Guest Blogger

From Books to Brews: The Top Study Spots around Imperial College London

Written by Romita Trehan, MSc Applied Biosciences and Biotechnology

As one of the world’s leading universities, Imperial College London attracts a diverse range of students from all over the globe. With its central London location, Imperial offers a variety of study spots that are perfect for students to hunker down and get some work done. In this blog, we will explore some of the best study spots around Imperial College London.

  1. Central Library: The Central Library is in the heart of the South Kensington campus, making it a convenient study spot for students. With over 430,000 books and access to countless online resources, this library has everything you need for a successful study session.

Beeing a Beekeeper at Imperial College London

Written by Heiloi (Louie) Yip, MSc Bioinformatics and Theoretical Systems Biology

Would you believe it if I told you there are two beehives living somewhere inside Imperial College London’s South Kensington campus? Would you also believe that I, the writer of this blog, also happen to be the current caretaker of these bees? You see, I am the head apiarist (beekeeper) of the Environmental Society (ESoc), and I have been looking after the two beehives inside ESoc’s secret garden for the last three years of my life at Imperial. If you would like to learn more about how I became head apiarist and what the hive is like looking after thousands of bees, I’ll do my best to summarise my beekeeping journey in this short blog.

What can you expect from being a student representative at Imperial College London?

Written by Harsh Gupta, MSc. Advanced Materials Science and Engineering

Student councils are a great opportunity for personal growth. At Imperial, I ran for the Student Representative position in the Department of Materials. As I reflect on my journey as a student representative for my Master’s course, I am reminded of the reasons that motivated me to step up and take on this role. I decided to pursue this position, driven by a desire to have a meaningful impact on the decision-making process within my course.

What was my role?

As a student representative, I sought to make positive changes within my course.

Balancing learning and leisure as an international MSc student

by Vedashree Chandewar, MSc Environmental Engineering 2022-2023

As an international student pursuing a Master’s at Imperial College London, you have the exciting opportunity to study in one of the most vibrant and culturally diverse cities in the world. But let’s face it, you’ve got only one year to soak it all in, and it is easy to feel overwhelmed about how to balance studying and exploring the country while adjusting to a new environment. In this blog, I will be sharing tips on how to make the most of your time at Imperial, so you can excel in your studies and still have time for fun.

Six tips for surviving and thriving MSc in Applied Biosciences and Biotechnology: insights from a current student

by Romita Trehan, MSc Applied Biosciences and Biotechnology.

As a Master’s student in Applied Biosciences and Biotechnology at Imperial College London, you’re about to embark on a challenging yet rewarding journey.

This course will equip you with cutting-edge knowledge and practical skills in various aspects of biotechnology, from genetic engineering to drug discovery, and will prepare you for a successful career in academia, industry, or entrepreneurship. However, as with any rigorous academic program, the MSc in Applied Biosciences and Biotechnology requires dedication, focus, and resilience. I have faced my own unique set of challenges and experiences. As much as it is demanding, it has also been incredibly rewarding.

Trash talk: how I learned to love teamwork with a landfill design project

by Vedashree Chandewar, MSc Environmental Engineering 2022-2023.

If you are like me and have never worked on group projects, what I am about to share will hopefully make you less worried about them. At Imperial, this is something you will do quite often. As a part of my MSc Environmental Engineering course, I recently worked on a collaborative team project focusing on the design of a landfill in the UK. 

I completed my undergraduate degree from The Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, and prior to this, I had only worked on individual projects. While working as an individual does offer plenty of benefits and flexibility in working, the scope of the research becomes limited for a lone researcher.

5 essential skills I’ve learned from studying Materials Science and Engineering

by Anjali Devadasan

To give you an insight into the fascinating world of Materials Science and Engineering, here are 5 essential skills we apply during the course:

Innovation

What is true innovation? It’s when you take action and implement your brilliant ideas. During the Design Study project in the first year, we had the opportunity to innovate. Once we gained the foundation abilities involving engineering drawings, SOLIDWORKS, and Arduino in the autumn term, we were introduced to the brief: ideate, design, test, and fabricate a working rheometer. Many of us had no idea what a rheometer was (a machine that measures viscosity).

Reflecting on my Materials Research Project

Written by Chukwudike Ukeje, a taught postgraduate student in the Department of Materials.

Chukwudike recently completed a year studying for an MSc in Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, which included a research project at the White City campus. In this post, he shares more about his research project, using our new facilities and solving hypotheses in the lab. In this post, he shares more about his research project, using our new facilities and solving hypotheses in the lab.

My MSc research was in the functional materials research area, where I carried out a project on the topic “Development of Barium Calcium Zirconium Titanite (BCZT) thin films for applications in capacitive thermoelectric converters”. 

A PhD Student’s Experience of Studying a MRes Molecular Engineering

Written by Fei Gao, an alumnus from the cohort of Class 2020 at Molecular Engineering MRes, and now a PhD student in the department of Chemistry.

I was facing the uncertainty of what I would do after graduating with my undergraduate degree. Before the pandemic, my plan was straightforward – pursuing a master’s degree and then start looking for a PhD position. The breakout of COVID-19 interrupted my plans, I had no idea where my life would be. Luckily, I received two university offers! One offer was from the Molecular Engineering MRes from Imperial College London and the other offer was an MSc course from another university based in London.

What makes a degree in Materials Science so great?

Written by Sulayman Hussain, second-year Materials Science

I first came across Materials Science in my sixth form at a guest lecture discussing Formula One cars. Why is it that some materials will deform lots under force, like a carbon fibre chassis, and others remain rigid? Why do we use nickel single crystals in the fiery core of a jet engine and aluminium alloys elsewhere? And what is the process of digging rocks out of the earth and transforming them into these high-performance structures?

As is often the case, having been exposed to Materials Science once, I started seeing them everywhere. It seemed like every week; Materials scientists made a breakthrough.

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