Faizal Mazlan

Future Media - MA

After over 12 years working in the film industry, Faizal decided it was time for something new. Despite being worried he didn’t have the academic skills to complete a Master’s degree, he took a leap of faith and moved to Birmingham from Singapore to start an MA in Future Media. Now he’s learning about subjects he’s passionate about and gearing up for a career in User Experience.

“With 12 years of experience in film production, video editing and motion design, I wanted to embark on a new journey with UX (user experience) Design. I don’t have an undergraduate degree but I’ve worked in the creative industry in Singapore all my life and I’ve always spent my free time completing short courses in film and motion design.

I took up MA Future Media at Birmingham City University as I felt that it was the web that connects all the creative skills that I have learned in the past and lay the foundations necessary for a creative tech career.

The jump to university after over 12 years of working, was absolutely terrifying, a mid-career switch will always be a scary path to take, especially because all my family are still in Singapore and I was never the studious sort. I’ve always been more of a visual person and so jumping into university after years of working was a culture shock, but my lecturers and classmates are fantastic.

It can be stressful at times balancing coursework and self-directed learning, but the lecturers are well informed in all aspects of the curriculum and help us with any issues outside of the course as well. I feel that they go above and beyond to make our journey as smooth as possible, they always offer extra help even when if we haven’t asked for it.

They’ve helped me to build my confidence when it comes to writing reports and presenting creative ideas and I’ve learnt skills that will help me in my mid-career transition into the creative tech industry.

The MA in Future Media touches on many subjects like digital marketing strategy, UX and branding, on top of a creative production module. The course has certainly helped me understand the inner workings of the digital marketing ecosystem, while building my confidence in the writing and presentation of reports. The Digital Production module in particular has also thought me how to think creatively and on my feet.

Now I’m on my Professional Placement as a Design Associate with 383 Project and learning new things every day. I’m passionate about user design and being creative and I hope one day I get to apply that to digital products in my future career.

To me, I am BCU means that I am part of a fantastic academic journey that prepares you to work in industry.”