Shiven Pattni, who graduated from BSc Business Management with Year in Industry in 2024 and now works as a Junior Consultant within Turner & Townsend’s Infrastructure division, shares his thoughts on the importance of championing student scholarships and access pathways to education especially through campaigns such as Birmingham Gives!
Why is it important to you, as a Pathways to Birmingham graduate, to continue that cycle of giving? Especially to causes such as Birmingham Gives?
As someone who directly benefited from the support available through Pathways to Birmingham, I know how much of a difference programmes like this can make. University was not always a clear path for me and, like a lot of eighteen year olds, I did not necessarily know what I wanted to do or what options were available. The additional support helped make those decisions feel more straightforward and gave me the confidence to pursue opportunities I may not have considered otherwise. With the graduate market becoming more competitive than ever, initiatives such as Birmingham Gives can help students access experiences that allow them to stand out beyond their degree and realise their potential.
How did the University support you to get to where you are now?
My journey with Birmingham started through the Summer School, which forms part of the Bright Minds in Birmingham initiative. I took part in the Business stream of the Summer School gave me a real feel for the university before applying, ultimately confirming that Business Management was the right degree for me. Through Pathways to Birmingham from 2020, alongside financial support and wider opportunities, I was able to take part in a data micro internship in Bangalore, India, as well as a politics internship experience in St Lucia. I was also fortunate to be part of the Goldman Sachs Scholars programme, where I was paired with a mentor working in procurement. Those conversations opened my eyes to supply chain and procurement as a career path and ultimately influenced my decision to pursue that field. Collectively, these experiences helped shape my confidence, broaden my perspective and secure my role at Turner & Townsend, where I currently work as a Junior Consultant and am preparing to complete the graduate programme and step into a Consultant role.
