Category: undergraduate student life

The search for second year accommodation

Qinyi Wang

MEng Biomedical Engineering

Even after starting Year 3, it seems like it was just yesterday when I dragged all my luggage into my room at the Woodward Buildings. Unfortunately for the majority of us, the end of Year 1 meant moving out of student halls and finding a new home elsewhere. It isn’t an easy process, since London is an expensive city and Imperial just so happens to be located in one of the poshest areas. Looking back at my flat-hunting experiences, I have compiled a list of tips (that would have made my life so much easier) to share with you!

Who and when?

A Mini Throwback to My Biochemistry Days

Bianca Khor

MSc Management

Why hello there! A big welcome to my writing space and I hope that whoever reading this is coping well with the second lockdown and staying safe!

A little bit about myself

Since I’m new to the student blogger life, I thought it might be best for me to first briefly introduce myself!

So, first things first, hi – my name is Bianca, I am currently an MSc Management student at Imperial College Business School. I previously graduated from the BSc Biochemistry course at Imperial College London, so you can technically say that I’ve just switched buildings when I transitioned from my Bachelor’s to my Master’s.

Thank you Imperial

Mathematics and Statistics

From an Imperial Survivor, I mean Graduate!

It’s crazy to think that its already been 3 years since I was moving into halls to begin my Mathematics degree at Imperial. Carting box after box into my new room at Beit hall, to say I was nervous would have been an understatement. Coming from a small all girls school I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t even know if I remembered how to make friends… but not for long. Life at Imperial was so busy, from a challenging academic course to tons of clubs and societies there was hardly any time for me to even spend worrying! 

4 Things to Cook in Lockdown

Emma Tipton

Enviromental Technology

Pre-coronavirus, I generally enjoyed cooking every night as a way to destress (and save money). Then, during the “spring break” portion of the lockdown when time was at its most unreal and grocery store shelves at their emptiest, I lost interest. Meals during this time tended towards digestive biscuits, large quantities of oatmeal, and raw carrots eaten despondently at my desk. But now that summer term has picked up, I’ve gone back to cooking as a welcome distraction from everything. I find it a bit more of a challenge now that I only buy groceries once a week since I like to make whatever I’m feeling at the time instead of planning meals in advance, but I’m making it work. 

From confinement to con(fun)ment?

Marine Coispeau

Biotechnology

Tips to enjoy the lockdown 

Ever since the World Health Organisation’s classification of COVID-19 as a pandemic, a new face of the world was unveiled to us. A world where countries are progressively shutting down borders and locking down. A world where supermarket pasta and toilet roll aisles are ravaged and international capital cities turning into ghost towns. A world that I took for granted.

Taking a step back from this exceptional sanitation crisis and with the social distancing, I realised how elements of what seemed part of a natural lifestyle were in fact blessed treasures: walking in to university daily, picnicking in Hyde Park with some friends, attending workshops, conferences, art exhibitions, socials and the list goes on!

Part-time Work at Imperial: Student Caller

Kinan Wihba

Medicine

The Imperial Spring 2020 Telethon will be running for 7 weeks in February and March. I worked on the Spring 2019 Telethon. So, I decided to write about what the job entails and provide some advice for future callers!

This campaign aims to reach out to alumni to share exciting news from Imperial with them and to invite them to support the college through a range of giving opportunities. Ultimately, the telethon is not about fundraising. It is about initiating and strengthening long-term contact between Imperial and its alumni. It is also about you enjoying great conversation with alumni.

The Time Commitment:

Shifts take place on weekdays in the evening on the weekend during the day and afternoon.

Myth or reality: Reconciling part time jobs with studies

Marine Coispeau

Biotechnology

Similarly to a little bird flying away from its beloved nest, leaving home to come study in a huge city can be extremely daunting for most prospective students. Add to that the many responsibilities (for example grocery shopping, cooking, washing) of an independent life and it is easy to be terrified. However, this is something that we have all been through. Been an accommodation tour guide on the open days and post to discussions with freshers have shown me that many prospective students are concerned about finding a part time job or knowing if it is even possible to reconcile their studies with a job.

My Last Christmas in Syria

Kinan Wihba

Medicine

In Syria, we celebrate Christmas on the 25th day of December of each year. The celebrations take many forms from spectacular Christmas trees, colourful decorations and Christmas songs blasting from almost everywhere to life-size nativity scenes in big and famous churches and squares in Damascus. Giving presents is customary but it is usually from parents to their young children. It stops once the children reach a certain age around 12-14 years. Families gather together for a family feast on Christmas Eve. Usually, they can hear the sound of enthusiastic and celebratory fireworks in the background.

‘Milad Majeed’ is how we say Merry Christmas in Syria and we call Father Christmas ‘Papa Noel’ although Santa Claus is also quite common.

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