"The first one"

Meth Bunnarith attended the very first SpringBoard UK Education Fair in 2009 after SpringBoard4Cambodia office open in 2008. He hasn’t looked back since and is now doing an MBA at the University of Wolverhampton… “I am living a once in a lifetime dream – as a student in England I travel all over the UK to learn about the rich cultures of Great Britain and make good friends with students from different countries along the way.

SpringBoard student, Meth Bunnarith, in London Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast, London
There are lots of opportunities here – you should look to experience them for yourself. You can do what you want to do and be who you want to be. Studying in England is more than I expected. It’s beyond my imagination.  The people at SpringBoard were my Education Advisors and they helped me get into Great Britain to study at the UK university. SpringBoard has lots of experience with UK education and the team advised and supported me to make sure I did what was best to suit my situation. SpringBoard offers its advisory service for free but other agents can charge up to $1500 for the same thing.  I might be the first Cambodian student to attend University of Wolverhampton. I like to challenge myself and I enjoy the results of an “I-can-do-it” attitude so being the first to do these things didn’t phase me. I’ve realised that we don’t have to wait for a certain chance to do something we’ve always wanted to do – we can create the chance for ourselves and really make it happen. It’s easy when you’re given the tools and knowledge of how to do it. 

The whole process started when I visited the first SpringBoard UK Education Fair in February 2009, which gave me the opportunity to meet many universities from the UK. I collected lots of information and spoke to loads of university representatives before making the decision to study in England. I chose the University of Wolverhampton because the tuition fees were the best value for my hard-earned money.   Also the university was ranked 2nd (nationwide) in 2008 for the number of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) it operates. KTP is one of the EU’s largest graduate recruitment programmes. It places potential graduates to work in an organisation in UK as part of their graduate scheme. I set the target for myself to achieve this so that when I return to Cambodia I can bring my qualifications and working experiences with me.  My class at the University of Wolverhampton is a true mix of international students. I have friends from Cyprus, Canada, UK, China, Nepal, India, Nigeria, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka…and the list goes on.  Among my classmates there is a senior student who was recently named one of Future 100 Young Social Entrepreneurs for 2009. I can learn not only from the lectures and professors here but also the experiences of my fellow classmates.  As part of “out-of-class learning experiences” the university arranges trips for international students to explore different parts of the UK every three weeks. My last trip was to the city of Liverpool – I saw new places and made new friends with students from France, Taiwan, Indonesia, Brazil and Ethiopia.  Before I came to the UK I was holding a   good post in a leading commercial bank in Cambodia. I was working in a friendly environment and had a promising future. Many people may argue that I shouldn’t have given up such a good post. However, I had a dream to build more confidence in myself and to help people around me to work more effectively and efficiently. So I decided to step out of my comfort zone to further my education in a whole new world.

I believe it will broaden my perspective and help me prepare for a good future in the competitive world.  However, before you decide to come to the UK please do your homework. Collect sufficient information and talk to the universities about what you want to study. Check whether courses are accredited and ask about any other benefits you will gain from each institution. Also,   use SpringBoard’s services. They are very helpful and care about getting you to the UK and into the right university.

I was really pleased to receive a visit from SpringBoard when I was in the UK to talk about my progression.
  I will end here by wishing you the best of luck in your further education and in pursuing your dream. English people are very friendly – they turn to you should you ask them for support or any help. You will remember your university life and the good times you will experience forever. Good luck.”   – Bunnarith