Arnesh Vijay was working in research for Nokia when an interest in patents led him to take up a new role with the company and a new qualification at ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ (ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥).
Arnesh said: “My research role had already given me a good idea of the work that went into generating ideas worth patenting. What I didn’t understand however was the process of filing for a patent, or the work involved in granting them or even prosecuting for misuse. This is something I wanted to know more about and I was fortunate to be able to switch roles to join Nokia’s patenting department.â€
With a new role ahead, Arnesh set about finding a training programme which would enable him to become an intellectual property rights specialist. His search led him to the Postgraduate Certificate in Intellectual Property Law at ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥. Arnesh said: “Having looked online at the course content, mode of delivery and assessment approaches, Bournemouth stood out as one of the best. It offered a flexible, distance learning approach and I liked the fact that the course was run by ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥â€™s Faculty of Media & Communication, which had such an excellent reputation.â€
It was the first time that Arnesh had embarked on a distance learning programme, but he soon found a way to balance his full-time work with the course content and self-directed study. He said: “This was truly distance learning interspersed with a few onsite meetings. All the lecture materials, assignment briefings and related resources were available online which gave me easy and unlimited access. There was a balance of lectures from academics and from those working in industry, and I quickly gained an overview on other intellectual property topics such as trademarks, copyright and design laws. While these are not part of my day-to-day duties, I now feel more confident in discussing these areas with other professionals.â€
Having graduated from the course in 2018, Arnesh is happy to recommend the mode of study to others. He said: “The course is well structured for full-time working professionals and the academic and support staff are understanding and flexible, which is something I really appreciated. Even though I didn’t spend much time on campus I met like-minded people and made some good friends.â€