Aston University graduate making headlines around the world
Hi, my name is Parisa Qurban and I studied English Language at Aston University.
I am a journalist and producer for BBC World Service. My job involves producing world news stories for radio programmes and the BBC’s digital output.
This includes starting the day researching and reacting to breaking news events, keeping an eye out on what’s unfolding in the world, whilst finding original or unique stories too. And thinking about how these stories can be told on air, either for radio or for the BBC’s digital output. We then pitch these ideas in our morning news meeting - and decide on which stories we are going to produce to be presented on air.
Generally, being a journalist or producer in a world news environment means being very active and on-the-go, ready to chase stories and guests. It’s very rewarding and I feel able to explore and dive into different stories each day. You also learn a lot as a journalist, constantly gaining more knowledge about the world as you work on producing and telling stories on a daily basis.
What I really love about my job is that no two days are the same. You remain interested because you’re chasing the stories that you have pitched, so you always remain intuitive about what’s happening around the world.
Why Aston University?
My time at university really was beneficial to me personally. During my course and time at university I met so many different people. As you begin university it’s an exciting and refreshing experience.
It’s the experience that counts. You gain independence and as you settle and meet more people in lectures, classes and around campus, it brings out your own confidence.
How did studying at Aston University help your career?
My course involved lots of researching and teamwork when working together to present projects.
We would present and deliver arguments when in teams. There was also a lot of interacting in both small classes and big lectures - as we had several conversations with our lecturers leading the topic of conversation.
You interact with so many different people, and in turn that was great for me to experience. This is because becoming very interactive and working with others is a big part of my job now, you need to be able to pick up the phone and speak to several different people around the world.
Parisa commented: My university experience helped me become more confident and independent and helped me take my first steps into journalism. It was thanks to my lecturers and my peers, with their help and advice, that I am where I am today.
Aston University is such a diverse place with such a great mix of people, and I will be forever grateful for my time there.