Annika Toma

Communication, Media and Culture, 2021

“The course is so interesting – you get to question society, communications and how the media has influenced them over time”

Communication, Media and Culture is a fluid course, each lecture, each module and each day is different from the last. This may sound slightly scary, but this is what makes the course so interesting.

‘The course challenges you to succeed’

On occasions we’d have to make a presentation to the class, and we’d have plenty of time to prepare. Sometimes we’d be asked in class to give a presentation in 20 minutes. I found this a real challenge as your final grade would depend on your presentation. As I progressed through the course I improved my short preparation time. Some of my best grades have come when I’ve had little time to prepare for a presentation. The course definitely helps you build different types of skills.

On the course there’s a good dynamic amongst the students and lecturers. We all get to know each other really well. You’ll work independently and as a group, and you can always get advice and support from the lecturers. I’ve developed great relationships with my lecturers and classmates.

‘You can focus on your interests’

What I love about the course is that you can really advance your knowledge about something you really care about. I did a comparative dissertation looking at social media use in the UK and in Austria.

I would like to work in a marketing or a brand agency. I'm also thinking about postgraduate studies in Marketing

‘A diverse student body’

For international students, Oxford Brookes has a diverse student body. And university support services help you settle in quickly. I easily found friends who were also international students in the same situation as me.