aspire magazine june 2011
DESCRIPTION
Aspire magazine is the termly education publication of TIEC (The International Education Consultancy). It provides up-to-date and relevant information for prospective students, parents and schools about international education. Each edition steers readers through important decisions regarding education and career opportunities. Estimated readership of the print edition is currently 20,000. Aspire magazine is currently circulated at key private schools (targeting students) and leading corporate organisations (targeting parents) in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Angola, Kenya and Uganda.TRANSCRIPT
International Education Magazine of TIEC £2/N500/GH3 June 2011
Beautiful and BrainyAspire talks to Miss Zambia
Featured UniversityUniversity College London
Featured CareerDentistry
SportsAspire chats with Craig Mackail-Smith
Education, Interviews, Feature Topics, Advice PLUS Much More...
October 2010CONTENTSFEATURES
08
10
16
17
21
City: Swansea
School: Loughborough College
Career Profile: In the Beginning
Topic: Apply Now
University: Essex
INTERVIEWS12
19
30
Role Model: Richard O. Okojevoh
Career: Femi Oke
Cover: Melba Mwanje
REGULARS04
05
06
07
14
23
24
26
28
29
35
37
Editor’s Note
Mailbox
Overseas Education
GEF
Promotion
News
Event Review:
AISEC/TIEC UK Boarding School Fair
Where Are They Now?
Reviews
Extras
Fun Zone
Classifieds
Lagos Office57 Oladipo Bateye Street GRAIkeja Lagos, NigeriaTel: +234 (0) 1 7655704, +234 (0) 1 7656039Mobile: +234 (0) 8061396406
Abuja Office10, Owenna CloseOff Yedseram Street, Maitama, Abuja, Nigeria. Tel: +234 (0) 1 7655704, +234 (0) 1 7656039Mobile: +234 (0) 8061396406, +234 (0) 8036673419
UK OfficeSt John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road,
Cambridge, CB4 0WS, United Kingdom.Tel: +44 (0) 1223 422256Fax: +44 (0) 1223 420844
Email: [email protected]
08 StudyAbroad:Aust&NewZealand
13 College:UCLLondon
17 City:London
18 College:AbbeyDLD
23 CareerProfile:Dentistry
24 Topic:WorkExperienceandGapyearwork
October 2010CONTENTSFEATURES
08
10
16
17
21
City: Swansea
School: Loughborough College
Career Profile: In the Beginning
Topic: Apply Now
University: Essex
INTERVIEWS12
19
30
Role Model: Richard O. Okojevoh
Career: Femi Oke
Cover: Melba Mwanje
REGULARS04
05
06
07
14
23
24
26
28
29
35
37
Editor’s Note
Mailbox
Overseas Education
GEF
Promotion
News
Event Review:
AISEC/TIEC UK Boarding School Fair
Where Are They Now?
Reviews
Extras
Fun Zone
Classifieds
Lagos Office57 Oladipo Bateye Street GRAIkeja Lagos, NigeriaTel: +234 (0) 1 7655704, +234 (0) 1 7656039Mobile: +234 (0) 8061396406
Abuja Office10, Owenna CloseOff Yedseram Street, Maitama, Abuja, Nigeria. Tel: +234 (0) 1 7655704, +234 (0) 1 7656039Mobile: +234 (0) 8061396406, +234 (0) 8036673419
UK OfficeSt John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road,
Cambridge, CB4 0WS, United Kingdom.Tel: +44 (0) 1223 422256Fax: +44 (0) 1223 420844
Email: [email protected]
CONTENTS June 2011
FEATURES
INTERVIEWS REGULARS
COLUMNS
04 EditorsNote
05 Mailbox
06 OverseasEducation
10 TIECWelfareServices
12 Wherearetheynow?
15 GEF
36 Reviews
39 Classifieds
20 Cover:AndellaMatthews
26 RoleModel:DrOSodeinde
28 Career:MrKanayoOgwu
37 Sports:CraigMackail-Smith
30 YoungExecs:BraiAmie
32 AwayFromHome:Sefa,HamzaandGbemisola
34 Q&A
35 PlanningAhead(StepstoSuccess)
p32p12
p24
ItgivesmegreatpleasuretopresenttoyoutheJune2011editionofAspiremagazine.Thiseditionmarksthe3rdAnniversaryforAspireMagazine.Itonlyfeelslikeyester-
daywecommencedthisjourney.
Atthispointasalwayswearegratefultoallourreadersforyoursupportandallyourhelpfulcommentsovertheyears.IwouldalsoliketosayabigthankyoutotheAspireteamwhoworkveryhardallyeartoensurethatweproduceahighqualitymagazineintermsofthecontentandoutlook(welldoneguys!).LastbutnotleasttoouradvertiserswhomakeitpossibletogetAspiretoyou.
Aspiremagazinewasestablishedtohelpfillthegapwerealisedwasanissueespeciallyindevelopingcountrieswherestudentsgenerallylackedgood/sufficientinformation.Thevisionwastoproduceamagazinethatservesasaonestopshopforstudentsandfamiliesconsideringinternationaleducation.
Internationaleducationisexpensiveandyetlifechangingandonecannotunderestimatetheimportanceofhavingtherightinformation.
OureditorMsIsabellaAkinseyeishavingabreakinordertofocusonherfinalexamsatCambridgeUniversityandhencemytemporaryroleaseditorofthisedition-butImustadmitthattryingto‘fitintohershoes’hasnotbeen
particularlyeasy,soIhavejusttriedtodothingsmyownway,Ihopeyouunderstand!Shewillbebackinthenewacademicyear.
Iwouldalsoliketousethisopportunitytowishallthefinalyearstudentsgraduatingfromsecondaryschoolsandsixthformcollegesalltheverybestforthefuture.Inputtingtogetherthiseditionweconsideredarticlesandinforma-tionthathopefullywouldhelpguideyouasyoudecideaboutthenextsteps.
EnjoyyoursummerholidaysandwehopeyouremembertotakeAspiremagazinewithyou-tohelpthosewhomayneedhelpmakingtheircareerandeducationdecisionsdopassacopyofASPIREtoyourfriendsandfamily!
Manythankstoyouforreading.
PublisherOlugbengaOgunbode
June 2011 | 5 www.theaspiremagazine.com
Aspire magazine brought me closer to achieving one of my greatest dreams in life - reading medicine at the University of Cambridge.
I picked up a copy at the FOL in London last year and in that edition I read about Tom Chigbo (former Cambridge University SU President). Having read about his ex-perience in Cambridge I went to the open day where I also luckily met Tom Chigbo and I must say that was a dream come through. I currently now have an offer to read medicine at Cambridge next year and I just want to say thanks to the team at Aspire for giving me the confidence that – YES I CAN!
Ify Ade ( Essex, UK)
Reading Aspire Magazine really can make your dreams come true!
INDEPENDENCE ISSUE
REDSTRAT’SDEBOLA WILLIAMS
ALONG WITHFUTURE AWARD WINNER
IFY ANIEBO ON
NIGERIA @ 50
EDUCATION
THE ROLE OF THE
YOUTHS AND MUCH MORE...PLUS
REVIEWS,STUDENT LIFE, VISA ADVICE
AND COMPETITIONS
CHUDE JIDEONWOAND
£2/N500/GH3£2/N500/GH3
A-Levels versus International Baccalaureate (IB)
MELBA MWANJEEdwin Broni-Mensah Young Exec
In The Beginning By Tolu Ogunlesi
Loughborough College Feature School
Femi Oke Career Interview
ON LIFE, EDUCATION, CHARITY,
DANCE AND HER AFRICAN HERITAGE
Dear Editor,I found the career profile byToluOgunlesi highly inspiringas I am considering a careerinjournalism.Ithelpstoknowthatthereareotherexcitingca-reers out there apart from thetraditionalsubjects.Joanne Marsh (London)
Dear Editor,Aspire opensyou to theworldof possibilities. It’s alwaysgreat to read from the experi-enceofotherswhohavemadethatjourneybeforeus.Billy Sailes
Dear Editor,Iremembergrowingupwatch-ing CNN and dreaming aboutbecomingapresenterlikeFemiOke.Itwasgreattoreadabouther story in the last edition ofAspire…she is very funny andyet hugely inspiring. PleaseAspireteammoreofsuchinter-views.Thanks!Abudl BashAbuja Nigeria
WRITE & WINShareyourthoughts,commentsandfeedbackonAspiremagazineforachancetograbaprize.Email:[email protected],ad-dress,andphonenumber.Weonlyprintthenameandcity.Wereservetherighttoeditthelettersforclar-ityandcoherence.
A-Levels or the IB Diploma?Making the Choice
6 | June 2011 www.theaspiremagazine.com
Overseas Education
A-Levels IB Diploma
Manystudentswilldowelloneitherpro-gramme,anditismostimportantthatthey
arewell-motivatedanddeterminedtoworkhardonwhicheverroutetheydecidetotake.Furtheradviceisavailablefrom:Headsofsub-jects,housestaff,MrsManley(HeadofMiddleSchoolandCareersadvisor),MrsMason(HeadofSixthForm),MrMason(DirectorofStudies)andMrBluemel(IBCoordinator).
TauntonSchooloffersachoiceofprogrammesforSixthFormstudents.Bothofferarichacademicexperienceoverthetwoyearsandareawidelyrecognisedroutetohighereduca-tion.Thechoiceofwhichcoursetofollowwilldependonfactorssuchas:academicstrengths,stylesoflearning,motivation,levelsoforgani-sation,futureplansetc.
3or4subjectsareusuallychosen,plusanoptiontotakeCriticalThinkingasa5thsubject.
Norestrictiononsubjectcombinations(exceptwheretheblockstructuredoesnotallowit).
Coursesaremodularwithacourseworkelement.ExamscontributingtothefinalgradecanbetakeninJanuaryandJuneoftheL6thandU6th.Resittingmodulesduringthecourseispossible.
SomeALevelsubjectsareaccessibletostudentswhomightonlyjustachieveourentryrequirementsof5CsatGCSE.
EachsubjectisgradedfromA*(highest)toE(lowest).
UniversityoffersaretypicallygivenonthebasisofthebestthreeALevelgrades.
Allowsstudentsto‘playtotheirstrengths’andspecialise–e.g.maths+sciences,orEnglish+humanitiesonly.
ASresultsinJuneoftheL6thcanbeincludedinuniversityapplications.
Allowsgreaterbreadth–e.g.scientistscancontinuewithEnglishandasecondlanguage,linguistscancontinuewithmathsandD&T.
WidelyregardedatEuropeanandUSuniversities,aswellasintheUK.
6subjectsarechosen,plusarequirementtostudytheTheoryofKnowledge(ToK)andwriteanExtendedEssay.
ThesubjectcombinationmustincludeEnglish,asecondlanguage,ahumanity,ascienceandacourseinmaths.Thereisafreechoiceforthe6thsubject.
Coursesarelinearwithacourseworkelement.AllfinalexamsaretakenattheendoftheU6th.(Itishoweverpos-sibletoresitoneormoresubjectsthefollowingNovembertoimprovetheDiplomascore).
TheIBDiplomaisaccessibletostudentswhoareaimingtoachieveaBgradeorhigherinmostoftheirGCSEsubjects.
Eachchosensubjectisgradedfrom7(highest)to1(low-est).Thesepointsplusamaximumofthree3forToKandtheExtendedEssayareaddedtogiveatotalDiplomascoreoutof45.
UniversityoffersaretypicallygivenonthebasisofthetotalDiplomascoreplusthegradeoneormorerelevantHLsubjects.
Key features - some plus points to each programme
June 2011 | 7 www.theaspiremagazine.com
18 | February 2011 www.theaspiremagazine.com www.theaspiremagazine.com
Visa Advice
Femi OKE
a
Tell us a bit about you.I am an international journalist and broadcaster based in New York, born in London, British by upbringing with Nigerian parents and a proud carrier of both a Nigerian and British passport. I love seeing officials’ faces when I fly to Abuja or Lagos and they are expecting me to whip out my UK passport. They are pleasantly surprised to see that I have a Nigerian passport.
You have a degree in English Literature from the University of Birmingham. What informed your degree choice and how relevant has your degree been to your working life?I loved reading books when I was a youngster; I could read a couple in a day! I am naturally an artsy and creative person, I enjoy reading and writing so taking an English degree was an obvious choice. There isn’t a direct connection to my work and my degree, but being able to consume books very quickly and write well always comes in handy when I have to research topics and write scripts.
From 10 January 2011, English language students wishing to attend exclusively English language courses will be able to
apply for a student visitor visa allowing them to stay for up to 11 months. The extended student visitor visa will only be available to applicants outside the UK.
Students wishing to study other courses in the UK for longer than 6 months will still need to apply under Tier 4 of the points-based system.
If you are a ‘non-visa-national’ who does not normally need a visa to study for up to 6 months, you must apply for the extended visa if you wish to take a longer English language course.
Extended studentvisitor visa for migrantsstudying English language courses
The extended student visitor visa’s other requirements, entitlements and restrictions are the same as those for the current student visitor route. The student visitor route does not allow students to work, take a work placement, bring dependants, extend their stay or switch into other courses at the end of their stay.
The fee for an extended student visitor visa will be the same as for a student visitor visa.
A review of the extended student visitor visa system will be carried out within the next 12 months to ensure that it is operating as intended.
- Source: UK Border Agency
Femi Oke, ex CNN International presenter speaks to Aspire...
8 | June 2011 www.theaspiremagazine.com
Studying Abroad Australia and New Zealand
OverthepastfewyearsthenumberofBritishstudentslookingtostudyat
universitiesoverseas–whetherinAus-tralia,NewZealand,theUS,Europeorelsewhere-hasbeenrisingsteadily.
StudyOptionsisafreeadviceandappli-cationserviceforUKandIrishstudentsinterestedinstudyinginAustraliaandNewZealand.Thecompany,whichisfundedbyAustralianandNewZealanduniversi-tiestohelpstudentsontheirbehalf,istheofficialrepresentativefor18Australianandall8NewZealanduniversitieshereintheUKandhasseenasharpriseinenquiriesrecently,fuelledpartlybyrecentnegativepublicityaboutUKuniversities.
SowhatisdrawingsomanystudentstoAustralianandNewZealanduniversities?“Firstandforemost,it’saboutthequal-ityoftheeducationavailable,”saysNash.“Anyonegoingoverseastostudyhastofeelconfidentthatthequalificationtheyaregoingtogetwillberecognisedandvaluedbyemployersallovertheworld,andAustralianandNewZealanduniversitydegreesareinternationallyrecognisedastheequalofUKqualifications.”That’sdueinparttothefactthatboththeAustralian
andtheNewZealandeducationsystemsarebasedontheBritishmodel.Thatensurestherearemoresimilaritiesbetweentheuniversityexperiencesandsystemsthantherearedifferences,andalsothatthereisexcellentdegreerecognitionforstudentsreturninghome.It’salsodueinparttotheconsistentlystrongrankingsattributedtotheAustralianandNewZealanduniversi-tiesbyauthoritiessuchastheTimesHigherEducationSupplement.Theseinstitutionsareresearch-ledandrespectedinternation-allyasworldleadersinmanysubjects-intheTHES2010WorldUniversityRank-ings,17%ofAustralasianuniversitiesrankedinthetop200–asimilarfiguretotheUK,22%ofwhoseuniversitiesap-pearedinthetop200.
Thereareotherattractions.AustralianandNewZealanduniversitiesarenotunderthesamepressuresasthosecurrentlybearingdownontheUKhighereducationsystem,sothereareoftenmoreplacesavailable-popularcoursessuchashistory,politics,economics,healthsciences,andnaturalsci-encesarenotasover-subscribedastheUK.Thisalsohasapracticaleffect,inthatentryrequirementsatmanytopuniversitiesinAustraliaandNewZealandarelowerthan
attheequivalentUKuniversities.Thisisnoreflectionofquality,butratherasimplequestionofsupplyanddemand.
Bothcountriescanalsoofferanenviablelifestyleforstudents–relaxed,outdoorsy,andwithenoughculturalsimilaritiestobereassuring,butenoughdifferencestomakelivingthereanexcitingopportunityfortravelandnewdiscoveries.“LotsofstudentsareattractedbytheopportunitytoliveinAustraliaandNewZealandfora
periodoftime,”agreesNash,“andthe
feedbackthatwegetfromthemabouttheirexperi-encestendstobeverypositive.Stu-dentsoftensaytheyfindtheteachingatmospherefriendlyandinformal,andalsothataca-demicsaremoreaccessibleandapproach-able.”
Soifyouliketheideaofgainingaworld-recogniseduniversityqualificationatthesametimeasrevellinginanewlifestyleandcultureandtravellingtoanewpartoftheworld(allofwhichiscertainlygoingtomakeyourCVstandoutfromthecrowd!)whatarethenextsteps?
June 2011 | 9 www.theaspiremagazine.com
How to apply1Doplentyofresearch.StudyOptionscansendyouafreepublication,TheGuidetoStudyinginAustraliaandNewZealand,tohelpwithyourinitialresearch,oryoucanvisittheirwebsite,www.studyoptions.com.
2ContactStudyOptionstogetalistofthecourses available in your chosen subject.Make sure you specifywhat youwant tostudy,what qualifications you have at themoment, and if you’ve got any particularrequests–forexample,ifyouwanttobeinaspecificcity.
3 Study Options will send you a list ofcourses to consider. The list will includeweblinks to each course’s content andstructure,aswellasdetailsoftuitionfees,entry requirements, application deadlinesandotherkeyinformation.Gothroughthelist carefully – check the weblinks, par-ticularly the coursebreakdowns, and lookaround each university’s website. StudyOptions also has prospectuses for all theuniversities, which you can get for free.They offer expert, friendly advice to helpstudentsdecidewhichcoursesanduniver-sitiesarebestforthem,socontactthembyphoneoremailorgointotheofficetotalkthroughyouroptions.
4Onceyou’vedecidedwhichuniversitiesto apply to, let Study Options know andthey will send you the application formsandaguidetoapplying.UKstudentsapplytoAustralianandNewZealanduniversitiesusing their UK qualifications –A-Levels,InternationalBaccalaureate or the equiva-lent–theyarenot(inthevastmajorityofcases)requiredtotakeadditionaltests.
5SendthecompletedapplicationstoStudyOptions, who check to make sure every-thingiscorrectandcomplete,andsightandcertifydocumentsonbehalfoftheuniversi-ties.Applicationsare thensent to theuni-versitiesforassessmentelectronically.
Study OptionsWeb:www.studyoptions.comTel:02073537200Email:[email protected]
10 | June 2011 www.theaspiremagazine.com
Tab TextWelfare Services
Thereisahugeconcernforinterna-tionalstudentswholeavehomeatsuchayoungage,farfromtheir
parentalguidancetostudyinanunfamil-iarcountry,andaculturethatistotallystrangetothem.someasyoungas14,arehardlypreparedtotakeonthepressuresofindependence,crossculturalintegra-tion,financialmanagementanddevelopinghealthysocialrelationshipamongothers.Itisnotsurprisingthatthemajorityofthemexperiencetheirfairshareofchallengeslikelossofpassport,money,bankcards,valuablesetc.
Welfarechallengessuchasalackofabal-anceddiet,healthissues,andaccommoda-
tion,problemswithimmigration-i.e.,Visaproblems,somestudentoverstayedtheirVisadurationinthecountryduetoigno-ranceandbasicimmigrationprocedures,therebybecominganillegalimmigrant,wheretheyaresubjectedtodeportation.
Career-wrongcareerchoiceandwrongchoiceofuniversitycanjeopardisethestu-dent’s.Socialpeerpressureandinfluenceisamajorproblemamongstudents,thinkingthattheyarenolongerundertheirparentalcontrol;thereforetheycandowhatevertheylike.Goingclubbingduringtheweekdayswill,forexample,affecttheirlec-turesthefollowingmorning,togetherwithsmokinganddrinkingalcohol.
TIECWelfareProvisionsAmosAkinwale(TIECTeamLeader&HeadofWelfareServices)