Alen Bilde

In 2017, I successfully graduated from ISMA High School Premiers, but unfortunately, I did not choose a direction to continue my studies at university. I had the desire to continue my studies in a foreign university to get a better education and achieve faster positive results in my career.

In the year after I graduated from high school, I made a point of familiarising myself with the different fields of study and educational programmes offered at various European universities, while I also started working for a construction company in Norway.

I chose to study in the UK because many of its universities are among the best in the world. My choice was also strengthened by the fact that I am a professional sailor, a 2017 European Cup winner in the Laser 4.7 U18 class, a multiple Latvian Championship winner and a former member of the Latvian national sailing team.

It gave me the desire to connect my life and future profession with the sea and ships. I chose the University of Plymouth to study Navigation and Maritime science. The Faculty of Nautical Engineering and Mathematics was ranked in the top 8 in the world and became the first in the UK. The University itself is ranked 401st in the world.

The studies were really interesting and exciting, with lots of hands-on activities on ships and training simulators. I had to forget about having fun during my studies, because I spent all my time studying. There was no revision or re-sitting, the result had to be in the test. My knowledge of English was quite a problem, because the language used during my studies was different from the school curriculum.

In my second year of study, I was lucky enough to sign a contract with Evergreen Marine Corporation. This company supported me financially, which enabled me to concentrate on my studies.

By signing the contract, I undertook to obtain the highest grades in all the examinations and assessments, otherwise my contract with the shipping company would be terminated immediately.

The last year at university was the hardest, because I had to write and defend my thesis. After a very difficult final year, I managed to get the highest mark of 2:1 (upper second class honours) in my thesis defence.