Ololade Adeniji

What made you decide to study for a masters degree?

I want to have a career in academia and research. An MSc is the best route through to PhD and further research.

Why did you choose the University of Leeds?

Many reasons. A friend from home had visited and said it was lovely. The academic rating. I also took time to look at the lecturers’ profiles. There is a lot of research going on here. I loved the Astbury centre. I wanted something cutting edge. All these made me choose Leeds.

How does it compare to your undergraduate degree?

It is a lot more challenging. You are expected to do a lot of independent thinking. You have so much work to do that time management is really important or else you miss the deadlines. It is also a lot more in-depth. Some things over looked in undergraduate degrees become really critical at this stage.

What kind of topics have you been studying?

I have been studying courses involving protein-protein interactions, organic synthesis and scale-up, medicinal chemistry, diversity oriented synthesis and catalysis.

What really interests you about this course and chemistry in general?

The fact that it is the future. New molecules have to be discovered for the next generation of drugs. The course focuses a lot on identifying molecules with therapeutic characteristics.

I do not like routine and chemistry is not routine. Chemistry is like a mystery to be unravelled. New things come up every day. The deeper you go, the more you want to know. That makes it exciting.

How would you describe student life at Leeds?

It is amazing, there is always an activity going on and the fact that everywhere is within walking distance makes it lovely. Within 6 minutes' walk I’m in class. In 20 minutes I’m in the city centre.

I also love the fact that all the resources you need are available in the library or online on the portal. The staff are very helpful and always ready to help.

What are you enjoying most about your course?

The work is a lot but it is interesting. Trying to meet the numerous deadlines and the reading lists makes it fun. It is not possible to be bored because there is so much to do and the lecturers are enthusiastic about the course trying to engage everyone so you really are gaining a lot of knowledge.

What are your plans for the future?

I am trying to keep my options open for the next few months. I just got on the course so I want to see the opportunities available and the area of research that interests me the most. A PhD is definitely part of the plan.