Anisa Norzri

Cambridge Judge Business School

Home City and Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Axiata Group, Senior Strategist

How has studying business in the United Kingdom enriched your learning experience? Studying business in the United Kingdom has pushed my learning beyond frameworks and into real thinking.

What stands out most is how much learning happens through open conversation. In the classroom, you are debating ideas with people who have built companies, worked in government, come from emerging markets, or spent years in consulting. Those discussions force you to defend your thinking in real time. It is less about having the right answer and more about learning how to think under scrutiny.

The academic approach also places real emphasis on application. Theory is not treated as something to memorise and reproduce, but to interrogate live business issues. Classes regularly connect ideas to current events or personal experience, which makes the learning feel practical rather than theoretical.

There is also something meaningful about studying business in the UK itself. Many of the economic, legal, and institutional systems that shape global business today originated here. Learning in that environment gives you a deeper appreciation of why certain models exist, not just how they operate.

What surprised me most, however, was the level of support and openness. University networks are well coordinated, and people are genuinely willing to help or have thoughtful conversations. That openness creates a very lean learning experience, where insight often comes from informal exchanges just as much as formal teaching.

Overall, the experience has been challenging in the best way. It sharpens how you think, how you communicate, and how you engage with people who see the world differently.

What has been the toughest transition to living in the United Kingdom so far? What have you done to overcome this difficulty? The toughest transition has been adjusting to how tightly time is structured in the UK. When things close early, you cannot rely on spontaneity to get through the day. At the start, I underestimated how much everyday logistics would affect my rhythm.

I dealt with it by changing how I plan entirely. I now front-load my day, plan errands and workouts earlier, and treat evenings as a fixed constraint rather than flexible time. It sounds small, but it forced me to become far more intentional with my schedule. That discipline has spilled into how I manage coursework, group work, and commitments outside class.

What felt like a lifestyle inconvenience ended up sharpening how I manage time and energy overall.

What school service has been the most helpful in transitioning to living in the United Kingdom? How has it helped you adapt? The most helpful service in transitioning to life in the United Kingdom has been the Careers Service at Cambridge, particularly how support is structured before arrival, during term, and through student-led groups on campus. The pre-boarding support helped me understand the UK job market early, which reduced a lot of uncertainty before I arrived. Once on campus, ongoing career sessions and industry-focused student interest groups made it easier to build confidence, ask practical questions, and learn alongside peers navigating the same transition.

The Cambridge college system also played an important role. Having a smaller, close-knit community within a large university made the transition feel far less overwhelming. Welfare support and the programmes team added another layer of reassurance, especially during intense periods, by making it clear where to go for help and how to access it quickly.

Together, these structures created a strong sense of stability during a period of change. It never felt like support was distant or fragmented, which made adapting to life in the UK much smoother.

What has been the most interesting cultural nuance of people living in the United Kingdom? Why has this struck you? One cultural nuance that really struck me is how much meaning is attached to small, everyday traditions. Something such as a Sunday roast is not treated casually. It is a fixed point in the week where people slow down, sit together, and just be present. I found that surprisingly grounding, especially coming from a background where weekends can still feel quite busy and unstructured.

Another thing I noticed was how warm people are in everyday interactions. The casual use of terms of endearment makes conversations feel instantly less formal. At Cambridge, this sits alongside traditions such as college events or even polo, which carry a lot of history but are approached in a very relaxed way. People participate without taking themselves too seriously.

What stayed with me is that these traditions are not about exclusivity. They create familiarity. Even as someone new, they make it easier to feel included and to connect with people quickly.

Are you seeking a Visa to work in the United Kingdom after graduation? If so, what obstacles have you faced and how did you overcome them? Potentially, yes. I am exploring the option of working in the United Kingdom after graduation.

The main challenge has been navigating uncertainty around visa timelines and employer sponsorship, especially early on when you are still understanding how the UK job market works. Rather than seeing this as a barrier, I approached it by getting informed early. I used university career resources, attended visa briefings, and spoke openly with recruiters and peers who had gone through the process.

Having clarity on the options available helped me plan more realistically and focus on roles and employers that were aligned with my status. That preparation has made the process feel manageable rather than overwhelming.

What have you done to make it easier to make friends with people from outside your home country at business school? I made a conscious effort to put myself in settings where interaction happens naturally rather than forcing it. Joining clubs and societies helped because conversations were anchored around shared interests rather than background.

Cambridge formals were especially impactful. Sitting down for long dinners creates space for real conversation, and I often found myself speaking to people far outside business school. Through formals, I have had conversations with a scientist and a software engineer working in AI, which led to engaging discussions about how technical innovation translates into business applications.

I also took the initiative to lead informal socials within my classes. Given how international the cohort is, I found that people often appreciate someone taking the first step. Organising simple, low-pressure gatherings made it easier for classmates from different cultures to connect outside the classroom.

Getting involved in societies was another important part of my experience. I volunteered both as a mentee and a mentor, chaired the Women in Business Society on campus, and explored societies aligned with my interests, such as Art History. With so many clubs and societies available, it can feel intimidating at first, but being open and jumping in makes a real difference.

In addition, I joined weekend trips organised by the student union, which helped friendships form quickly. Traveling together, even briefly, lowers social barriers and creates easy opportunities to connect.

Overall, being open and willing to take the lead when needed made it much easier to build friendships across cultures.

What piece of advice would you give to an international student looking to study in a UK graduate business program? I would say take the chance on the best school you can, even if it feels intimidating at first. The value is not just in the classroom, but in the people and exposure you gain by being in that environment.

One thing that surprised me is how accessible networks can be. You can genuinely find yourself in conversations you never expected, such as hearing from someone such as Jensen Huang on an ordinary weekday. Those moments expand your sense of what is possible and who you can learn from.

I would also encourage international students to use the UK experience to explore interests beyond their original geography or industry. Being here pushed me to look more seriously at areas such as impact investing, which I might not have explored as deeply otherwise. The ecosystem makes it easier to test new directions without needing to fully commit immediately.

Finally, do not underestimate the lifestyle aspect. The UK offers access to incredibly diverse places, and being so close to Europe makes short trips easy. That balance between focused study and exploration adds a lot to the overall experience.

In short, come with an open mind, say yes more than feels comfortable, and use the experience to stretch both professionally and personally.

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