Stephanie Galbraith

Before taking the course I worked as a trainee development consultant for an international property consultancy firm developing economic development strategies and feasibility studies, particularly on regeneration, for cities, towns and individual sites.

I applied to gain a relevant postgraduate qualification and achieve a professional membership - important when working in the private sector and bidding for consultancy work. I hoped it would give me an extensive theoretical background to economic development issues whilst remaining wholly relevant to my job.

I have now changed jobs and work as a Researcher for the Northern Ireland Assembly, providing papers and presentations on current regional issues to the Regional Development Committee. The course not only helped me obtain the post I now hold, but gave me a solid background of issues facing regions within the UK, and the necessary “ building blocks” to develop my knowledge of regional issues facing Northern Ireland.

It encouraged me to analyse my own area, look at best practice and experiences in the UK, and to examine relationships between local, regional and national economic development issues invaluable to me in my current position.

The best 3 things about the course are:

It is highly relevant and applied which was essential for me, providing opportunities to explore particular areas of interest.

The study flexibility made it manageable around a full time job with a heavy workload. Set up into manageable sections it could be tackled in small or large chunks depending upon the time I had available. It was not possible to attend all course workshops. However, resources and support were available from staff and tutors and I took my exams in Northern Ireland.

Support and resources were provided by academic and administrative staff throughout the course. With additional resource suggestions, library and electronic sources available through the universities, I was able to complete the course in an efficient and enjoyable manner.