Joanne spoke of why she chose to study at Northern Regional College:
“Ten years after I completed the Level 3 Diploma, I decided to go back to the College to do a Foundation Degree. It was a roundabout route but it worked for me and I really enjoyed it.”
The lecturers at the College were “beyond helpful”. They were always so encouraging and I always felt that they really wanted us to do well.”
As part of the Foundation Degree, Joanne secured a placement with multi-disciplinary architectural consultancy firm, GM Design Associates in Coleraine.
Joanne said the work she did for the Foundation Degree and her work placement with GM Design were great preparation for progressing to Ulster University where she is studying a degree in Architectural Technology.
“The Foundation Degree really helped my confidence as when I went to university, I was already familiar with much of the terminology and well able to cope with the workload. When I presented a portfolio of my previous work to the university to prove my competence in different areas of the first year of the degree programme, I was granted exemptions.”
“I have no hesitation recommending Northern Regional College and the Foundation Degree as I honestly felt I had a head start on the others in the class when I started at university.”
Joanne says of her future career:
“The Foundation Degree really does give you a good ‘foundation’ for a career in the construction sector. As part of the course, I did a placement with GM Design Associates, a multi-disciplinary architectural consultancy firm in Coleraine and the experience was invaluable.”
Joanne has retained her links with GM Design. She worked there last summer and plans to work there again this summer before starting her final year of her degree at Ulster University in September.