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International Student Blog

Tag Archives: #internationalstudent

Celebrating City’s international community

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Michelle Sarkisyan
School of Arts and Social Sciences, Undergraduate , .

International students are deeply embedded in City, University of London’s culture and lifestyle. The University’s work and that of the Students Union never stops to amaze me of the number of events and types of activities they offer to the student body. 

As a student ambassador, representative and a blogger, I am constantly a witness of how much focus and attention is spent on a daily basis to the student. From surveys that will help improve student and tutor relationships to mentor schemes created to ease each student into coping with assignment anxiety or finding and preparing for an internship.

We are also regularly provided with karaoke, movie and pub quiz nights at City Bar, located in Tait Building ground floor.

This week, from Monday 18th February to Friday 22nd February, different departments cooperated to create the first-ever International City Week. It aimed to celebrate the global community and bring staff and students together with a number of different activities across campus.

More than 20 events were scattered throughout the whole week to take yet another step back and to really appreciate everything that is good about how diversified City, University of London is. 

The launch of International City Week 2019 was simply incredible. It was colourful, loud and tasty. You could munch on tasty finger food from around the world and socialise with peers.

To make it easier for you, you could take part in the networking bingo and later win a redeemable voucher.

If you are not particularly interested in finding somebody who knows how to make dumplings or practices martial arts, you could sit on the couch with a slice of pizza in hand and listen to the amazing City’s own Balkan Ensemble.

 

Or even better, get up and dance in the melody of Serbian and Romanian songs and learn the art of the “horo” dance. 

It was amazing to see how many people wanted to locate themselves on a giant map, and most importantly to talk with each other, follow our journeys and realise that we are not as different as we may think.

We could also solve riddles and win chocolate when correctly match the fair-trade products to their place of origin. To get creative with 1-minute portraits and bring back the nostalgia answering City Psychology Society’s question: “What makes you feel at home”, was a true gem.

Talking about your national holidays, dancing and seeing the smile on people’s faces was nothing short to a magnificent way to start my week. 

 

My final days at City, University of London

Posted on October 15, 2018 by Ibukunoluwa Ogundipe
London, Postgraduate, School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering , , , , .

Hi, it’s been a while! I received a few messages on LinkedIn after my last article here, and I have to say I am really excited that some of you will be starting your postgraduate studies at City this year!

Unfortunately, this will be my last post on the blog as I have come to the end of my time studying at City. I thought about how best to wrap up, so I’d like to talk briefly about my final days here at the University and my tips for writing your dissertation.

It’s been an amazing year – a year of learning, socialising, hard work, giving back, self-awareness and so much more. Most of my final days have been spent in the Tait Building. What was I doing there? Writing my final thesis! Many postgraduate courses require you to submit a dissertation at the end of the year, which is worth four times your average course unit. See below my three major tips for when the time comes to write yours (make sure you have your pen and paper ready!)

1. Start on time!

Almost everyone knows this, but I can assure you only a few people practice it. I can’t stress this point enough because I made sure to start extremely early, but still ended up working until the last day proof-reading it. Obviously, your workload might be lighter than mine, but I was able to use the spare time I saved to triple-check my work.

2. Pick a topic you’re interested in!

Some people already know the topic they’d like to research from the moment they start their course. If that’s you, great! If not, don’t be weighed down by this. During your course year, look out for the modules you find really interesting and write down areas you’d like to potentially explore. I had no topic when I started out, but discovered my area of interest during the year, which was information visualisation.

3. Set personal deadlines!

The project team will release a timetable closer to the start of your dissertation. This contains the major deadlines set by the School. I’d advise you to take a step further by setting your own deadlines. Don’t set impossible targets, your goals must be SMART. What this does is to motivate you when the going gets tough. This is because you might get to the point where you’re just really tired of staring at your laptop. Your goals will keep you going at this point.

I hope these tips will come in handy. As for my plans after finishing my postgraduate course? Consulting! I’ll be starting a job in consulting soon, where I can apply all the amazing skills I’ve learnt at City.

Please comment below if you have any questions, and I wish you all the best!

Life in London from an international student’s view

Posted on May 21, 2018 by Ibukunoluwa Ogundipe
Postgraduate, School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering , , , .

Hello guys, it’s been a moment. In this article I’ll be talking about life in London. Is it as lively as people claim it is? Well, you’ll be the judge at the end of reading this article. Due to my analytical nature, I’ll break it down into three sections: shopping, religion and sightseeing/recreation.

Starting with shopping, don’t even get me started on the stores in London! Every single brand you could ever think of is represented on at least one London street. My favourite is Oxford Street! It consists of everything from high-end stores to small-scale souvenir shops. Popular brands tend to have more than one store in different locations on the same street. I was so astounded the first time I went there, I almost got lost! You should definitely check it out. However, take a map with you if it’s your first time visiting. There are also a number of markets in smaller communities such as Kilburn Market on Kilburn High Road, or Angel Market near Angel Station for your grocery shopping. When it comes to shopping, no worries because London has you covered. *inserts wink*

Talking about religion, I love how London welcomes all kinds of religions. For Christians, there are a number of conferences that come up during the year. There are also various churches you can visit depending on where you feel the most comfortable. I’d definitely recommend Jesus House or Hillsong Church. They have amazing people who are really welcoming!

On recreation/sightseeing, there are a thousand places to see: from Big Ben to the London Eye, the Shard to the Tate Modern, Buckingham Palace to Winter Wonderland (a must visit during Christmas). One of my favourites is Madame Tussauds! Some of these places mentioned will require a fee to gain access, such as the Shard or Madam Tussauds, but if you’re on a low budget and still interested in getting that eerie feeling from visiting a high-rise building, then you should visit Tate Modern which is near the Shard. You’ll love it.

There are also lots of museums and galleries to visit, most of which are free to enter (special exhibitions might cost you a fee). For example, the Museum of London is a short distance from City and is a good place to visit when you need some creative inspiration to finish that coursework.

Let me know in the comments below if you are looking forward to visiting any of these places!

My typical week as an international student at City

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Ibukunoluwa Ogundipe
Postgraduate, School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering , .

Hello there,

In this blog post I’ll be giving you an insight into what goes on in my life at City as an international student. Firstly I must say there is really no “typical day”, there’s a lot of autonomy as a master’s student so you have to plan how you want to structure your day.

As an MSc Business Systems Analysis and Design student, my lectures take place two or three days a week. I think my lecture days are my happiest days because I get to meet a lot of people at school, I see familiar faces and the lectures rooms are so well-designed you don’t even want to leave.

I serve as one of the programme representatives, which means getting feedback from my cohort on issues with lectures or the general school experience, which I then feedback to staff during committee and School meetings. It has also given me the platform to implement initiatives to improve student development with the help of the City Student’s Union.

When I’m not in lectures, planning this or that, or attending an informative event found on Eventbrite, you just might find me in the library. The 6th floor in particular is my favourite, with ‘Silence’ written in different languages on the pillars. I found that really amusing the first time I walked in. See for yourself!

City’s library 6th floor!

Thinking of how to support yourself financially? Say no more with Unitemps to the rescue! Unitemps is the student recruitment agency over here at City, once you’re registered with them you get to apply to the jobs posted (which happens regularly). I’ve worked various interesting student roles here and I get paid on time too. There are also a number of high-end retail shops nearby that can offer part-time roles. It’s an amazing opportunity to make new friends and interact more with the locals. Who knows? You just might get the British accent 🙂

On weekends, I go to church at Hillsong or Jesus House. It’s so amazing to find a place of worship you really feel comfortable with, especially when you’re in a new environment.

That wraps up the week for me. As always, if you have any other questions aside the points discussed above, please feel free to comment below.

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