The difference between school systems in New Zealand and my native Bahrain meant I needed to do a Foundation Studies programme in order to gain entry to a University of Auckland undergraduate course. But Foundation Studies was just the beginning for me. After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Education, a first-class honours degree in Education, a Master of Arts in Education (also with first-class honours) and a PhD in the social psychology of education, I am still living in Auckland and now a research fellow with the Quantitative Data Analysis and Research Unit in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland.

I wanted to study Commerce at the University of Auckland but didn’t have the right subjects. The University of Auckland Certificate in Foundation Studies Fast-track programme got me prepared quickly in eight months and offered him the qualifications in Accounting and Economics I needed for my first year of university.