International Foundation Course + BA (Hons) Business and Management, 2026, Malaysia, Graduate
“After high school, I visited England when I was 17. One of my uncles had previously lectured at Oxford Brookes University, and he took me to visit the campus. I really liked it.”
“I looked at the Oxford Brooks website, and realised that they offered a foundation course and I decided to go for it.”
There is a massive international community here, so that was really nice. My academic journey was something very new and I adapted pretty quickly, because I had family connections in the country. My settling period was fairly easy for me in the sense that I already had that support. I also found the International Student Advice Team (ISAT) useful at the time, if I had any questions with regards to things like my visa. They also held specific events for international students to connect with each other; they helped me get settled in and learn about university life.
“The transition from the International Foundation Diploma to the BA Business and Management course was great!”
The foundation course had given me such a good introduction to university studies that most students don’t actually get. Learning and developing my academic writing, Harvard referencing, critical thinking, creating a bibliography, and how to navigate the university systems was really useful. The transition between courses was seamless because as soon as you achieved a certain grade, you could then apply to the degree. That was really helpful.
When studying the foundation course, I lived just outside of Oxford. Then when I started my BA course I moved into halls, so I felt like I started afresh when it came to studying the degree course. In terms of the academic side of things, I definitely felt like I already had the experience and was helping to guide some of my peers with the course.
“Oxford is great because it has nature with historic buildings and everything's a ten minute walk away.”
It has a great balance of everything that a student would need. I'm really happy that I came to Oxford, and I would never change that because it's helped me build my life, and it’s not far from London.
“The Business and Management course has exceeded my expectations, I can't stress how amazing my placement was.”
Oxford Brookes organised a career event where we met recruiters from the business sector. I spoke with a recruiter and applied for a project management role with a mobile tech association called GSMA. I got the role and it was fantastic, I learned everything about project management. I was working in London, and I was flown out to Barcelona and we were given an allowance each day to spend on food, which was great. I was given quite a lot of responsibility and to be working in such an association was a dream for me. I thought this was normal with placements, but it isn’t, Oxford Brookes and the lecturers have amazing networks and they provide you with the opportunity to really develop your employability skills. Fellow students in my cohort went on placement to Disney and Apple!
“After I graduated and as part of my career development, I was endorsed by Brookes Enterprise Support.”
I am now working for them. I was supported to start my own business, which I have done for five years in London. Overall, the degree and the opportunities that are provided; from being employed, to starting a business and being supported through that process and actually building something tangible - that's what’s amazing.