I belong to Asansol in West Bengal and did my schooling at Burnpur Riverside School, Burnpur. While pursuing B.Sc. (Hons.) in Geology at Hansraj College at the University of Delhi, I got to know about vertebrate palaeontology, which is the study of vertebrate fossils, and was immediately hooked. The more I researched about the subject, the more I developed a liking for it. I got to know how humans have messed up the environment so badly that we have little idea of how the pre-human environment was. The subject and its applicability to real-life problems enthralled me, and I knew this was the field I wanted to pursue for my career.
I started looking for a university that would provide me with good exposure — both theoretical as well as practical — and help me transgress the tenets of palaeontology as well as give me unbridled freedom to explore new avenues in my field of interest. My quest led to the University of Southampton’s Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre which offers a master’s in research vertebrate palaeontology programme. I zeroed in on this university because it had all that I was looking for; active international assistance, guaranteed accommodation, enviable infrastructure, experienced faculty, state-of-the-art laboratories, world-class campus, good track record and affordability. Moreover, it is ranked 12th in the Complete University Guide 2016 in the field of geology. I was sure that such an institution will bring out the best in me and help me scale new heights.
When I became a Commonwealth Shared Scholar, all my worries regarding finance vanished as the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and the University of Southampton would jointly meet the full costs. Since I was not under any financial burden, I could be truly happy about going to Southampton for my postgraduation.
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I was a bit nervous as it was my first journey abroad. But the University of Southampton turned out to be friendly. Everything was organised so appropriately that I had absolutely no problem settling in.
The university has a very active international assistance service for students coming from different corners of the world. My first day at the University was really memorable. I attended several sessions including bank sessions, how to settle in the U.K. and so on, and they helped me adapt to the U.K. life easily.
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Since the university is a member of the Russell Group, extensive cutting-edge research is carried out by the academic staff. I have gained a lot of practical knowledge and in-depth understanding of the subject while interacting and working with such academicians during my programme.
After completing my master’s in research in vertebrate palaeontology, I would like to start my doctoral studies and pursue research in the same field.
The writer is pursuing MRes Vertebrate Palaeontology at University of Southampton, U.K.