My actual experience with the University of Nicosia dates back to September 2008, when I joined the Communications Programme after spending a year in London pursuing a Bachelors Degree in English and, eventually, coming to the realization that this was not the appropriate degree for me.  Before enrolling at the University of Nicosia, I never imagined that I would spend literally the best times of my life here! How so? Well, first of all I created long-lasting, meaningful friendships with a lot of classmates.  Secondly, I had the opportunity to attend a few job interviews and succeeded in obtaining job placements that provided practical experience in the media industry. What’s more, I was lucky enough to have outstanding teachers who would openly communicate with their students and offer timely guidance.

All in all, my experience as a student of the University of Nicosia within the Department of Communications provided me not only with important knowledge but also with numerous unforgettable moments of socializing, mobility, co-operation and creativity, which enabled me to enhance my social and cultural capital. For instance, I will never forget attending various conferences and workshops organized by the Department of Communications that provided me the opportunity to meet a plethora of industry professionals and academics. Additionally, my participation in the Jury of Young European Cinephiles of the Venice Days Film Festival in September 2010 allowed me to meet 26 European peers with whom I watched all the films competing in the Festival. Another experience abroad was the Seminar for Young Journalists at the European Parliament in Brussels, organized by the European Parliament Office in Cyprus in November 2010, whereby a group of Communications students travelled to the European Union capital and experienced various aspects of various European institutions with particular emphasis on their communication practices.

It would be an omission not to mention the various job placement opportunities that came my way as a result of being a UNIC student. To begin with, having served as a lab assistant at Mediazone, the Radio/TV Multimedia Unit at the University of Nicosia, I gained valuable hands-on experience in the field of media production and technology and I was also able to appreciate the synergetic spirit that is needed in live broadcast productions. Furthermore, in the final year of my studies and after following up on a job vacancy post within the Department of Communications, I was hired as a part-time content manager for the online newspaper “I Efimerida”, a post which broadened my horizons in the field of online journalism.  In addition to this, another important contribution was my assistance in the production of the Cypriot film Chinatown, the Three Shelters, through which I learnt to appreciate the different parameters of film production.

Of course, as mentioned earlier, my experience at the University of Nicosia is not based simply on all these activities, which, after all, helped me build a respectable resume. What I will definitely remember are the everyday casual moments spent with classmates before, during or after class and/or exams; the chats and jokes with teachers and colleagues.

I lived and worked in the Netherlands where I completed my MA in Media Studies in August 2012. My two-year experience in Mediazone acted as a catalyst for widening my career prospects in the field of media production; I was employed as a Production House employee at Breda University of Applied Sciences (with the help of Mediazone as acting reference!) and I am currently working as a Content Writer for an International Career Blog.

I will never forget the place and the people to whom I owe these distinctive experiences, and that is why I always paid a visit when I came to Cyprus. I am still in contact with people from the University of Nicosia and I collaborate with them on certain projects. Finally, I would like to urge all Bachelor students to grab all possible opportunities that arise – no matter what their significance – and start absorbing work experience and knowledge as early as possible. We are living in a highly competitive society and differentiation is a significant feature – along with personal charisma – that an individual needs in order to progress professionally.