Charlie Heyworth

I was studying my undergraduate degree in Sports Business Management at the University of Brighton.

If you want to study sport, Loughborough should be your first choice. Loughborough is renowned for being the best in sport subjects; therefore I knew this would be a fantastic opportunity for me. As well as this, being based on the London Olympic Park was exciting.

The opportunities I have received from the University has been phenomenal. I've been offered fantastic opportunities, being involved with the UK's best sports technology start-ups, having presented at two Sports Analytics Conferences in London and Amsterdam, and I've even got to work with Chelsea Football Club to improve their fan-engagement strategy - I don't think I would have got this opportunity elsewhere. 

I attended an Open Evening to check out the campus before I studied here. I spoke to the Sport Business and Leadership programme leader, Steve Swanson, and after speaking to him about the course I immediately knew that this is where I wanted to study. I also explored the Loughborough University London website and YouTube channel to research the course and was blown away by the amount of sports organisations I would get the chance to work with at the university.

I decided to study this programme because it was a natural progression from my Sports Business undergraduate degree. The opportunity to study leadership within sport, though, was particularly appealing because I could diversify my skill-set and make myself more employable whilst increasing my knowledge about a subject that I love – sport.

I learnt something new in every lecture. The course is full of 'threshold concepts' which can open up new ways of thinking about things like leadership to deepen the way I understand myself and other people - and transformed my view of the world.

The postgraduate experience involves learning concepts that will change the way you view your industry as you bring your knowledge to the cutting-edge of your subject area, whereas I consider my learnings as an undergraduate to metaphorically have been like the 'bread and butter' as I only gathered a base understanding of things.

On an average day, lectures will begin at 9am until 12pm with a break for lunch afterwards. The learning continues as lectures resume at 1pm until 4pm, before everyone is invited to join the group of classmates to take the short walk to the Canalside, where we socially sit and enjoy food and a couple of drinks together.

The Loughborough community is highly social - as the London campus relatively small and intimate - so I gained a lot of friends that I knew well and enjoyed spending time with.

Come to Loughborough and make as many strong connections with people here as you can. The University has a collaborative environment where you're surrounded by fun, intelligent and successful people who want to help you succeed. I had never been a part of a cultural environment like this - and it's facilitated the huge progress I've made personally, academically and professionally.