Please introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to take our online law LLM.

Hi, my name is Salio De Sousa. I’m a director and legal affairs manager for a technology company, an engineer and a qualified lawyer. I have been working in the industry for over 12 years. I have a wife and two beautiful kids. Today, I am graduating on my LLM at King’s College London, which is fantastic.

Can you tell us a bit more about your work and home life when you first started the course?

Before I started the course, my life was busy all the time. I travel a lot and also have a family at home to take care of. It was always about juggling, where I had to fit the course in between.

Whether you’re at home or travelling, you can get access to the course. And that was my main reason for studying law online.

What has your experience been like on the course? What did you like about it?

I think one of the things that I’ve enjoyed is flexibility. I could be travelling and still able to catch a class. And if not, I can watch the recording. Online courses give you the flexibility to study across different time zones, allowing me to complete my work.

Another positive aspect of the course is the ability to connect with other professionals and colleagues across the world. There’s nothing better than learning about where they are, the type of work they do and their experiences. This allows me to learn from other colleagues and that’s one of the best things about the course.

And all of that adds know-how and enables me to learn from other colleagues. That’s one of the best things about the course.

And what was your impression of the teaching? Did you think the weekly webinars were useful?

What I found about the teaching, which was great for this course, is the fact that you have two pillars of learning.

You have the academics and teaching fellows who’re there to guide you with their deep knowledge of the law, and you also have feedback from students across the world, which brings a sort of practical experience. When you merge the two together – the discussions and the webinars – it’s a great course for us to see what’s happening currently in terms of businesses and law.

You mentioned you had to study around work and travelling, how did you find that?

My plan was to try and lock in the dates of the seminars and the exams and then plan accordingly. For me, I am used to travelling between different time zones, and it was easy for me to plan based on what was ahead of me during the week.

How do you think this has benefited you and your career path?

I think it’s given me the ability to be more confident in business situations that I find myself in at work. You’re not able to know everything but having more information and know-how gives you more confidence when you have to make decisions.

And that’s important for a professional wanting to progress because, at the end of the day, you can’t know everything about every single jurisdiction. But the ability to have some know-how at any given moment and across the world is something that helps when you advise your clients.

Why did you choose to study online instead of on campus?

I chose to study online due to the current nature of my work as I have to travel frequently. For example, it’s nice to be able to land in an airport and, no matter the time zone, be able to open my laptop and get into an online class. For me, having this flexibility means that I’m not tied to one city, one room.

Yes, this may not work for everyone, but for me having that flexibility was…it was just great. This means that I don’t lose out, and I can still keep up with my professional and personal duties.

What advice would you give to someone that was thinking about studying this online course or a different online course?

My advice is to have determination and discipline. It requires a lot of discipline to ensure that you stick to the timelines and deadlines. And of course, you have to commit and take time out of your day to do the work. But once you’ve bedded in, it becomes almost like a normal routine.

And what was your impression of the level of support that you received during your study?

The level of support I received was just amazing. I feel each team – from the administration all the way through to teaching fellows – were just great. Everyone’s there to make sure that you access your lessons, your materials and information such as deadlines and submissions. All in all, I think the team is doing a fantastic job.

Great, and have you used any King’s services outside your main studies?

Yes! I have used the King’s services outside of studying. It’s one of the greatest assets of the course. I had to use the library services in order to do some additional research for my job. Having access to those sorts of services outside of your studying curriculum helped a lot.

Thanks for talking to us Salio, one last question – What’s next for you?

Well, this will lead into my profession…what I’ve learned, I guess, is that you don’t know everything – you’re still developing. With the evolution of technology, there’s an opportunity for professionals like me to gain access to know-how and different experiences.

And so right now for me, it’s not really about progression – in terms of having a higher position. It’s more about improving my confidence as I progress within my profession – to ensure that I’m comfortable giving the best advice and making decisions effectively.

Because at the end of the day, the more know-how you have, the more confident you’ll be in your everyday working life.