Xin Mai

Before enrolling at The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, I had held my bachelor’s degree in Economic Geography from Sun Yat-Sen University in China. My strong interests in urban economic issues and the perfectly designed Urban Economic Development MSc fortunately enabled me to have this valuable one-year study experience at The Bartlett Development Planning Unit. I extremely enjoyed the Urban Economic Development MSc thanks to The Bartlett Development Planning Unit’s pure academic atmosphere, perfectly designed course structure, and the knowledge and the way of critical thinking the whole course encouraged me. It was absolutely different from my previous study in my home country.

The modules in the Urban Economic Development MSc covered a wide variety of cutting-edge topics in the urban development domain, which had extended and strengthened my academic capacity in Urban Economics, urban development and planning.

We were highly encouraged to keep our mind open and analyse critically with our original ideas and understanding, which was highly demanding training and good improvement for our academic skills. Although the process was tough and challenging, I believe it must be of great value to every one of us in the future, whatever for further academic studies or career development, since it developed us the important transferable skills about how to understand and analyse the real world.

Upon graduation from The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, I secured a job as a consultant at CCID Consulting Corporation – the largest state-owned consulting group in China, which operates as the think tank for Chinese Central Government and local authorities. I have been very pleased to be able to utilise my academic skills developed from the Urban Economic Development MSc programme to analyse regional and urban development issues with particular emphasis on industrial development. I am also responsible to develop recommendations to local authorities in the Pearl River Delta region – one of the leading urbanisation and economic developed regions in China.

Based on the critical thinking and analytical skills I developed at The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, I have been able to accomplish the challenging work and operate my job smoothly. I do cherish my study experiences in London with all the tutors and staff at The Bartlett Development Planning Unit. I am very grateful for the unforgettable memory the Urban Economic Development MSc programme gave me.

4 March 2013