Blog posts

Nobels, cats and some pseudo-profound bull****

Mathematics of Planet Earth

Watching cat videos can give you a Nobel Prize.

Well, Ig Nobel, to be precise, but still sounds impressive. That’s what I learned thanks to our Graduate School.

I just came back from the Ig Nobel Award Tour Show 2018 hosted annually by Imperial. Ig Nobels are awarded every year at Harvard University by actual Nobel laureates. The only criterion is: the research first makes us laugh, and than think.

Having attended the show last year, I suffered from a stomach pain after laughing too much. The “goat man”, Ig Nobel prize winner in Biology who decided to become a goat for a few days, still makes me giggle.

Drama at Imperial: Act II

MBBS/BSc Medicine

Coming to you from mid-way through play week.

Picking up where I left off in the last blog post; as the Autumn Play was happening, Freshers’ Play was also a thing! So each year, older years in drama get together to direct (and sometimes even write) 3 short plays featuring the freshers. I remember genuinely freaking out because one of the plays were improv meaning the audition would be too. Honestly ended up having an absolute blast- and got one of the leads. I played a (largely-drunken) drama fresher who was couch-surfing because she had been kicked out of halls. Good times. 

Around England

Aeronautical Engineering

Although London is a world in itself, England has a lot more to offer. Getting away from the streetlights and the bright night sky is exactly what you need every now and then.

That’s what I did for a weekend. There were four of us, we hopped in the car with one thought in our minds: Hello Kent, bye work!

Learning how to teach at medical school

MBBS Medicine

Twitter: @malamawks | Instagram: @malamawkin

In 5th year we are all given a compulsory one week of teaching skills. It is hard to imagine why we need to learn how to teach- surely everyone knows the basics?! But actually, what I found over the week was how little I actually knew about teaching and how vital it is for being a good doctor- whether you are training medical students, teaching colleagues about cases or even presenting at a conference.

We learnt the basis on teaching skills and theory behind practical methods on the Monday, which lead us to be split into teams to design and teach each other how to make a paper airplane (very competitive!).

Drama at Imperial: Act I

MBBS/BSc Medicine

Drama is the macrophage, and I the pathogen. It has engulfed and destroyed me. (In all the best possible ways)

Welcome to part one of your insight into Imperial College School of Medicine (ICSM) Drama– the best medic society at Imperial. I promise I’m not biased.

The start of the journey brings us back to Freshers at Freshers’ Fair- where 370+ clubs and societies are showcased across campus to try and spark your interest in joining them. Standing right by the entrance to the medicine building was Gen, who is all types of lovely plus she’s also president of the society.

Snow Day(s)

Biological Sciences with year in industry

4 years I’ve been waiting. Today was the day – I finally saw a substantial amount of snow in London. It was as magical as I had hoped! I always remember as a child waking up on the morning of a snow day and screaming with joy! Yeah, that still happened even as a 21 year old. It seems that snow, no matter how old you are, always elicits a feeling of playfulness and unbounded joy (unless you’re trying to commute – then it only brings sad sad sadness).

I should warn you, snow in the UK is a rare event (unless you live in Snowdonia in Wales or Northern Scotland) and as a result, we are awfully prepared – EVERY TIME.

50 shades of fitness…

MSc Sustainable Energy Futures

What are the options for mature students in their fifties to stay fit? There are plenty of time, resources and facilities dedicated to help with lectures, tutorials, reading, research, coursework and so on. What about other essential components of daily life: exercise, sport, fitness? Rest assured: it turns out there are also plenty of facilities to help you when you want to do anything other than rest.

I headed over to the Ethos Sports Centre, right next door to the main Imperial site in South Kensington, to check it out. From old-fashioned circuits, currently fashionable yoga, Pilates and Zumba, to rather more esoteric sounding Vinyasa flow yoga or Kondi – Ethos appears to have it all.

FINAL final year exams FINALLY

Biological Sciences with year in industry

23rd February 2018 10am to 1pm – the specifics of my last Imperial undergraduate exam. MY LAST EVER ONE. Writing this now, I can’t quite believe it’s all over.

This exam season was no different to others (apart from the fact this exam counted for more than my entire first year – or something ridiculous like that). Many hours were spent in the library, working and procrastination in equal measure. For me, I always studied in St Mary’s library in Paddington as it was 5 minutes from home and, in my opinion, it’s the nicest library Imperial has – think old wooden beams and a studious vibe.

Snowing in London

MSci Geology and Geophysics

Hi guys,

So it’s been snowing on and off here since yesterday. When I woke up yesterday to see fluffy white stuff floating outside, I literally jumped out of bed and rushed to the window. Where I saw a view of the grass in Princes Gardens dusted with fine, soft snow!!! and got so excited, I immediately called my friend to tell her about it 

Well, can’t blame me… that’s the most snow I’ve seen in Central London. I did manage to play with some (aka snowball fights and made a snowman) when I was in Harpenden last November, but this is Central London.

The Road to Varsity

Mathematics and Statistics

And what netball has meant to me this year

Although netball was not a new sport to me, playing a sport at university has certainly been a new experience. Imperial College Netball Club (ICUNC) has become one of my favourite aspects of Imperial, and even though, for a while, I almost regretted not taking up a new sport, the last few months have definitely reminded me why I chose netball. For months on end, the repetitive cycle of training on a Thursday and matches on a Monday seemed cruel in the subzero temperatures, however, looking back now, I can see how much we’ve improved, bonded as a team and had a really great time along the way.

Learn more about life at Imperial

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