We caught up with Amber – an Airline, Airport and Aviation Management BSc (Hons) student to share her university experience and find out how her course is going so far.
When I was 17 I didn’t know which university I wanted to go to – to be honest, I didn't even know if I wanted to go to university at all. My auntie is a lecturer at London Met and she brought me along one day to sit in on one of her lectures. I really liked how the University handled everything. I decided that I wanted to go to university and I did go around and look at other institutions but I preferred London Met.
Aviation is really complex – there's a lot to it, it’s not just about aeroplanes – there's logistics, transport and how airports are managed. My dream is to be an air traffic controller.
I was first interested in aviation when I was 12. I went on a Virgin Atlantic flight to the Caribbean and I was really scared of flying! Since then I have been watching Air Crash Investigation episodes, which isn’t the best thing to do! From that point on though, I really started enjoying aviation and thought about what I wanted to get into.
I didn’t want to move away from home but most of the other aviation-type courses were further out of London. I still applied but I also applied to London Met. When it came to making a decision, the course at London Met really stood out for me, as what I wanted to learn was in the course description and that’s what attracted me.
We’ve had great guest lectures from British Airways and Virgin Atlantic come in to speak to us which gives us an insight into the industry and also helps us with our assessment as we have to base our assignments on what’s going on now in the industry. Having guest lectures to share that knowledge is invaluable to us!
What I like most about my tutors is that they're really relaxed – they make our lectures and seminars fun. The lecturers share their own industry experience which is amazing, my lecturers have worked in the industry for so many years, they help us improve our knowledge and understanding.
There is a lot of support available to us as students. We have school offices where you can go if you have any queries, IT services and our tutors are always there for us whether we contact them by email, phone or just drop in to have a chat with them no matter how big or small.
Outside of the lecture room, we get many opportunities to go on course field trips and visit major airports and airline companies nationally and internationally. This helps us gain deeper knowledge about the aviation industry and see first hand what's going on.
If I had to describe my university experience in one word I would say community because there are so many people around that are willing to help and support you; students, support staff and tutors. Once I graduate I want to be an air traffic controller – ever since I was younger I’ve always wanted to do it, watching people in the controls towers it just amazes me how they manage to do it. Studying Airline, Airport and Aviation Management BSc (Hons) is helping me towards this goal because it’s given me a lot of industry knowledge.
