Having welcomed the biggest number of students from Kuwait over the last year, De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) chats to one Kuwaiti student about life back home and in the UK.
Mohammed Almutairi recently enrolled at the university’s Leicester International Pathway College (LIPC) to study pre-sessional English and the International Foundation Certificate (IFC) in Business, before progressing to BA Accounting and Finance.
The college opened in June 2014 to prepare international students for entry to DMU degree programmes.
Over the last three years, the university has seen its Kuwaiti population nearly triple in size, with more than 50 students from Kuwaiti starting in the last academic year.
Mohammed talks about his highlights so far: “The best experience has been learning to be independent and organising my time.
“The benefits of travelling to a different country to study are to live in another culture, to become independent and to talk another language.”
He added: “I would recommend studying at DMU because the courses are of a high standard and the town is very nice. The location of Leicester is important because it is central and all places in the UK are not far away.
Sharing a taste of Kuwaiti life, Mohammed said: “One of the traditional foods in Kuwait is called ‘Mochios’, which is chicken and rice sometimes prepared with spices, and it is served in a big dish.
“We also like to drink Arabic coffee but it is so strong! If I drank it now, I wouldn’t be able to sleep until 4am!
“It is served without milk and sugar, and either black or light. The longer you boil the coffee the darker it becomes. I prefer to drink it light.”
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Mohammed first came to the UK in June 2014 to learn English. Talking about his reasons for choosing DMU, he said: “I decided to come to the university after my cousin recommended it to me. The location is very important to me and I like the town.
“My cousin said DMU was a good university and had good courses.
Talking about his future, he added: “I am excited to do my degree here. I think studying in the UK is very positive because it has high standards of education and will give me more opportunities to find a job in Kuwait.
“It was part of my dream to graduate from a British university.”
Philip Moere, LIPC College Director said: "Leicester is a wonderful choice for international students, a vibrant friendly city with many different cultures.
"For our Kuwaiti students, there are plenty of options for Halal food and a fantastic Kuwaiti society at the university, which was started by those who attended the college."
"I am delighted we have welcomed so many Kuwaitis here."
Sharing some of the aspects to life back home, Mohammed said: “In Kuwait, everyone knows their neighbours, even to the end of the street.
“I even met two friends at DMU who turned out to be cousins of my neighbour. If I hadn’t known my neighbour, I would never have known that!
“In every family, we must also always celebrate the eldest member whatever the celebration and visit their home, for every birthday, Eid and even if we have guests visiting.”
Posted on Tuesday 25 August 2015