Inspired by their grandmother’s resilience in starting businesses during the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s, twins Meyka and Meyta Chea have enrolled at Nottingham University Business School.

Meyka and Meyta’s grandmother Kuy Van built successful businesses despite living under the rule of Cambodia’s Pol Pot. That’s why the 21-year-old sisters, determined to maximise their business potential, chose Nottingham’s MSc in Entrepreneurship.

Meyka said: “Our grandmother is a very entrepreneurial type of person. During her life she has faced many problems, including the Khmer Rouge Genocide.”

The twins’ grandmother owned a jewellery shop and then, following the genocide, sold jewellery at a market. From an early age, the twins saw how to build a business from scratch.

Meyta said: “She did not run any big businesses, but to us my grandfather and grandmother are very admirable. They raised eight children and eight nieces and nephews; and, while some Cambodian people didn’t value education then, my grandparents saw its importance and sent all 16 children to school.

“My grandmother managed to save the lives of all the children and after the regime ended she could start over her business again from zero. Later she was robbed and lost all the money again. Seeing another business opportunity, she had to force herself and my grandfather to move to another province and left her children in the city for education. After a few years doing business in the province, she earned quite a lot of money and was able to move back to the city to live with her children.”

The twins make most of their decisions as a pair and took the same undergraduate degrees in Cambodia.

Meyta said: “We don’t mind doing things separately, but most of the time we have similar interests — we always discuss our future plan and choices with each other. That’s why we always choose the same things, including university.”

Despite having never lived outside Cambodia, the twins decided that Nottingham was for them.

Meyta said: “Through my rigorous search for the right programme in my selected field, I discovered The University of Nottingham offers the best programme available. The University can enrich me with a set of core analytical and technical skills of business approaches and decision making applicable to Cambodian companies.”