Building a community at Bradford

Hi, my name is Sakinat and I'm an International student from Nigeria.

I studied MSc Applied Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics at Bradford, and now that I'm at the end of my course, I wanted to reflect on how I met new people and built new relationships during my time at the University.

Before joining, I read about the University of Bradford and learned that I would encounter people from diverse cultural backgrounds. I was excited to meet a diverse group of people, make friends and find my support system – friendships and connections I believe will last a lifetime.

The challenge

After my first few days as a postgraduate student, I realised that the dynamics were very different from my time as an undergraduate student.

Being a Master's student means that a lot of the time, you can be busy and are perhaps not interested in making new adult friendships. I noticed that a lot of other students were very occupied preparing for their Master's thesis. What many do not realise is, it is still in your interest to make connections and build new friendships.

As an international student living in the UK, making connections was important to me. As someone who has just come to a new country, my lecturers always emphasised the importance of networking in career building and daily life.

As a self-proclaimed introvert, I quickly realised that I would have to go out of my comfort zone and make the first move whenever I met new people. I found this to be a bit more challenging as I belong to a group that is usually a minority of the minority. I am a hijab-wearing black muslim woman studying a tech-related course. As you might have guessed, there weren’t many who ticked the same boxes. Initially, this made me anxious, and I was worried I would find it hard to find people that I could accompany on this postgraduate journey. However, I remained optimistic and open.

Finding connection

One of the first things I did was join societies, which is where I believed I would find other students who shared the same identity as me. These societies felt like little pieces of home away from home, and I was able to make even deeper connections in the classroom.

In lectures, I would meet the same people almost every day, every week. We would discuss similar topics and work towards the same academic goal. During class discussions, I noticed similarities with people that could be leveraged to foster a connection and build friendships. I met people with whom I enjoyed both semesters I spent at Bradford.

I decided to come out of my shell and initiate a greeting, a conversation, or invite someone to join my coursework group. Forming connections was the easy bit; the harder part was nurturing those connections and making sure I was adding value to the relationship, especially during breaks or holidays.

I volunteered as a member of the Student Advisory Group, where I met even more students from varying courses and widened my network. I took part in different activities that further widened the array of people I interacted with and developed close connections.

Slowly but surely, I was building my network of friends and support system at Bradford.

What I learned

I learned that you must be intentional about the community you’re trying to build and the network of people you want to have around you.

I found that I did not need to “fit in” and that being my true self was what another person might be interested in. Finding my people at the University of Bradford taught me that there is always something that we can learn from each other, and you are never too old to make new friends.

Connecting with people and having my own support system at University meant I didn’t have to go through things alone, whether it be in my personal or academic life. We encouraged each other, motivated each other, and it was an avenue for me to practice and further develop my interpersonal skills.

Advice for others

If you’re just starting here at Bradford, don’t hold back. Reach out to people, start that conversation, send that message, say yes to that event. You never know who you might connect with and what beautiful fruits that connection might bear.

Where you come from shapes you.

Where you belong helps you grow.

At Bradford, you’ll find your people, your purpose, and a community that feels like home. Learn more about life as an international student.