"A home away from home", for Abhigyan

Big Data Management and Analytics student Abhigyan pens a blog about his experience of moving to Ireland from India and what it's like to be a Griffith College student. 

It seems like yesterday when I arrived in Ireland from India. For the first time, I was leaving my country and moving to a different continent altogether. I came here to do my Master’s degree in Computing at Griffith College Dublin. During the very first days, I was a little scared and nervous. But I must say that the warm welcome from the people of Ireland and the friendly staff, along with the students of Griffith College has made this place a home away from home for me.

Fun activities

When I attended the college's orientation program, I was heartily welcomed by the staff of the college. We had some pretty fun activities along with some very tasty food. I also met my classmates, who were from all over the world; in no time, we all became very close friends to one another.

Each and every professor I met at our college was very friendly and always ready to help us with anything that we need. They also made the classes very interesting. Along with the studies, I signed up with the Griffith Music Society and I must say that it was really amazing to meet such talented musicians from our college and we, the members of the Music Society, are planning to do something big and entertaining during the upcoming semester.

Students' Union trips

One of the best parts of my whole experience at Griffith College has been the Students' Union trips. What I liked the most during those trips was that when we first got on the bus, most of the students were strangers to each other, but when we returned, we had all become very close friends. Plus, the staff of the Griffith Students' Union took trips from good to great. I will never forget those amazing moments. I cannot wait to go on the next trip with them in upcoming semesters!

COVID-19 pandemic

This year, unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic hit all over the world and a very long period of lockdown started. Fortunately, most of the fun parts remained the same. All of our classes were held online and I got to meet my classmates and our professors during the online lectures. Our exams also were held online. Before our exams, my friends and I studied very hard in online group studies. Although I did not get to meet my friends in person, I was glad that we worked everything out online.

Now, I have completed one year of Higher Diploma in Computing and currently, I am signed up for the MSc in Big Data Management and Analytics. These days, I am trying to prepare myself for the coming semesters and learn some necessary courses for that module. Also, I am pretty excited to meet my new friends and professors, after such a long period. Finally, I hope everything will work out fine this year, with safety and precautions.

About the author

Abhigyan Sarma Barua is a Master’s degree student at Griffith College Dublin. Originally from India, Abhigyan's hobbies include travel, guitar, and magic tricks. He says his aim in life is to be a very good data analyst and to make the world a better place by using his skills.