Business Information Technology BSc(Hons): What our students say

"I decided to study at Kingston University partly because it is close to where I live, but also because it was the only place offering the exact course I wanted. I really liked the fact that it offered a sandwich year, because it's hard to get employment without work experience, and I wanted the mix of business and IT.

The best thing about Kingston has been the people. I've met some amazing people, both students and lecturers. The atmosphere on campus is great.

The workload in the second year can get a bit crazy, especially if you're doing the sandwich course and applying for jobs. But you get through it. And the final year is tough on any course. But the lecturers do understand and they really try to help you as much as they can.

The placement year was interesting and I learned a lot. I was a client services manager for a small training and consultancy company. It gave me the chance to jump into the deep end and have a lot of responsibility. I had to deal with everyone from my own clients to the company's directors.

The placement helped me grow up a lot and it changed my whole perspective. Importantly I realised I don't want to be office-based and don't enjoy the nine-to-five routine.

It's a great course and I've loved being here so I really do want to give a lot back. I don't know about the future, but this is definitely where I want to be right now."

"I spent my placement year at Microsoft Advertising, the online advertising division of Microsoft. I was part of the Sales Incentive Compensation team, which is responsible for ensuring that the sales force, the main driver of advertising revenue for Microsoft, is compensated fairly for its efforts. This is achieved by compensating the sales people in line with their performance against objectives, and setting up additional incentives, contests and presidency clubs etc.

"Being the first placement student in the team, I had a fantastic opportunity to shape and mould the role to suit my skills and liking. I was not looking for a technical role, but rather one that would allow me to apply my technical knowledge in a business environment. This allowed me to review and redevelop a number of internal processes and help the team's transition from a manual to a more automated way of doing things.

"My position had a substantial emphasis on project work. For example, I created and implemented a new process which is currently used by the sales force worldwide, including in the United States. This process replaced an old manual application form, which sales people had to fill in to request a certain bonus. The new application form has an embedded approval process and makes it very easy to collect, summarise and analyse data. I have also looked into ways of transforming the way the team stored its data to make it more transparent, secure and manageable."

"I chose Kingston University because both my brothers had been here and recommended it. I considered some other London universities, but Kingston definitely stood out. Kingston Business School is renowned and that was a big thing for me.

I had always been interested in IT and business, so the Business Information Technology (BIT) course seemed to encapsulate everything I wanted to do. It turned out it was totally different to what I had expected. It was actually much better!

I hadn't realised it would involve so much external work with real clients. In the second year we had to build a website for a local company. For the final year there was a consultancy project. I was in a group that had Lloyds TSB as its client. Actually doing practical work and learning from your mistakes, not just sitting in a classroom being told theory, was a brilliant experience.

The class had a very good relationship with the lecturers. If you needed help they were always there and supportive. But they didn't babysit you – they made you learn. And there was a good atmosphere on our course – everyone supported each other.

But for me the best part of the degree was the placement year. It was compulsory when I started. If it had been optional I probably wouldn't have chosen to do it, but now I'm so glad I did. As well as using my technical ability, I think the placement really helped me develop my interpersonal skills. It also gave me a lot more to talk about at interviews.

Working for a huge company like GlaxoSmithKline looks good on your CV and I was given lots of opportunities to prove myself. For a while I worked at the company's clinical trial labs in Cambridge. There were just two of us there and I made some suggestions that were implemented. Because of this I was given what's called a Business Impact Award. That was a real highlight."