How the International Foundation Year set Gabriel up for success
Gabriel began his career journey at the University of Salford by completing an engineering degree. The skills, experiences and knowledge Gabriel gained during his time at Salford have allowed him to go on to complete two postgraduate qualifications and build his own tech start-up.
Read Gabriel’s story below about how the University of Salford shaped his career journey.
MY SALFORD JOURNEY
“I started my University of Salford journey by completing the International Foundation Year programme. I had ambitions to complete an engineering degree so during my International Foundation Year, I studied maths and physics.
The programme developed my maths and physics knowledge so that when I transitioned to my first year of the undergraduate course I had the confidence in my skills to succeed.
The English and study skills support during the course was excellent. The teachers were incredibly supportive and provided extra materials to support my development. By the end of the year, my verbal and written English skills had significantly improved.
After completing the International Foundation Year, I was fully prepared and ready to start my engineering degree.
Throughout my whole time at Salford, all the staff I met were extremely supportive, from lecturers to librarians - everyone was always there to offer their help, should you need it. The resources at Salford were incredible, particularly the library which is open 24/7 during term time. I definitely made use of this service during exam periods!”
LIFE AFTER SALFORD
“After graduating, I completed a MSc in Petroleum Engineering. However, as I was studying for this, the Covid-19 pandemic started, which gave me time to decide that I wanted to pivot my career slightly. I went on to complete a second master’s in Aerospace Engineering.
At the same time as studying for my master’s, I began developing a tech start-up part-time and, after completing my studies, I decided to pursue this full-time. I am now the CEO of Nettpage, a Manchester-based start-up which integrates social media with e-commerce.
Whilst I decided to continue studying after my bachelor’s degree, the University of Salford offered a significant amount of support to help graduates find a job after graduation. Even now, three years after graduating, I still receive job opportunities from the university and I know that if I needed additional career support there would be someone to help, which I think is particularly special.”
SKILLS GAINED
“During my time as an engineering student at the University of Salford, I developed analytical, teamwork and problem-solving skills, which have been fundamental in my career journey.
Whilst studying, I also attended weekly business mentoring programmes, where I was able to learn entrepreneurial skills. All these experiences have given me the skills to build my own start-up and I have huge ambitions to build Nettpage into one of the most successful tech start-ups globally.”