Blog posts

I want to sit next to my friend!

Mathematics of Planet Earth

If you’re thinking about studying maths at Imperial, you might be wondering what kind of problems first year studenst are supposed to solve in the tutorials. Last term I was a graduate teaching assistant (GTA) for a course Probability and Statistics I. Let’s see an example of a question posed by the lecturer, prof. Emma McCoy.

Imagine that n people, including yourself and a friend, are seated at random in a row of n chairs. What is the probability that you sit next to your friend?

This problem is easier than you think, especially after following the lectures. I’ll explain how to tackle this problem here.

ICL vs UCL eSports Varsity 2018

Biological Sciences with year in industry

27th January was the date, Imperial College Union was the stage – for one of the biggest events of the year; the 2018 Imperial vs UCL eSports Varsity. I decided to pop along and see what was going down. Admittedly, I know little/nothing about eSports but luckily there were enough avid fans that explained the rules and procedures that I gained some understanding!

The varsity event was hosted by the Imperial eSports society (https://www.imperialcollegeunion.org/activities/a-to-z/esports), a relatively young society. However, their membership is growing, and so are the size and quality of their events – this was their second ever varsity event and it was an impressively professional set up.

All work and no play

MSc Sustainable Energy Futures

…makes Jack a dull boy, or so they say. What about exams though? Where do exams fit into that adage? My first week this term was taken up with exams – my first for a few decades, so I was feeling a little rusty. However, I’m running far too far ahead of myself: before we get to the exams, who remembers revision?

I embarked upon my revision programme eagerly enough, drawing up a schedule for revising ten topics, spread over ten days or so, with slots for trial questions from past-papers, other periods dedicated to recap and summarising, and even timed mock-exams to complete entire past-papers under pseudo-exam conditions.

Time to Talk Day 2018

Mathematics of Planet Earth

Mental health and university… recently I feel like I’m discussing this problem every single day. As a student representative I communicate this issue to colleagues, staff members, university support systems, external panels etc. I also wrote about mental and PhD – even if you’re not a PhD student, have a read, it might apply to you as well.

However, not everyone is talking about it. Some aren’t aware that this issue is important, some don’t care and many just are afraid or don’t know how to offer support to someone who might struggle. Tomorrow is a great opportunity to give it a try – Time to Talk Day 2018.

Learning From My Mistakes

MBBS/BSc Medicine

This is about how I managed my time during first term (I didn’t).

So this is where I confess I may have missed about half – or more- of my lectures last term. So where did it all go wrong? I’ll be fine, I thought- I’ll just catch up over Christmas. And so on top of procrastinating plenty all term (it’s in my nature, sadly)- I dived head first into the wealth of extracurricular Imperial has to offer. From drama rehearsals, to paediatrics play team, giving campus tours, and attending German Horizons classes- I was all over the place.

Now this was the same mentality that I had all throughout secondary school- I would save up all the content to learn on my own over the holidays.

Clubs and stuffssss~

MSci Geology and Geophysics

Hola peeps. I know it’s been forever since I last wrote something (yeah, I know, I totally failed my resolution) and sorry about that, but I’m currently in one of my lazy moods:3 (and if that’s not a good enough excuse; which by the way, it should be; I have been pretty ~sorta~ busy with exams, a deadline coming up next week, a weekend trip to Budapest and beginning my journey into exploring the vast field of Geology and Earth History). I’ll blog more about Geology later on, but for now I’m just gonna tell you about clubs and societies at Imperial.

Visiting Imperial’s neighbours

MSc Business Analytics

We can all agree that Imperial has great neighbours. On the same street, you find some of the most stunning museums of London: Natural History Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and Science Museum, all of which are free to enter.

Natural History Museum

If you love nature, animals and science, you cannot miss the Natural History Museum. You’ll be impressed viewing their dinosaurs or experiencing an earthquake simulation in a Japanese store.

Last Friday after class, I visited the NHM as it was hosting a special evening event about the Blue Planet II TV show. I’m a huge fan of this BBC series that manages to capture the wildlife in the planet’s oceans with the latest technologies and innovative filming methods.

Green Spaces in London

Biological Sciences with year in industry

London, known to many as “The Big Smoke” has historically, and still today, been synonymous with air pollution, traffic jams and intense urban hustle and bustle. BUT, there is another side to the city – its “greener” side. London, despite the nicknames and assumptions, actually boasts 8 Royal Parks and countless smaller green spaces. So, if you need an escape from city life – the parks are a perfect saviour!

Hyde Park

In my opinion, probably one of the best known parks in London for multiple reasons. Found in the Paddington area, this park is HUGE  – 142 hectares to be exact.

White days while in London – I don’t really know where home is anymore

Aeronautical Engineering

It’s holiday season, Christmas lights everywhere, happy wishes in every corner, warmth and love in every single person around and for most students time to go home.

So, since I am just like most students, I partied to celebrate the end of term, and then partied again because it’s Christmas. Which led to a few very productive days of hangover doing absolutely nothing but Netflix – like you should. With all the partying and it’s consequences checked off my to do list, it’s time to catch a flight (right after doing laundry, miracles may happen but that’s just in Easter, right now your cloths won’t wash themselves).

Save the St Mary’s pool!

Master of Public Health (MPH)

The St Mary’s pool has been a fixture of the campus for 80 years and now, for very vague reasons, it’s shutting down. The last day for the pool (and the staff who run it), is on 16 July 2018.

If you’re a regular at St Mary’s you’ll know how much this pool means to the people who work and study here. There are few other ways to clear your head after long hospital rounds or a session of disease modelling. What’s more, the facilities at South Ken are too far for us to access easily.

That’s why we’ve set up a petition to try and save our little pool.

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