BSc Business Administration: balancing my degree with my Olympic ambitions 

Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Alexa has been canoeing since she was a child. After leaving school in 2021, she began to pursue it full-time, and has since represented her country at the Canoe Sprint World Championships.

She wanted to earn a degree that would set her up for her future beyond the sport and open doors to a range of careers or further study. The University of London’s BSc Business Administration felt like the right fit: “I felt that it would cover a lot of different things and give me a good basis. It will be really nice to have this to my name – I think an overseas degree will carry a lot of weight.”

With hopes to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Alexa’s training and competition schedule keeps her busy. So, when researching degrees, the flexibility of the University of London’s fully online programme appealed.

It stood out because it was such a clear-cut online degree, and I felt it would work well for me.

Although achieving a balance between her studies and sporting commitments was tricky at first, Alexa soon hit her stride. “It took a little while, but then I figured it out and now it works nicely. It just takes a bit of self-discipline – but when I was at school, a lot of it was online because of COVID, so I felt like I’d had a bit of practice.” 

The programme has academic direction from Royal Holloway and is delivered on the online learning platform Coursera. “It’s very, very easy to use. There's a discussion area where you can talk to other students, and the tutors pitch in as well, so you get to hear a lot of different opinions,” says Alexa.

“I would definitely recommend it, no question – especially if there's something else that you have a big commitment to and you can't be on campus every day.”

Find out more about BSc Business Administration at the University of London.