Blog posts

What it’s like to move to London from the North

Anya Nanchahal

Medicine

I’ve been studying in London for some time now, but if you were to ask me where I’m from I’d tell you ‘the North’ in a heartbeat. Despite having visited London numerous times before joining Imperial, I hadn’t appreciated how different living here would be. Culture shock would be too superfluous a term, however, there certainly are subtle differences between life in the good old North-West and the capital. In case there are any curious Northerners out there thinking of making the move, I thought I’d pen out a few of the contrasts here.

1. Diversity It would be unfair to group the whole of the North into one bubble when discussing diversity, so here I’m referring to my home in Cheshire.

More Tools, Resources and Tangible Tips for Studying

Medicine

Exam season is upon us! Don’t fear, I am here with more tips and tricks to get you through the next few weeks. Most of these will be tailored to medicine, but some are applicable to GCSE, A-Level or anything you are studying. I wrote a previous blog post with a lot more tips that are all applicable to any type of studying so go there for even more advice.

As usual, everything will be linked in 🙂

Acland’s Anatomy is an amazing resource to watch videos with actual specimens which I find can be more useful than textbooks with coloured diagrams as it is more realistic, and they also have exams to test your knowledge.

Back On The Wards

Medicine

I have just completed my second hospital placement on a respiratory ward at Northwick Park Hospital. This placement felt night and day from my first placement I did in December in the hepatology department at St. Mary’s Hospital. In December, I felt very awkward and always in the staff’s way and I felt nervous to ask questions. I always felt I was not bringing everything I needed or maybe I was not dressed right. Now, it felt a little more familiar and comfortable. I felt more confident asking for help and answering questions. It also didn’t hurt that I luckily had a very short commute, this time it was only 15 minutes, but it took me over an hour to get to St.

Reflections on Remote Exams

Anya Nanchahal

Medicine

With exam season creeping around the corner once again, I was reminded of the situation we were in this time last year. When the national lockdown was implemented in March, I had to pack my bags and return home abruptly a week before the Easter break was due to start. Rather naively, at that point in time I expected the situation to blow over soon enough and that we’d be back at the end of April to sit our exams. Obviously, I was horrifically wrong but thankfully the college had better foresight. Within a week or so we were emailed to say that all of our exams would be conducted remotely, on an online platform, and were to be open book.

A Quick Tip on How You Could Deal with Bad Grades

Bianca Khor

MSc Management

Yea, it hurts

I’m fairly confident that we’ve all been there at some point during our lives.

You check your exam grades on Blackboard (the virtual learning environment that Imperial uses) or finally got your graded coursework back from your lecturer, and it’s right there – a grade that is way below your standard of excellence.

You reflect on the time you’ve spent working or preparing for this. It was clear – you’ve poured in your heart and soul. An immediate sadness follows suit, and your mind gets clouded with a similar train of thoughts – wait, how? How did all of this go so wrong?

Language Learning and Identity

Medicine

I mentioned in a previous blog post that I am currently studying French which I am doing through the Horizons program. It is going well, I think, my grades from my coursework are good and I’m starting to revise for the end of year exam. Speaking in front of other people in French still makes me nervous. It has been years since I’ve studied French at GCSE and having language classes every week had me thinking a lot about identity.

In my spare time, I also have been gradually learning sign language which is a bit harder in terms of finding resources and revising when you cannot really write any of it down to refer to, it is all in my head.

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.

Studying at University vs. Sixth Form

Anya Nanchahal

Medicine

As you go from primary to secondary school, and then GCSEs to A-Levels, the academic expectations keep changing. In response, your study habits also evolve slightly. Going from sixth form to university is no different. In this post I’ll share a few of the study-specific differences I noticed when I made the transition to Imperial.

1. You don’t have textbooks at university When I was doing my GCSEs and A-Levels the exam board specified textbook formed the cornerstone of my study routine. I took great solace from the fact that everything I needed to know for my exams was contained within its covers.

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.

Learn more about life at Imperial

London skyline silhouette London skyline silhouette