Category: postgraduate student life

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.

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.

4 things I wish I knew before attending Imperial College

Written by Maria Villamil, MSc Applied Computational Science and Engineering.

If you are applying to Imperial College London, if you have applied or if you have accepted an offer from the college – I should start with a heartfelt congratulations. It is no small feat! Imperial represents the best of the best, and you ought to be very proud.

Growing up in London, I often walked past Imperial dreaming of the day that I would be a student at the College. From an outside perspective, Imperial is the epitome of scientific knowledge, not to mention the spectacular campus buildings located in South Kensington.

Five skills I’ve learned during the Environmental Data Science and Machine Learning MSc

Raluca Gaina, current student and student representative for MSc Environmental Data Science and Machine Learning (Department of Earth Science and Engineering)

As a current student in the recently launched MSc in Environmental Data Science and Machine Learning, I’ve been asked many questions about what I’m learning in the programme and how I will use this knowledge throughout my career path (my aim is to work in the industry and apply data science and machine learning to climate-related topics). Whether you decide to do a PhD or whether you decide to work in the field, here are the top five skills I’ve learned while doing this course!

No idea on career trajectory? You’re not alone

MEng Mechanical Engineering

At 18 during my interview for Mechanical Engineering I quite confidently stated that I intended to pursue a career in consultancy engineering and eventually become a Chartered Engineer. And the basis for this? About 2 weeks shadowing at a consultancy company and thinking that it might be what the interviewer wanted to hear.

Ultimately, the reality is that when you are applying to university, or even during your degree, you may not have a concrete idea on what career path to pursue. There probably is that one person who knows exactly what they were going to be at 5 years old and is on it from Day 1, but rest assured you have time and resources to decide your vocation.

Managing My Management Degree

Bianca Khor

MSc Management

In case you are new to this space – hi, I’m Bianca. In the final term of my MSc Management degree at the point of writing. The workload’s tough (would even dare say it has been way more intense than my Biochemistry degree), and you can imagine me as a swan paddling hard beneath the waters to stay afloat whilst trying my absolute best to appear like everything’s going fine on the surface.

Nah I’m joking. I can be more of a sinking ship at times.

But as much as how hectic and messy my life probably sounds like, I thought of sharing a little bit about how I try to introduce order (and calm) amid the chaos.

The Curse of The Last-Paper Syndrome

Bianca Khor

MSc Management

Warning: The following actions documented below have been performed by a “professional exam taker”. Please do not try this at home. Viewer discretion advised.

Glossary

Last paper syndrome: “A phenomenon wherein you know that you still have your last test tomorrow but your brain is already in vacation mode and you cannot concentrate on studying.” (Source: Reddit)

Date: A random Thursday in April

It is 3.06 pm at the point of writing. I… have my final exam to sit for tomorrow at 1 pm sharp, but there’s one funny little problem – I am doing the complete opposite of what I am supposed to be doing right now.

The last year on campus

Lucie Studena

PhD Bioengineering

A bit over a year ago, our campus has completely shut down. It’s been quite a stressful situation with lots of changes and uncertainty. Lots of countries around the world have started their lockdowns much earlier while we have kept coming to work for considerable time longer. I was working on a few ambitious experiments and finally started gathering some results for my PhD. And then, almost out of the blue, the university shut down within just a few days.

The university actually shut down slightly earlier than the national lockdown came. I received a special permission from the head of the department to finish my running experiments.

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