Balancing work and play at Leeds

Updated on: Tuesday, November 30, 2010

During my schooldays in Chennai, I spent more time on the cricket grounds than in classrooms. I represented India Under-16 and toured England and Wales in 1998 and played for Tamil Nadu State Under-19 in 1999.

But with a rich family tradition and natural inclination to engineering, I pursued B.Tech. (Electronics) from MIT, Chennai. In spite of watertight academic and research preoccupation at MIT and AUKBC Research Centre, I managed to play in First Division league alongside players like Badrinath, L. Balaji and M. Vijay. So much so, I was eager to look for a foreign university where I could continue to play quality cricket while pursuing my master's in Engineering. In terms of continuity of cricket, my coach, Abdul Jabbar (former Tamil Nadu and South Zone player) and Robin Singh (former India player) suggested that I should prefer a university in Yorkshire, UK.

Though I had presented a research paper at University of Maryland (USA) even during my first degree, I finally decided to go to UK. I found the University of Leeds offering an industrially-sponsored master's degree in Modern Digital and Radio Frequency Wireless Communications as tailormade for my long-term career prospects. That I landed a merit scholarship was like an icing on the cake.

I began to represent Leeds University in the British Universities Tournament even before my master's classes commenced.

I was signed by Ray Illingworth (former England captain) to play for Farsley Cricket Club in Bradford League First Division for 2005 season as one of the two international players, allowed each season. I had the honour of sharing some crucial partnerships with Ashley Metcalfe, former Yorkshire opening batsman.

Leeds is a vibrant multi-cultural and multi-racial university and is rated 5 Star in Engineering Research in the UK.

The university is located right in the heart of the city and close to the Headingley Cricket Ground.

Leeds enlists regular guest lecturers from the industry in all engineering streams. Students pursue typically customized courses and research.

Both teaching and assessment are based on practical aspects of the subject and considerable emphasis is placed on project work.

The university's Indian alumni section testifies to how well-placed Leeds graduates are in different parts of the world.

Life in the city is simply wonderful with a large student community hailing from three universities based in the city.

Some of the places of import around the city are Leeds Waterfront, The West Yorkshire Playhouse and the Bolton Castle in Yorkshire Dales. Indian and Pakistani restaurants add spice to students from our part of the world.

I personally enjoyed the best of both worlds (Distinction in Masters and Bradford 1st Division cricket experience) while at Leeds and found distinct recognition to my Leeds qualification in Europe. Incidentally, I have relocated to the Netherlands after my Masters and have been working for Accenture as Information Security Consultant, accepted as a ‘Knowledge Migrant' by the Dutch Government.

Balancing work and play at Leeds

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