Arfatul Islam, who graduated this summer with a master’s degree in international tourism and hospitality management, is from Bangladesh but arrived at Ulster University in January 2021 while Belfast was still in lockdown.

He has just landed a job as a senior chef de partie with the famous Gordon Ramsay Group, at the famed “Lucky Cat” restaurant in London.

Arfatul always knew he wanted to pursue a career in hospitality with a strong desire to learn about the industry from scratch and wanted to do so in the UK.

Describing how he arrived at the decision to come and study in Northern Ireland, and Ulster University in particular, Arfatul said: “When making decisions about where to study, I made Extensive research on all UK universities and their subject rankings.

“I actually had offers from a number of other universities but decided to study at Ulster as it is number one in the UK for hospitality.

“I also had friends already in Belfast who told me about the positive experiences they had in Ulster and how they enjoyed the culture and the teaching staff at the university, which helped me in my decision. ”

Arriving during the lockdowns early last year, Arfatul struggled to shut things down and adjust to the new climate.

Luckily, it wasn’t long before things started to reopen and he secured a significant opportunity to become a chef at the AC Marriot Hotel in Belfast in June 2021, with the mentorship of top French chef Jean Christoff Novelli.

Soon after, things started to reopen across NI and opportunities arose for Arfatul to meet lecturers and classmates in person.

“It was truly an amazing experience after all the lockdowns – meeting people face to face and coming together as one,” he said.

“That’s one of the highlights for me during my time at Ulster: the people. All of my teachers and lecturers were incredibly supportive and cleared up any doubts I had about what I was doing and my abilities.

After successfully completing his studies, Arfatul has now moved to London to take on the role of principal chef de partie with the famous Gordon Ramsay band – an opportunity for which he “wants to give full credit to Ulster University and to his host department”.