Blog posts

From Programming Languages to Modern Foreign Languages and back again with Imperial Horizons

Hi, I’m Hamish, a first-year student in MEng Computing (Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning). So far this year I’ve enjoyed discovering set theory in our discrete maths module and learning to build a processor in Computer Systems, while at the moment I’m relishing Kotlin. I particularly like honing my competitive programming skills through algorithmic problem solving, and outside of my degree I play water polo once a week.

One of my most eye-opening experiences in secondary school was learning foreign languages. Having limited experience of Spanish from primary school (merely memorisation of set phrases), I was amazed and delighted to uncover a world of well-defined grammar rules, enabling me to construct my own sentences and express myself.
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What it is like to be a first year Computing student at Imperial

Dhruv-JimuliaHi! I’m Dhruv, and I’m a first-year Computing undergraduate here at Imperial. I was born and raised in India and recently moved to London for my higher education. I love meeting new people and I enjoy playing the keyboard in my free time.

As someone who is currently revising for (read: rewatching entire lectures and stressing about) my end-of-year May examinations, I thought this would be a great time to share my experience of studying first-year Computing at Imperial. Jokes apart, I think my experiences at the Department of Computing will really help incoming students and prospective students (and others of you reading this) understand what an Imperial Computing degree is like. (more…)

So what about job searching in DoC?

Hi! I’m Chloe, a Final Year BEng Computing student at Imperial! Coming from a Hong Kong and Welsh background, I’m a very diverse person and I like to meet new things and people! I also dabble into various branches of Technology – currently some NLP and Computational Linguistics for my final year project.

In DoC, many of us are very career-focused, it’s great knowing how everyone is doing, and that there isn’t much competition within the department, everyone is helping everyone to reach further. We also have DoCSoc and DoC Opportunity Liaisons, which loop us in available job opportunities. If you need help with applications, just ask a mate within the degree, they will be able to provide a steady number of application sites 🙂

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A Clinician-PhD Candidate’s Journey as a ‘Data Science For All/ Women’ Fellow

Hello, my name is Aizaan and I’m a UKRI AI4Health PhD Candidate in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). I’m a Malaysian-born, British-trained physician with previous experience in neurology, medical education, epidemiology, and public health. My research project looks at using AI to diagnose disease progression in brain tumours from speech data collected from a mobile app developed by The Brain Tumour Charity. 

In September 2021, I was successfully selected as a Data Science for All/ Women (DS4A) Fellow and was invited to participate in their Fall 2021 training programme. This free technical programme is open to candidates in Europe and North America and less than 5% of ~5000 applicants usually get admitted. The programme is geared towards empowering women from underrepresented groups to pursue careers in data science and the Fellowship consisted of two tracks: Executives (for those planning on pursuing formal leadership roles in data-driven teams) and Practitioners (for those intending to become data scientists/ analysts/ quantitative researchers). Executives receive training using no-code cases, whilst Practitioners are trained to use Python, SQL and Tableau in real-world cases.  

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Summer update

Hello! I am Chloe and I was born and raised in Hong Kong but went to Sixth Form in Cardiff, Wales.

I am currently an undergraduate student here at Imperial College London for MEng Computing. Having been exposed to both sides of the globe, I would like to bring you Imperial College London, in a “when East-meets-West” approach. I am massively into anything tech-related, mathematics, and diving (SCUBA).

Hello World!

Since first year, the variety of events that DoCSoc hosts, no matter from Industrial to Social Events, Ice-Skating to Hackathons, have all attracted me and helped me to stay connected with my peers and colleagues in the tech industry. Recently I have been deeply engaged with organising some of the larger events like IC Hack 20 and IC Health Hack 20, and to pass it forward, I am now part of the DoCSoc family for both 20/21 and 21/22 academic years.

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First Year, Wrapped Up

Hello! I am Chloe and I was born and raised in Hong Kong but went to Sixth Form in Cardiff, Wales.

I am currently a first-year undergraduate here at Imperial College London for MEng Computing. Having been exposed to both sides of the globe, I would like to bring you Imperial College London, in a “when East-meets-West” approach. I am massively into anything tech-related, mathematics, and diving (SCUBA).

My first-year at the Department of Computing has flown past, and we’re now into the last couple of weeks of the academic year. I never expected such an unorthodox experience with the COVID-19 situation but it has been a really interesting experience throughout.

From the fun and informative freshers fair to a hectic second term with all sorts of hackathon’s and events which ended abruptly after London went into lockdown, to eventually a fully remote summer term. Throughout this, the department has been listening to students to provide a better experience.

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Breakdown of First Year Courses

Hello! I’m Richard and I’m a first-year Computing student from Singapore who is trying to adjust to life in London. I like to read, play sports and go to the gym in my free time. I live in Southside halls and I’m part of the Imperial College Singapore Society. As I am revising for my summer examinations in May, I would like to take this opportunity to give a breakdown of the courses we took in the first year to give incoming undergraduate’s a better idea of what is to come and for those who have experienced it to reminisce about the good times. Note that Programming is structured differently so it will be covered in another post.

Logic

In One Sentence:

How to express ideas in a precise and systematic way to avoid ambiguity.

Thoughts:

It started off pretty rough as we had to get used to the many different notations quickly. Turns out logical reasoning is a very important basis for other subjects. Honestly really fun at times when solving logical equivalences and natural deduction as it felt like solving a puzzle.

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Highlights from my autumn term – musicals, Research Fest and my ski trip

Hello! I’m Richard and I’m a first-year Computing student from Singapore who is trying to adjust to life in London. I like to read, play sports and go to the gym in my free time. I live in Southside halls and I’m part of the Imperial College Singapore Society. Time flies when you are having fun (or drowning in coursework) and Autumn term is already behind us. I have really enjoyed my first term and would like to share some of the highlights of the term both in school and out.

Musicals

Having heard much about the theatre scene in London, I was excited to experience it for myself. I have watched 3 musicals since coming to London. The first was the Phantom of the Opera in the Grand Circle. Although it is a classic, I found myself really confused for most of the first act and even a little bored during the draggy parts. Due to our distance from the stage, we couldn’t really see the actors’ faces, which really affected how absorbed we can be. However, I was really impressed with the singing of the actors. It was also really interesting to see how they managed to portray so many different environments on a single stage.

Next, I watched The Book of Mormon in the stalls. Do not be fooled by the name, the musical is far from a boring religious documentary like the name suggests. I was pleasantly surprised at the quirky irreverent humour reminiscent of early days South Park. Being closer to the stage this time means I can actually distinguish between the different characters, making the entire experience much better.

Lastly, I watched Les Misérables in the front row. While my wallet did not appreciate the sudden weight loss, it was well worth the experience. Being literally an arm’s length away from the band means the best possible music quality (I could really “hear the people sing”) and being able to see every facial expression on the actors’ faces allowed me to get completely immersed in the story.

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Girls in Computing, Opportunities and Options?

Hello! I am Chloe and I was born and raised in Hong Kong but went to Sixth Form in Cardiff, Wales.

I am currently a First Year Undergraduate here at Imperial College London for MEng Computing. Having been exposed to both sides of the globe, I would like to bring you Imperial College London, in a “when East-meets-West” approach. I am massively into anything tech-related, mathematics, and diving (SCUBA).

Think about Women in STEM, SET and Engineering, there is a general increase of awareness for Women in these male-dominated subjects where girls are not often actively joining the sector. So as a girl in DoC, what can the department offer? What can we do to make 50:50 gender ratio possible?

Many events target female students in this area, and DoC (and DoCSoc) have provided me with many opportunities for career building and networking. I am very glad to be able to join some of those events:

LSEG WIN Afternoon Tea Session – Technology and Innovation

Women in Innovation and London Stock Exchange Group organises events that gives girls an insight into Technical Careers, and this is one of the first events of this academic year. The event started with a panel session with professionals in the Technical side of the Financial sector, then we have a rotation where Young Professionals who have recently graduated and joined LSEG via the graduate scheme came around each table where we were given opportunities to ask questions and network. This is my first proper event in the Financial area of Technology and it has given me an all-rounded insight into the sector.

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5 thoughts after spending a month in London

Hello! I’m Richard and I’m a first-year Computing student from Singapore who is trying to adjust to life in London. I like to read, play sports and go to the gym in my free time. I live in Southside halls and I’m part of the Imperial College Singapore Society. After being in London for a month, here are some of the random thoughts I’ve had so far.

1. Life on campus

University life has been hectic but enjoyable. While it might seem daunting to be around so many bright and motivated students, I have found that it is much easier to communicate and befriend people at Imperial. It is easy to find people with similar interests but with completely different backgrounds due to the many nationalities that make up Imperial, making for great conversation as we learn about each other’s culture. Lessons are the right level of challenging and there is always some society, hall or course event to attend. (more…)