Blog posts

The Janus Bookmarks

MSc Science Communication

In a quiet corner of the Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication, on the third floor of the Sherfield Building, lies The Janus Bookmarks. But what even are The Janus Bookmarks?

Beginnings

Rewind almost five months ago. Our first session of the course was in full swing and we were tasked with writing a list of words we associate with science. We began with the words familiar to us from scientific practice: experiment, process, evidence, research… But as soon as we had exhausted these words and their synonyms, we discovered new words: funding, insecurity, power, hierarchical…It became clear to us that we had delved deeper into what we felt scientific culture was like.

Practicing our Clinical Skills

MBBS Medicine

We are now a week away from finals, and revision is at it’s peak. But before we headed off into this revision hole the faculty made sure that we were all feeling confident about our practical skills. This is really key, as so much emphasis is put on by students about written exams when really we need to also be preparing to practically be a doctor!

We have great clinical skills teams across each of our different hospital sites here at Imperial. I was based at West Middlesex Hospital for my final placement and we had a session to ensure we were safe to administer IV drugs and take blood culture samples properly.

Already Halfway?

Mathematics and Statistics

How have I already reached halfway through my time at Imperial?

As we hit the middle of February there was only one thing I could really think about, coming to half way through my degree. All undergraduate Imperial students studying engineering and most science students are on 4 year programmes, however, breaking tradition, I have decided to only do the 3 year BSc. A lot of this is due to my focus away from research and towards industry as the 4th year of the maths degree leans towards research.

During my year and half here I have definitely made some incredible friends from all over the world, learnt so much – not only academically but also practically and also had some of my best memories.

Travelling as a Student?

MBBS/BSc Medicine

So you want to travel…

You’re a student. You don’t have enough time! Or money?

I recently went on a weekend trip to Dublin, Ireland with friends and it was amazing.  The weather was decent for mid-February, atmosphere was chilled and loads of cool sights to see all within walking distance of the city centre.

I thought I’d share my experiences travelling and give a couple tips that you may (hopefully?!) find useful.

Flights

This usually determines whether you’ll actually end up going abroad or not. Flights can be notoriously expensive, but the key is to be more flexible with your dates and book way in advance.

Wearing a boiler suit

MEng Aeronautical Engineering

On our first week of uni, we went to collect a fancy electric blue boilersuit. It was carefully embroidered, showing the world that we belonged in the Department of Aeronautics. At that moment I felt that this item of clothing was a bit too extra, as I didn’t really see the point of having one in thefirst year.

Now that we have been having  Workshop Manufacture sessions, I’m more than glad to own one. As part of our coursework, we have “L1 Applications”, which mainly consists of designing and building a structure that can be fit in a frame and that can resist 8kN of applied force.

Legal Graffiti

MRes Biomedical Research

Leake Street Tunnel is a hidden celebration of urban art in Central London.

Located just off the bustling Southbank, under Waterloo station is perhaps the most colourful tunnel in the UK. Spray painting is normally something that is shunned, but down in Leake Street it’s encouraged. The tunnel was last open to traffic when the Eurostar was located in Waterloo. But now, it’s a pedestrian only area, full of magnificent art.

In May 2008, the Bristolian artist Banksy curated the “Cans” Festival in Leake Street. The festival extended an open invitation to urban artists to come turn a dark forgetful tunnel into a vibrant, modern art exhibition.

All you need to know about I, Science

MSc Science Communication

At Imperial College London there is a wealth of extracurricular activities to get involved in. From ultimate frisbee to windsurfing, algorithmic trading to whisky; there is certainly a club for everyone! One activity unique to the Science Communication Unit that I have been involved in is the publication I, Science.

What is I, Science?

I, Science is a science publication run by students of the MSc Science Communication and Science Media Production courses here at Imperial. As well as producing an award-winning magazine three times a year, I, Science also has a website with regular news updates, features, reviews of exhibitions around London and a weekly radio show, broadcast on ICRadio.

Our first exam period

MEng Aeronautical Engineering

We have all experienced the pressure of sitting an exam but, oh dear, school has nothing to do with university. There are three main characteristics that differ school exams/A-levels to uni examinations: complexity, time consumption and uncertainty of performance.

First of all, the contents of the module to be examined are usually a whole new bunch of stuff you have never seen before. You only need to check out the names of the subjects: structural analysis, aerodynamics… where are my known physics, chemistry or biology?

Forget about being in a class where you revise previous years’ content, as this is very unlikely to happen in a lecture theatre at 9 am.

My Imperial Application

MEng Civil Engineering

Like a lot of imperial applicants, I applied around October, with a cheesy personal statement. Yes, cheesy, I still look back at it now and couldn’t resist a giggle here and there. But hey, it got me here. I remembered, when I was writing it I thought, how would anyone expect a 16 y.o. to know what they want to do for the rest of their life. In that moment, I stopped and wrote not what I thought would get me in, but I wrote what makes me who I am today.

After I applied, to the 5 university choices, I waited.

Netball does Charity Week

Mathematics and Statistics

Cancer Awareness in Young People Week (CAYP)

This coming week, Imperial College Netball Club (ICUNC) is set to bring you a charity week, hoping to increase cancer awareness in young people and also raise money for charity. Fil, our 1st team captain, has written an incredible article about our vision for the week in Felix.

The charities we are supporting include:

During the week we will be working with a number of other societies to host a variety of events that you can get involved in, from talks to netball, ACC and more.

Learn more about life at Imperial

London skyline silhouette London skyline silhouette