First Week of Study

After the International Welcome Week and Freshers' Week, I started my study on 4th October. I had six modules during the first term, including 'Introduction to Organisational Behaviour', 'Quantitative Techniques', 'Introduction to Marketing Management', 'International Foundations of Management', 'Introduction to Microeconomics' and 'Introduction to Financial Acoounting'.
Among these six modules, I love Accounting so much. The Financial Accounting we studied during the first term was a bit difficult, as it involved a lot of topics. It focused on preparing financial statements for external stakeholders; as a result, a lot of rules must be obeyed. The lecturer, Dr. Ilias, is very good. He has clear minds regarding accounting. I did enjoy all his lectures. (Please do not worry about not passing this module, as I think that the exam becomes easier, compared with previous years exams. )
I felt that 'Introduction to Organisational Behaviour' was the most difficult module during the first semester, because the assessment is based on writing essays and I am not good at writing. There were 10 short weekly essays and 2 assignments needed to be done. There was no doubt that plenty of reading was involved in writing essays. References are also needed to be included. As an international student, I found that adding references in my essays is not easy, as certain formats of references should be followed. The magazine published by Aston staff regarding how to cite references in the library is quite useful for international students. Additionally, the book, 'How To Write Successful Business and Management Essays', written by Dr. Patrick, who is the lecturer of this module, helped me a lot when writing assignments. It taught me how to make a plan for an assignment and how to make notes when reading. Although a lot of international students,who are not good at writing, like me felt that this module was hard, we also regarded it as the most useful module. It helps students to understand what usually motivate employees and how to work within a team. I also gained a better knowledge of my personality due to several online tasks I had done during the term. In addition, Dr. Patrick makes the lectures interesting and relax.
I also liked Marketing, since a short video involving the marketing concepts was played at the end of each lecture. 'Quantitative Techniques' was not hard as the exam was open book. As I already studied Microeconomics before, it was a bit boring for me to study almost the same stuff again.
All in all, the modules in the first semester were not too hard. I think the key point for students is to learn how to manage the time so as to enjoy both our study and social life in the university.