By Dr Anupam Mazumdar
Monday, June 6, 2022
On 26th and 27th May 2022, BA Business Management (BABM) students visited UWTSD campuses in Lampeter and Carmarthen and exchanged business ideas with representatives from the Carmarthen Business Management Faculty. The purpose of the trip was to enhance the students’ understanding of UWTSD history and vision, and to facilitate interactions between students from different campuses.
With the support from the Lampeter and Carmarthen teams, students explored the 200-year-old historic buildings in UWTSD’s Lampeter campus, where higher education began in Wales, and the combination of old and new buildings at the Carmarthen campus. London students also participated in a short Welsh session learning daily greetings in Welsh. It was also a valuable experience for BABM students to meet with representatives from the Business Management Faculty in Carmarthen. Jessica Shore (BABM Programme Manager), Dr Alex Bell (MBA Programme Manager), and Dr Gareth shared their knowledge and thoughts on Business Management, while London students presented their business plans targeting the Carmarthen community.
The trip was organised by Dr Anupam Mazumdar (BABM Programme Manager) who said the idea of a cross-campus visit came to him from one of his students, Ivan, who repeatedly asked if BABM students from the London campus could visit other campuses of the University. During the Lampeter campus visit, all the students were amazed to see the beauty of the campus, as it is situated in a place with plenty of green areas, trees and a tiny canal with many historic buildings.
After visiting the Lampeter campus, the group travelled to the Carmarthen campus, where the pre-arranged dinner took place. Everyone enjoyed their food and went to their allocated rooms for overnight stay. During the free time in the evening, students went to visit the town centre of Carmarthen and they enjoyed it a lot. The next day after breakfast, students had an opportunity to visit the Carmarthen campus and everyone was so happy, especially appreciating the library and the number of resources. All the students were so pleased to see such a massive library and books.
During the Business Management Faculty meeting at the Carmarthen campus, students had an opportunity to gain more knowledge on the areas of entrepreneurship, technology and sustainability and related subjects. "The London students produced a couple of innovative business ideas and one group of students won first place, which not only made me proud as their Programme Manager, but also made me so happy," said Dr Anupam Mazumdar. Throughout the trip, the students made the team so proud, and according to Dr Anupam Mazumdar, this was the biggest achievement of the trip.
Dr Anupam Mazumdar would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to Dr Louise Emanuel (Director of Studies at Carmarthen campus), Jessica Shore (BABM Programme Manager at Carmarthen), Dr Alex Bell (MBA Programme Manager at Carmarthen) and Dr Gareth for their support, and sharing their views on different subjects to our students. In addition, his thanks go to other staff members who supported the campus tour and dinner. The cross-campus visit was the first ever visit to other campuses for the London students. With the positive feedback, Dr Anupam Mazumdar hopes to organise more trips to enhance the students’ learning experiences.
Student, Lilija Tconeva, added
“The recent cross-campus visit to Wales was not only exciting but very informative about the activities and the internal structure of our university. On arrival, we were shown around the main campuses, different buildings, and facilities such as gyms, libraries, theatre rooms and even parks on the campuses’ grounds in both Lampeter and Carmarthen. Apart from the other BABM students, we had the opportunity to meet faculty members who gladly answered any questions that we had.
On the next day, we took part in business presentations and educational workshops in leadership and sustainable entrepreneurship, which I found very engaging. We had a very comfortable stay in the student halls of residence in allocated flats and a generous menu. The visit was also a lot of fun – we soaked in the atmosphere with a trip to the local pub in Carmarthen and went on a tour around the city centre the next day. Throughout the trip we were meticulously cared for by our programme manager Dr Anupam Mazumdar, who was also very engaging and supportive in establishing a team-building atmosphere. He and Mr Mathew Peake made sure everything went to plan and made this trip a success. I had an amazing time and would love to participate in similar future projects."
Student, Marinela Andreica, said
“Since I received the email about the trip, I already knew that I would be going. However the London campus had given enough time so that I could plan my days off. It was on Thursday morning that we all met at the London Campus. After attendance was done we all jumped in the bus so from that moment our trip began. I can say that the whole journey to Wales was amazing as there were nice views that we could see.
The first campus that we visited was Lampeter Campus. The campus looked like a fairy tale to me. It was in the middle of nature with small rivers and flowers which made me feel so relaxed. The tour was nice as I could see many places that were new to me, but the thing that surprised me the most was the church that was on the middle of the campus, and of course being in Wales we have learned some Welsh, so 'hwyl fawr' to Lampeter Campus and 'croeso' to Carmarthen Campus.
It is about a one-hour drive from Lampeter campus to Carmarthen, so after arriving there we had dinner at the campus canteen. Then we got the keys for our rooms, and after that we had free time to go whenever we wanted – of course, with our lecturer, Dr Anupam Mazumdar’s guidance. The next morning, which was Friday, we all met at breakfast, then we had campus tour. There was a huge and beautiful library that I hope soon we will have as well in our London campus, different paintings of students on the campus walls which I believe is an appreciation of their hard work, a church, a sports hall, and many more things that I could say about the campus.
After the tour we had a meeting with the business management faculty and also generated ideas about the topic that was presented, by choosing an idea that could actually be a real business idea. It was amazing that we could share our thoughts with other students. After our presentation, we had lunch then we went to visit a castle that was nearby. During our trip we had total support from Dr Anupam Mazumdar and Mr Matthew Peake, who really were fully dedicated to this amazing trip, always making sure that we were safe and feeling good.
I will take this trip as gift, as I had new experience that I will always remember. I am looking forward to the next trip that I hope will be soon, so that I can create new memories. I believe this kind of trip makes us become closer to each other, to feel more like a big family not just like random students. After coming back to London, the attendance was done to make sure everyone was present, we discussed the trip, and, finally, we all went home happy and safe. Thank you very much for the support and opportunity. Diolch!!!"
The cross-campus visit was part of the Student Experience Enhancement Fund.