Author: Blog Admin

First Year, Wrapped Up

Hello! I am Chloe and I was born and raised in Hong Kong but went to Sixth Form in Cardiff, Wales.

I am currently a first-year undergraduate here at Imperial College London for MEng Computing. Having been exposed to both sides of the globe, I would like to bring you Imperial College London, in a “when East-meets-West” approach. I am massively into anything tech-related, mathematics, and diving (SCUBA).

My first-year at the Department of Computing has flown past, and we’re now into the last couple of weeks of the academic year. I never expected such an unorthodox experience with the COVID-19 situation but it has been a really interesting experience throughout.

From the fun and informative freshers fair to a hectic second term with all sorts of hackathon’s and events which ended abruptly after London went into lockdown, to eventually a fully remote summer term. Throughout this, the department has been listening to students to provide a better experience.

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Breakdown of First Year Courses

Hello! I’m Richard and I’m a first-year Computing student from Singapore who is trying to adjust to life in London. I like to read, play sports and go to the gym in my free time. I live in Southside halls and I’m part of the Imperial College Singapore Society. As I am revising for my summer examinations in May, I would like to take this opportunity to give a breakdown of the courses we took in the first year to give incoming undergraduate’s a better idea of what is to come and for those who have experienced it to reminisce about the good times. Note that Programming is structured differently so it will be covered in another post.

Logic

In One Sentence:

How to express ideas in a precise and systematic way to avoid ambiguity.

Thoughts:

It started off pretty rough as we had to get used to the many different notations quickly. Turns out logical reasoning is a very important basis for other subjects. Honestly really fun at times when solving logical equivalences and natural deduction as it felt like solving a puzzle.

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Highlights from my autumn term – musicals, Research Fest and my ski trip

Hello! I’m Richard and I’m a first-year Computing student from Singapore who is trying to adjust to life in London. I like to read, play sports and go to the gym in my free time. I live in Southside halls and I’m part of the Imperial College Singapore Society. Time flies when you are having fun (or drowning in coursework) and Autumn term is already behind us. I have really enjoyed my first term and would like to share some of the highlights of the term both in school and out.

Musicals

Having heard much about the theatre scene in London, I was excited to experience it for myself. I have watched 3 musicals since coming to London. The first was the Phantom of the Opera in the Grand Circle. Although it is a classic, I found myself really confused for most of the first act and even a little bored during the draggy parts. Due to our distance from the stage, we couldn’t really see the actors’ faces, which really affected how absorbed we can be. However, I was really impressed with the singing of the actors. It was also really interesting to see how they managed to portray so many different environments on a single stage.

Next, I watched The Book of Mormon in the stalls. Do not be fooled by the name, the musical is far from a boring religious documentary like the name suggests. I was pleasantly surprised at the quirky irreverent humour reminiscent of early days South Park. Being closer to the stage this time means I can actually distinguish between the different characters, making the entire experience much better.

Lastly, I watched Les Misérables in the front row. While my wallet did not appreciate the sudden weight loss, it was well worth the experience. Being literally an arm’s length away from the band means the best possible music quality (I could really “hear the people sing”) and being able to see every facial expression on the actors’ faces allowed me to get completely immersed in the story.

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Girls in Computing, Opportunities and Options?

Hello! I am Chloe and I was born and raised in Hong Kong but went to Sixth Form in Cardiff, Wales.

I am currently a First Year Undergraduate here at Imperial College London for MEng Computing. Having been exposed to both sides of the globe, I would like to bring you Imperial College London, in a “when East-meets-West” approach. I am massively into anything tech-related, mathematics, and diving (SCUBA).

Think about Women in STEM, SET and Engineering, there is a general increase of awareness for Women in these male-dominated subjects where girls are not often actively joining the sector. So as a girl in DoC, what can the department offer? What can we do to make 50:50 gender ratio possible?

Many events target female students in this area, and DoC (and DoCSoc) have provided me with many opportunities for career building and networking. I am very glad to be able to join some of those events:

LSEG WIN Afternoon Tea Session – Technology and Innovation

Women in Innovation and London Stock Exchange Group organises events that gives girls an insight into Technical Careers, and this is one of the first events of this academic year. The event started with a panel session with professionals in the Technical side of the Financial sector, then we have a rotation where Young Professionals who have recently graduated and joined LSEG via the graduate scheme came around each table where we were given opportunities to ask questions and network. This is my first proper event in the Financial area of Technology and it has given me an all-rounded insight into the sector.

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5 thoughts after spending a month in London

Hello! I’m Richard and I’m a first-year Computing student from Singapore who is trying to adjust to life in London. I like to read, play sports and go to the gym in my free time. I live in Southside halls and I’m part of the Imperial College Singapore Society. After being in London for a month, here are some of the random thoughts I’ve had so far.

1. Life on campus

University life has been hectic but enjoyable. While it might seem daunting to be around so many bright and motivated students, I have found that it is much easier to communicate and befriend people at Imperial. It is easy to find people with similar interests but with completely different backgrounds due to the many nationalities that make up Imperial, making for great conversation as we learn about each other’s culture. Lessons are the right level of challenging and there is always some society, hall or course event to attend. (more…)

Living at Out-of-Campus Halls, Pros and Cons

Hello! I am Chloe and I was born and raised in Hong Kong but went to Sixth Form in Cardiff, Wales.

I am currently a First Year Undergraduate here at Imperial College London for MEng Computing. Having been exposed to both sides of the globe, I would like to bring you Imperial College London, in a “when East-meets-West” approach. I am massively into anything tech-related, mathematics, and diving (SCUBA).

Imperial College London has many different types of halls, from a stone’s throw away to miles away (or probably a stone’s throw away if you are the Rock), I currently live at Woodward Buildings, one of Imperial College London’s halls located at North Acton.

Some might say “Why staying at an Out-of-Campus hall when you are here to experience the university life?”, so here I am to tell you the reasons why Out-of-Campus Halls are almost the best thing you can ever find:

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