Nepalese student Pujan Shrestha has enjoyed a truly global education. In seven short years she has gone from being an undergraduate student in Nepal to a Masters graduate from Liverpool Hope University in England.

After completing her Higher Secondary education in science, Pujan enrolled as a Bachelors student in St. Xavier’s College in Kathmandu. In 2002, her passion for environmental sciences and her natural talent for the subject led Pujan to studying for a Masters programme at the School of Environmental Management and Sustainable Development (SchEMS).

While continuing with her Masters studies, Pujan knew that international experience would be of huge benefit to her for securing a professional position within environmental management in Nepal, and so decided to search for overseas courses aligned to her area of interest. Shortly after her search began she successfully secured a place on the Netherlands Scholarship Programme at Wageningen University to study for an MSc in Urban Environmental Management in the Netherlands.

Pujan had completed her taught curriculum in SchEMS before setting off for the Netherlands, but had yet to complete her thesis. She comments: “The course on offer at Wageningen University was very intensive and well focused, plus the financial support that was available through the scholarship meant that it was too good an opportunity to turn down. I had only my Masters thesis to complete in Nepal, so I decided to take a chance and enrol on the new course.”

Two years later the risk had paid off and she received her MSc qualification in the Netherlands. She continues: “I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Wageningen University and after achieving the MSc I decided to return to Nepal, where I was invited by the Dean of the School of Environmental Management and Sustainable Development to complete my pending thesis. With the skills I had learnt and the experience I had gained in the Netherlands I was driven to complete the thesis I’d started before I left to study for the MSc.”

During her time at university in the Netherlands, Pujan had visited friends who were studying in England at Liverpool Hope University. Commenting on the final stage of her international education journey so far, she said: “When I had completed the thesis back home I knew I was not yet ready to settle back into life in Nepal and I was keen to continue studying and gain more international exposure.”

She continues: “After researching many universities and postgraduate programmes in the UK I finally decided on another Masters course, this time at Liverpool Hope University. The course very much appealed to me, particularly because of the module that integrated ecology and environmental management.

“Funding a Masters course in England can be expensive, but I was offered a 50 percent scholarship, which enabled me to accept my place on the course. I arrived in Liverpool in January 2006.

“Studying in England had always appealed to me for both personal and professional reasons, and I was particularly excited to study at Liverpool Hope as some of my friends from Nepal were already studying on the same course. Cost can be an issue with international study, but it is always important to remember that it is very good value. Studying for a degree in a different country gives you exposure to different types of teaching and learning, which is hugely beneficial.

“I had 20 hours of taught lessons per week, plus a flexible approach to teaching that allowed me to take on a part time job, which not only helped fund my studies but which also enabled me to immerse myself in a different culture.

“I graduated from Liverpool Hope with my third Masters degree in July 2008 and enjoyed my Mum coming over to stay with me for one month for my graduation, which was particularly exciting as she has never before travelled in Europe. I’m now seeking a professional appointment in environmental management and hope to work abroad for one or two years before returning to Nepal with lots of relevant experience.

“It has always been my plan to return to Nepal as a well qualified professional with lots of relevant experience in environmental management. It is extremely rewarding and exciting to think that I’m now very close to achieving this goal!”

Contact
Elisabeth Fraser
Postgraduate and International Recruitment and Admissions team
Liverpool Hope University
Hope Park
Liverpool
L16 9JD

T: 0151 291 3389
E: postgraduate@hope.ac.uk
W: www.hope.ac.uk/postgraduate