The Practice Track is an alternative to the dissertation that also takes place over summer. It’s split into two parts: the Case Project and the Action Project.

Both involved working directly with organisations, doing academic research and presenting our findings. We’ve also had to produce a lot of written work.

All MSc in Management students worked in groups depending on our specialism. I picked the marketing route, so I worked with the MSc in Marketing students.

The first part of the Practice Track is the Case Project. We worked with Nationwide Building Society.

They’re interested in the emerging sector of Financial Technology. They asked us to research how it’s used in other countries and how Nationwide and their customers can benefit.

I liked doing the presentation for Nationwide at their offices in Swindon although it was scary at first. It’s a big company, and that made me a bit nervous but in the end they were really friendly. And they appreciated the ideas we gave them too.

The second part is the Action Project, the culmination of working with a charity for around two months. Our goal was to raise as much awareness and money as possible.

We worked with Mentoring Plus, a local charity. They train adult volunteers to mentor young people who need extra support with things like education or family.

To raise money we organised a music event, which I really enjoyed. We raised quite a lot of awareness too. Lots of people who worked at the venue and the musicians wanted to volunteer which was a bonus.

We charged people for tickets and they donated money on top of that. We raised over £200.

I did a dissertation before in my undergraduate degree and it wasn’t really my thing. When I looked at the MSc in Management, I saw I could do the Practice Track instead. Bath has the only MSc courses I could find that offer a practical alternative to a dissertation, and I wanted to do that. It’s a unique thing.

The Practice Track gave me real business experience, something I didn't really have when I started the course. I thought the Practice Track would give me some insight into a management career.

The exposure to companies is really good. It boosts your confidence when you hear their feedback. I never thought I’d be able to present to companies like Nationwide.

I’d recommend the Practice Track because you get to work with different people, and experience other ways of thinking. You get the chance to work with people from different cultures and backgrounds.

It builds up your group work experience as well, and how to handle problems. You have to be organised and learn to plan for the unexpected.

These are skills I’ll need in the work environment. It’ll definitely help my employability.