From Forward College to JDE Peet’s and London Business School: Ida’s international journey
Ida shares how studying at Forward College shaped her international journey, from a Graduate Programme across France and Kazakhstan to her next chapter at London Business School.
Q: Let’s start with you. Can you tell us a bit about your journey, from joining Forward College to where you are today?
Ida: I joined Forward College straight out of high school because I wanted a way to combine travelling and exploring the world with a strong academic programme. Forward gave me exactly that: it made my studies feel like a constant adventure. I knew early on that I wanted to go into finance, so I used the summers and term-time to complete several internships and part-time roles alongside my studies. As graduation approached, I really felt how much Forward had prepared me for that next step. I landed a place on a graduate programme in Finance that let me keep travelling, and now I’m about to start my Master’s in London.
Q: You recently completed a Graduate Traineeship at JDE Peet’s, working in both France and Kazakhstan. What did your role involve, and what were the highlights of the experience?
Ida: The traineeship allowed me to rotate across both functions and locations. I worked on projects in market insight, sales analytics and FP&A (Financial Planning & Analysis). It was a great opportunity to see how people from different cultures work together, and I think Forward genuinely equipped me with the right background to take on these roles.
The projects included building Excel and Power BI models, writing analyses and doing some financial coding. I started with a month in Amsterdam, getting to meet the company’s executive committee, then spent four months in Paris and six months in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The highlights were definitely the travel it allowed me to do, and meeting so many different and interesting people along the way.
Q: Looking back, how did Forward College prepare you for this opportunity, whether through the curriculum, international experience, project-based learning, or mentorship?
Ida: In my case, it was definitely the international experience. Having already moved around so much, it made it much easier to take on this new challenge of moving to countries I’d never lived in before. I think it taught me to be adaptable, to find common ground with most people, and to work effectively under a big workload and short timelines, something exam season definitely prepared us for.
Q: This autumn you’ll be joining London Business School to pursue a Master’s in Financial Analysis. What motivated this next step, and how do you see it fitting into your career journey?
Ida: I always knew I wanted to pursue a Master’s, and that it would ideally be in London. Having worked and studied across so many different countries, I realised how much I wanted to build my career in finance specifically in London. London Business School in particular stood out because of its strong reputation, its close ties to industry, and the calibre of people I’d get to learn alongside.
Q: Was there a specific moment during your internship when you realised, “Forward College prepared me for exactly this”?
Ida: Yes, definitely. I remember arriving in Kazakhstan not knowing the language, the people, or the town. I felt overwhelmed at first, but having already done this four times before, I was definitely much more confident in how to handle it.
Q: Looking back, what opportunities or experiences at Forward had the biggest impact on your career path?
Ida: In my first year of university, I got the opportunity to intern at BNP Paribas in Lisbon. This definitely contributed to me wanting a career in finance, and I truly don’t think I would have had that opportunity without Forward. I also think all the project-based learning allowed me to explore my interests: finance, consulting, app development, which helped me land on finance as the path for me, at least for the next few years.
Q: What advice would you give to prospective students considering Forward College?
Ida: Attending Forward College was truly life-changing for me, and I wouldn’t have had the opportunities I’ve had without it. Don’t get me wrong, you do need to work really hard, and you get out what you put in, but being in an environment surrounded by such intelligent, hard-working people really pushes you to be your best and follow your dreams. My best advice would be to truly make the most of it: take every project seriously, explore the fields you’re interested in, learn from your peers, and enjoy the experience of living abroad!
