Yee Siow

The First Few Weeks of My UROP

Yee Tong Siow

MEng Mechanical Engineering

After a year of remote learning, it feels weird that the first time I am conducting any physical activities in college is during the summer break. Earlier in the year, I decided that for this summer break, I want to venture into research and development, to be able to gain more technical knowledge while ensuring that my summer break remains fruitful while I stay in London. Therefore, I have decided to sign up for a UROP.

A UROP stands for Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme. Through this programme, undergraduates get to work on different research projects with different professors focusing on different areas of research.

What is a UROP?

Yee Tong Siow

MEng Mechanical Engineering

As summer is approaching, this is the time of the year where students are all panicking about finding a summer internship to ensure that they have a fruitful summer. Students often search for summer internships for a few reasons. Some students would like to use summer internships to gain more exposure to the different industries they are hoping to land a graduate job in, as experiences in industry allows them to apply the knowledge they have learned throughout the year and to enhance their passion for the course too. Employees love to see students who go an extra mile to learn something, and it increases your chances of getting hired significantly.

Are Grades The Only Thing That Matters?

Yee Tong Siow

MEng Mechanical Engineering

It is widely known across the world that Asians tend to put a lot of emphasis on their children’s grades, as if the straight As on the report card act as tickets to a good future. After all, we are called ‘A’-sians and not ‘B’-sians. Being brought up in an Asian culture, I was constantly sent for plenty of extra classes out of school. These classes range from academic tuition classes to extracurricular classes such as piano lessons, art classes, etc. Looking back now, I find it quite crazy that a child like me was trained to learn every hour of the day, and trained to think that the grades on my report card are the only things that I can be proud of.

I Got My Conditional Offer to Imperial. What Now?!

Yee Tong Siow

MEng Mechanical Engineering

Before I jump right in, I will start by explaining about why I decided to write this blog post. As Imperial has begun sending their conditional offers to students from all around the world, students have been overly excited on planning their next phases in life. Being a student ambassador from Imperial, I have begun receiving loads of messages from students telling me about their plans, asking about accommodations and life in London in general. On the other hand, there are also students who are anxious about moving into a new city and making new friends. Therefore, I have decided the write this blog post hoping that this can help ease your transition to your new phase in life!

Subtle Asian Traits

Yee Tong Siow

MEng Mechanical Engineering

If you search up ‘Subtle Asian Traits’ on Facebook, the top result you will find is a group with over 1.8 million members inside. Culture and identity is a key definition of a person’s character and that what makes travelling so special. Some people seek the adventure of immersing into a different culture and lifestyle to be able to see the world in a different perspective. As I have grown up in Malaysia and primarily only interacted with Malaysians for the past 19 years of my life, settling into a new country was fascinating as I learned to adapt to this new culture.

Lockdown 3.0 & My Personal Coping Mechanisms

Yee Tong Siow

MEng Mechanical Engineering

As we are in our third lockdown here in the UK, most of us have been accustomed to the new virtual life and have found many ways to keep ourselves occupied and productive during these long hours at home. Adapting has not been the easiest for me and even though I am pretty much an introvert, I am not capable of changing my lifestyle in a blink of an eye. That is also the reason why it took me much longer than others to finally decide to return back to Malaysia last academic year, as I needed time to accept that the rest of the academic year would be conducted virtually.

How Are Societies Adapting to the New Norm?

Yee Tong Siow

MEng Mechanical Engineering

With Lockdown 3.0 in action, clubs and societies are still not allowed to have activities or events anywhere on campus. Just like how lectures and seminars have all adapted to the new norm and shifted to online learnings, clubs and societies are also finding creative ways to power through these restrictions and thinking of creative ways to deliver the same value to all their members. As seen from my bio, I am actively involved in the A Cappella Society and also the Malaysian Society in my years in Imperial, so today I will be sharing with you how is it possible for rehearsals and events to be held online.

Being Content With My Abilities

Yee Tong Siow

MEng Mechanical Engineering

Prior to coming to Imperial, I’m sure most of us were at the top of the class, top of the school or even top in the state. We were always constantly verified on our capabilities because things came easily for all of us. Likewise, I excelled in my GCSEs and had no worries balancing my academics with my hobbies and social life. The mindset I was in can best be described by being a big fish in a small pond. I had limited knowledge about things happening outside of my school, much less my country and was living my best life in my sheltered bubble.

Finding The Perfect Accommodation

Yee Tong Siow

MEng Mechanical Engineering

One of the most common concerns first year University students have is about finding an accommodation for subsequent years. In Imperial, most halls are reserved for first year students, to ease their transition into University life. I was fortunate to be staying in student dorms located 5 minutes away from my department during my first year, but I knew that I would eventually have to get out of my comfort zone to find a new flat before the end of the year too. In this blog, I will be summarizing my experiences searching for a new accommodation in London and some tips to get your ideal flat!

Malaysian Society: A Home Away From Home

Yee Tong Siow

MEng Mechanical Engineering

The biggest concern I had before coming to London was that I would not fit in. The drastic cultural differences between London and South-East Asia can be noticed easily from the food we eat, the way we speak and sometimes even the way we dress. People in London are phenomenal and I always find myself being able to dive into deep conversations about various topics. The experiences and ideologies that we grew up with are so different that it amazes me every time and allows me to constantly learn new materials from every conversation. However, there comes a point in every international student’s time abroad that we will miss home more than usual.

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