Christian Overduin

Loughborough University is a well-ranked and highly regarded university within the UK. They are ranked the #1 university in sports worldwide by QS rankings and have a big name in the sports industry, which played a big role in my decision. Graduating from a world-class university boosts your career and networking prospects significantly. The campus being based in London was another pull-factor. London not only is an incredible city to live in, but also a hub of sports businesses and exciting jobs. I visited the campus as part of a field trip during my undergraduate degree and was impressed by the teaching, the facilities, and quality of the study program as well as the general study environment. The combination of all these different factors tipped the scales for me and made me decide for a master degree at Loughborough London.

One of the reasons for coming to Loughborough London was the university’s reputation, especially in the sports industry. Having an MSc from Loughborough was part of the reason I got hired for my current job at Liverpool FC. It is a massive selling point on your CV. The masters also helped me learn more about the sports industry and understand which areas of the industry I’m particularly interested in. Through the different courses I discovered different sides of the industry. I currently work in sport sponsorship, a field I learned about and got interested in during my time at Loughborough London. Another big help was the extracurricular services offered by Future Space. I volunteered and did a variety of things with Future Space, and the Careers & Employability centre helped me massively in landing my current job. Lastly, the connections you build with both students and teachers are incredibly valuable. Not only can they help you in your personal and professional future, you also learn a lot from the journeys of your classmates and you help each other achieve more.

The location at the Olympic Park means there is a real sports vibe when you are on campus. The environment lives and breathes sport, which I really enjoyed. Depending on what you study, there are lots of like-minded students. I made many friends and connections, even outside my own course and faculty. The quality of teaching is another thing I really enjoyed. Lectures are well-delivered and teachers are real experts in their fields. Another massive benefit is being based in London. Studying in London is a unique experience. I made lots of friends and enjoyed the city massively. London also is a major business hub within Europe, and being based in London made it really easy to transition into a career. There are so many big companies based in the city and jobs pop up all the time. The combination of the study environment, a quality university, and the London life made the study experience really enjoyable.

It’s incredibly important to decide what type of career you want to go after, and what master can help you move in that direction. Decide what’s important for you and how you see your career journey. Then decide what course and what uni best fit into that picture. Do your research and make a well-considered decision, but keep your options open. Additionally, looking into practical matters like accommodation, costs, potential scholarships and whether you’d see yourself living somewhere will help you come to that decision.