
Fiona: I'm Fiona and I study the HNC Administration & IT part time.
Victoria: Hi, I'm Victoria and I study the HNC Administration & IT full-time.
Why was our HNC Admin and IT the right course for you?
Fiona: I was looking to upskill and this course offered a varied range of topics that I thought would help me do this.
Victoria: I chose this course to update and refresh my knowledge in IT. I graduated from university 25 years ago and I feel I need to get my skills better and up to date.
We know you're only half way through your course but how would you describe your experience so far?
Fiona: At first I found it strange being back in a classroom after so many years however my lecturers have been both supportive and helpful.
I have already gained knowledge in areas that I needed to upskill on – especially WWP.
IT has moved on a great deal since I left school and while classroom and learning has sometimes been challenging, in that it pushed me out of my comfort zone, I’m glad that I made the decision to do the course.
Victoria: All teachers what I met are very supportive and never leave my questions or emails without answers. I can say with no doubts I feel very confident with information provided to learn any subject effectively.
My biggest challenge so far was English language. As a foreigner I have improved my verbal and written communications. My vocabulary is growing every day and my speech has become more confident. I am learning to proofread, my comprehension certainly improved, and I can express my thoughts and ideas with less hesitation. Also my productivity, ability to self-learn and memory are improving constantly. The course makes me more motivated, dynamic and positive person.
My personal passion is numbers so Payroll, Finances and Spreadsheets have become my favourite lessons.
Do you have future plans once you finish your course?
Fiona: I already work part time in admin and hope to use the subjects and new skills I have gained to improve how I work and push myself to think about what I really want to do!
Victoria: Once I finish this course I am going to do my Accounting (HND). My plan is to find job and work as an accountant then have a small business in Scotland with a flexible schedule.
What advice would you give to those considering studying at UHI Moray?
Fiona: Just do it! No matter your age or experience there will be a course to suit you and as I’ve found out you’re never too old to learn.
Victoria: In the beginning of my course, I didn’t realise that to be a student it will be very time consuming. My advice is don’t leave your homework, assessments etc. to last minutes. The best way to reduce stress of deadlines is to study every day even a little bit. This will give you feeling of satisfaction you done something today, you will feel you can do it. If you don’t have clear answer today you will have it tomorrow. This technique helped me to improve quality and quantity of my work significantly.
Lastly, can you tell us your highlights of studying at UHI Moray?
Fiona: Being able to study part time while continuing to work 3 days a week and bring up a teenage family.
Victoria: What I have found most enjoyable are practical lessons: Payroll, Financial transactions, MS Word and Spreadsheets. It is very useful for general for life and not only for your work.
If you have ambition, entrepreneurship and leadership qualities that you would like to develop, our Business, Administration and Accounting courses are an excellent introduction to the fields.