Case Study

Cletus Ogbuji

MSc Public Health


For Cletus Ogbuji, deciding to study for his health and social care degrees came from a desire to help people, first with his father-in-law then with his global community.

I like to think of people in the health and social care sector as the champions of vulnerable people.

"My interest in health and social care comes from a pretty rough place. My father-in-law was diagnosed with stage two dementia at a time when I was working in the construction sector.

The health workers that looked after him were great, but they didn’t have enough time to spend with him. So I helped out and I realised I was good at it. It gave me the opportunity to help people, something I discovered I have a passion for.

I knew I wanted to work in the health sector, but I didn’t have any qualifications. So I started a Higher National Diploma (HND) in health and social care. It was interesting but I wanted to take it further. 

During my HND in 2014-15, the Ebola crisis hit much of West Africa where I’m from. I wanted to get over there and help, but I just didn’t have the knowledge and experience they were looking for. That was a big factor in me deciding to apply for the Health and Social Care (Top-Up) and later the MSc in Public Health at the University. I wanted to know that, if something like that happened again, I could be part of the solution. I think, once I graduate, I will be in that place now. 

I like to think of people in the health and social care sector as the champions of vulnerable people. We don’t just work with theory. We work with real people.

This degree gives me the opportunity to work anywhere in the world. What I’m learning is just as applicable to the UK as it is to Africa or the US. It’s global knowledge that has the potential to help so many people all over the world."

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