Yes, it is yet another corona-related blog. I hope you’re all okay during such trying times.
Clubs, Societies & Projects (CSP) are integral to the student experience at university. At Imperial, we have over 340 CSP. They are all run and led by students for students. I decided to write about how a CSP committee is elected usually elected and how elections occurred this year
Some background details
The Clubs are mainly for sports. They play both competitively in London-wide and national leagues, and casually for social participation. Clubs is often used interchangeably with Societies which is a term used to describe any student group. Our societies have an immensely diverse range from departmental and academic to Arts to cultural and religious societies. Projects are student-led initiatives to support charities and undertake work in the community. Semantics don’t matter too much but the point is that there is something for everyone 😀
Back in precedented times
In previous years, CSP elections were run in one of the two following ways:
CSP online elections (eVoting): these are conducted via the student union online voting platform which is called eVoting. eVoting allows all elements of the election process to be conducted online. The union sets deadlines for each step. It usually starts with nominations which is then followed by manifesto submission. After this. voting opens, and it remains open for a few days. Once voting closes, results are finalised and release on the union website. Online elections take place thrice a year; Leadership Election (spring term), Summer Elections, and Autumn Elections.
Annual general meeting (AGM): the timetable for this form of elections is set by the current committee. Therefore, it is mostly up to them when the AGM takes place. The usual choice is spring or summer term. The steps are the same. You nominate yourself and submit a manifesto through an online form or email to the current committee. The current president/co-presidents of the society runs the AGM whilst it happens. Voting happens using ballots or an online form during the AGM after candidates present their vision for the society. Depending on the size of the society, the committee may announce the results at the end of the AGM. Alternatively, they are released on later date.
The number of members in each CSP determines the way the elections will take place.
During these unprecedented times
As you could have guessed. All elections are taking place remotely now. It is the Summer Online Elections season and some CSP still have vacant positions! However CSP who used to elect their new committees using AGMs, opted to running their AGMs over Zoom. I have attended a few Zoom AGMs and I can confidently report that the fact that they are remote now did not affect their integrity or fairness. In the light of the pandemic, committees adapted the best they can to ensure that their CSP do not suffer in the upcoming year.
From the Imperial Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society remote AGM over Zoom a few weeks ago
When you’re a student, it’s good time to start serious thinking about your career development. CVs, cover letters, interviews, internships, graduate schemes… all of these can be daunting for someone unfamiliar with the professional world.
Thankfully, Imperial doesn’t leave you alone with that as Careers Service offers you all necessary career development support. Don’t underestimate its value! In my case, Careers Service has proved useful several times already.
My experience with Careers Service has been very positive so far. For example, in the first year, I applied for an external scholarship scheme and got to the face-to-face behavioural interview stage. It was my first interview of such type and this is where I found a mock interview session useful. The booking process was straightforward: I just had to fill in a simple form and attach it with my original job application to an e-mail to Careers Service. In the session itself, I had a chance to practice my stress management, speaking, body language and answering questions in general. Afterwards, my mock interviewer discussed thoroughly my performance with me and gave me his written feedback at the end. Thanks to the session, I got to know some extra questions I hadn’t prepared for before. Later, in the real interview, one such question actually appeared!
Currently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Careers Service doesn’t hold any face-to-face meetings. However, it hasn’t shut down! Its services are now available online, including remote consultations. Praise for that, especially when many students are left with cancelled internships.
1. Friends – Highlights of my time at Imperial so far include meeting like-minded students from around the world and different cultures. Imperial is a true melting pot and with the current situation we are all back home, separated by mountains and seas. With friends from England, China, Australia, France, USA, Taiwan, I have realised how challenging it can be to catch up owing to all the different time zones. Luckily we have technology to rescue us # teams and zoom. For all those who have continuously supported me, thank you. I look forward to seeing you all in 3D soon!
2. Clubs and Societies – Big shout out to the Biochemistry society who has created unprecedented and novel events ranging from an amazing Spring Ball, Valentine’s day masquerade, Ice skating, Curry dinner and joint Biochemistry-Chemistry careers fairs. Thank you to all the volunteers of the Royal College of Science Union (the Natural Sciences Union) and executive committee who have taught me so much. More specifically thank you to all my Activities committee for having hosted an Autumn Ball, movie night, Axe-throwing, pub quiz night!
#Biochem Spring Ball
3. The iconic orange couches of the SAF building – They are almost the mascots of the Sir Alexander Fleming building and I miss being able to indulge a fresh smoothie with friends after a lecture or meeting up to prepare for a team project! I can’t believe I’m saying this but I miss our main lecturing room, G34 and being able to see so many friendly faces!
4. Kimiko – The go to place for food at Imperial in the Junior Common room for all those that love Japanese food. Just yesterday some friends and I were discussing how much we missed the chicken Katsu curry and the grilled salmon.
5. London – A magical city really. I miss being able to roam around freely near in areas such as Notting Hill, Kensington, Covent Garden, or even Piccadilly Circus. Being able to run through lush green parks, walk along the crowded pavements and hear so many languages around me.
6. Labs – With remote learning and as part of my Biotechnology degree, the cloning labs that we were really looking forward to, have been shifted online. Although the capacity of our department to adjust and adapt to this situation by allowing us to do virtual restriction digests digestion, PCR and gel electrophoresis is truly amazing, I miss being in labs with my lab coat and safety googles. I miss the more practical side of our degree despite the content of this new module being extremely stimulating.
7. Running in the parks– during the months of strict lockdown in France it was often challenging to freely run out whenever there was some sunshine due to most parks being closed. I miss dashing through the wind with some motivational music on or even sprinting with friends.
8. British expressions – “Are you taking the piss?” “Oh blimey!” “Oh my Days”. I crazily miss those beautiful expressions.
9. College Cafe – One of my favourite places to unwind after a long day on campus with friends. Its relaxing environment and freshly made smoothies or coffees with delectable pastries are ideal as an energy top up!
10. Library– With exams coming up and with the confinement it can be hard to find the motivation or a quiet place to study. Again, I can’t believe I’m saying this but I miss being able to work in the central library whether it’s in the groups study areas or the individual spaces. Please make sure that you take breaks and walks to “air” your mind out even in this challenging context. Be sure to keep a healthy work-life balance to preserve your mental health!!
Despite all this, the Imperial community continues to flourish remotely so a huge thank you for all the efforts and support that the Imperial community has provided during these unprecedented times. From student representatives, course convenors, IT teams, library services, careers services to name but a few. I really hope that we will be able to be back on campus soon!
Celebrating Kindness for Mental Health Awareness Week 2020
Kindness comes in many shapes and forms: saying thank you to a key worker, giving someone a slice of your freshly baked banana bread, or even just encouraging your friends. But as life goes on, and we hold the door open again and again or help an elderly neighbour with running errands, we can often forget to be kind to one particular person: ourselves.
With exams, a pandemic and the daily stresses of life, we can get so caught up in being the best person for everyone else. We try being supportive to all of our friends, family and those around us but sometimes we forget about what’s best for us. Recently I’ve found myself drowning in trying to be everything to everyone. It feels like there’s a never ending list of things to be done. Past papers to “attempt”, events to be organised, dinner to be cooked and emails and emails and emails to reply to! Combine this with a lockdown, and the thing that gets forgotten about first is being kind to yourself. I have ended up prioritising getting all these tasks done, forgetting to take a moment for myself and the cost is paid with high anxiety.
So what’s the solution? What does being kind yourself entail?
I’m not going to preach to you about self love, or tell you to go meditate, although these are great things, and the College has some great workshops going on next week. I believe that being kind to yourself starts with the little things. Give yourself a moment to breathe. When the going gets tough and I can’t do question after question and it feels like I have hit a brick wall, I used to try to keep going, I thought that’s what trying hard was, however I have now realised how unproductive this is. It works better to just stop for a few minutes, take a break, or go to sleep if it’s already late. When I come back to it, I always find I am able to tackle those tough questions.
Acts of Kindness – to yourself
Give yourself time – Plan breaks and make sure you take them. And know that they’re guilt free. If you feel guilty about taking the break, then you’ll just end up stressing more and it isn’t a break anymore. Planned break time or time that you need is just for you. Enjoy it!
Give yourself recognition – It’s so easy to only remember what’s gone wrong. Whether its thinking about your day of revision or how an exam went. Try to remember the positives. Give yourself credit for all the hard work you have put in. Make sure you feel happy about the good things that have happened.
Treated myself to an entire tray of brownies
Forgive yourself – It’s so easy to make mistakes we all do it. Forgetting to set an alarm and missing a morning of studying, forgetting a formula in an exam costing marks. Whatever it may be, it is not more important than you and your wellbeing. It’s okay to make mistakes, and it’s not worth putting yourself down over something like this.
Treat yourself – Have that extra biscuit. Lie in for an extra hour. Watch that extra episode. Do whatever makes YOU feel happy. You deserve it, trust me.
Believe in yourself – You CAN do it. You have put in the hard work, you’re over half way there. Having that little bit of confidence in yourself can take you that one step further. Have faith in yourself and everything you’ve done and achieved to date. Your deserve the very best. You are enough, in fact, you’re way better than just enough.
You can only really be kind to everyone else once your kind to yourself. So keep clapping for our key workers, keep making other people smile. But first of all, be as kind to yourself as you would be to anyone else you love.
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the way we live in just a few days/weeks. One of the consequences of that is the new exam organisation at Imperial this year. Using my own computer at home, I have already sat two remote open-book exams and I am about to have another six assessments in the next 3 weeks.
In this post, I am not going to comment on fairness of the Imperial’s decision to hold remote examinations. What I would like to do instead is describing what they look like in our department.
Are you seriously thinking about a research career? If so, there are many opportunities to try out leading-edge research as an Imperial undergraduate student. Some time ago, I wrote a post about IROP, a programme that allows you to have a research internship at prestigious institutions abroad. Today, I would like to write a few words about UROP, which gives you equally-good placements at Imperial itself.
As my final year exams commence, the end of my time as a student here at Imperial is fast approaching. Three of the best years of my life have flown by and I couldn’t be sadder to be leaving. Don’t get me wrong, Imperial has had its downs as well, challenging exams and plenty of coursework, but there have been way more ups, which have kept me going.
Imperial has so many great things about it. I could sit here and tell you all about the amazing research that’s going on with Covid-19, I could tell you about the incredible moment that the Imperial team won this year’s University Challenge and a million other reason that we’re so proud to be a part of Imperial. But, you probably know all of this already, so instead I’m going to tell you about why it’s so great being a student here, and some of the brilliant things that have saved me in these past three years.
Clubs and Societies
Imperial College Union Netball Club
If you’ve read any of my previous posts, then you’ll know that I’m really into the whole clubs and societies thing. In the last three years I’ve been involved in sooooo much stuff, from Imperial College Union Netball Club to MathSoc and so much else. In second year I was lucky enough to a social events officer for MathSoc. This basically meant organising a bunch of fun stuff for Math students. (Yes Maths students have fun too…) I got to organise all kinds of things, bowling, ice skating, quiz nights, even pulled out the first ever End of Year Ball that saw lecturers dancing till the early hours of the morning! Definitely a night I will always remember, (most of it anyway lol). This year I’ve got to continue that work as the President of MathSoc. This has given me a fantastic opportunity to continue to help MathSoc grow, a chance to give back to my community and I would have to say that being in various committee roles has been the absolute best time of my life.
The sheer variety of clubs and societies at Imperial means there’s something for everyone, from baking to cross country, and everything in between. Check out the full list here.
Top tip: University life is only ever as good as what you put in. Grab every opportunity you get! Join that club, run for that committee position. It really is the most fun.
Ice Skating at the Natural History Museum
Living in London
Not only does Imperial have a great campus, but its location is absolutely perfect. 5 minutes from Hyde Park, 5 minutes from the cultural hub of South Kensington. We have three of the best museums in London on our doorstep, The Natural History Museum, The Science Museum and The V&A. We’re also just a short bus/tube ride from central London. It’s such a vibrant city, and there’s always so much going on. From musicals, to walks along the river, Christmas markets and a whole heap more. It’s a city you can never get bored of and I feel so lucky to have lived here.
Top tip: Don’t just say you’ll check out London next week, and then spend another day in bed. Because trust me, you’re missing out on so much! In first year I was lucky enough to live in Beit Hall, right on campus, but I definitely don’t think I made the most of this prime location.
The MLC – study spaces
My personal choice of study space is the Maths Learning Centre, a room deep inside the maths building filled with computers, desks and group study areas. There’s even a little sofa area to take well deserved breaks at. I spend hours on campus studying each week, and like most of my friends, I have my favourite spot. Somewhere I can work on my own, or with friends. For me that’s the MLC but for others it’s the Library which is open 24/7 (minus a tiny bit of a Friday night when you probably shouldn’t be studying anyway!) or the other study rooms dotted around campus in departments.
Top tip: Have separate areas for work and play, just so that your brain doesn’t get confused!
Food – on campus
Curly Fries at the Union
There are countless food options on campus and you can use your ID card at all of them to get a student discount, this makes lunches much more affordable. You have the Library Cafe, which is open late at night to satisfy all of your study cravings serving both hot and cold food. One of the more tasty options is Kimiko, Japanese eatery keeping Imperial students well fed with Katsu Curry and the likes each day. Lots of departments have their own cafes serving sandwiches, fruit and coffee. There’s also Fusion which has a range of international hot meals, the deli for fresh custom sandwiches and jacket potatoes, a vegan place, and the QTR for a variety of hot food including wok, soup and dessert stations.
There’s also the Union if you’re feeling like some curly fries and also Eastside Bar which specialising in pizza, both are just across the road from main campus.
Top tip: Whilst grabbing lunch on campus is extremely convenient and delicious, it can add up quickly. I would recommend trying to make packed lunches most days of the week, and saving buying food on campus for special treats. (This is obviously easier said than done!)
Support – Pastoral and Otherwise
With demanding degrees, pastoral support is incredibly vital. This mainly comes in the form of perusal tutors. During my time at Imperial I’ve had two of the best tutors known. They have supported me on academic issues, any difficulties I’ve had including struggling with my degree in second year and also have made sure I feel supported in making big decisions such as module choices. My personal tutor is my go to person when I have any problems and I have really appreciated the support I have received from her.
Top tip: Whilst at Imperial these services can support you endlessly, make sure you make the most of them, in order to maximise what you get from your degree.
Being a part of a community
I started this post by talking about how proud I am to be studying at Imperial, and I genuinely am and I’ve enjoyed giving back to the Imperial community through various committee positions. But honestly the best part of my time here has been meeting some incredible people. Whether they are lecturers or those I am lucky enough to call friends now, everyone I have met along the way has shaped my time here immensely. I would say that I’m sad to leave the Imperial community next year, but I already know that the Imperial community stretches way beyond your few short years here. Once at Imperial, always a part of #OurImperial and that’s just something really special to be a part of.
In the first week of March, my life was pretty much in the “business as usual” mode. Attending lectures, meeting friends, working on group projects, chilling out. Yeah, nothing special.
In the second week, something began to change. The COVID-19 situation was becoming more and more serious. There was a growing pressure on Imperial to start delivering remote classes as soon as possible. People got concerned about upcoming tests and exams in the last week of term. My coronavirus anxiety increased so much that I started dropping classes to stay in my room in Evelyn Gardens instead (normally, I don’t skip lectures at all!).
However, I didn’t think about going home early yet. My flight was scheduled on 21 March and I couldn’t leave earlier due to a compulsory workshop the day before.
After a week of lying around the house, “getting used to” isolation, as I like to call it, and feeling a little bit sorry for myself, I decided it was finally time to start revising for those all important final exams. Except, there was one big problem, I had absolutely no motivation to do much work. I would wake up and just not know where to start, it felt overwhelming that there was so much work to do.
Missing my friends
I wanna take a moment to say that it is totally okay to not feel completely normal right now. Everyone’s lives have been momentarily changed by this, and no one is expected to function at their usual levels. The situation isn’t ideal, so now it’s about making the most.
I feel like it is starting to hit people that it’s time to start revising and I’m going to be honest, the hardest bit is starting. I won’t lie, it took me a couple of false starts before I was actually able to start for good. Now that I have started here are some of my top tips* to making the most of the current situation and getting through this revision period.
Getting some revision done: Productivity
My timetable
Make a timetable – You’re probably going to say “yeah, yeah we know”, and I get that, this is one of the most common tips about. But I’m going to share specifically how to make your timetable efficient and manageable
Don’t be too over ambitious. Set work that you think will be possible to complete
Give yourself a day lee way sometimes. Have a day which you can use to catch up on any things you’ve not been to complete over the past few days.
Mark in your exams, just to clearly see where the end goal is.
Plan what type of revision you’re doing, whether it’s learning material, problem sheets or past papers.
Cross the days off. This is just so satisfying and shows you that you are making progress.
Have an accountability buddy – Have a friend who you text in the morning, just saying what you hope to achieve by the end of the day. Check back in at the end of the day (or at regular intervals) and see if you’ve managed to achieve this. This is a fun way to add a little bit of pressure to hitting your revision goals
Have separate “work and play” areas – This is key to making sure your brain knows when it’s time to focus and when it’s time to chill. For me my desk is my work space, the kitchen and dining table are one of my chill places where I cook and eat, and of course my bed is my most used chill space for, well, sleeping and Netflix…
Staying sane and positive: Wellbeing
Don’t oversleep everyday – Now that we’re all at home all day, it’s very tempting to sleep in everyday. Whilst this feels pretty good to begin with, eventually oversleeping can leave you feeling more tired during the day. Of course do have those wonderful lie ins from time to time, definitely very enjoyable.
Heading out for walks
Get some exercise – With the current situation I know it is much harder to get your usual amounts of exercise. Whether you’re choosing to do some home exercise or are still going out for a walk or run, make sure you keep it up. Getting exercise is an important part of keeping your body and mind healthy, and is a great break from work.
Fresh air – Even if you don’t want to go outside, just open a window for a little while or sit on your balcony or in your garden. It just feels so good after being cooped up for a long time.
Cooking time
Talk to your friends – See below
Have routine – Try to keep to some some sort of routine. Wake up at the same time, make sure you have some breakfast. Take breaks from studying. Don’t burn yourself out now, this is going to be a marathon not a sprint.
Eating well – Despite some food shortages there is still plenty of food available in the shops. Remember to eat plenty of vegetables, if you’re struggling to buy enough veg to last you through a week or before you’re able to go to the shops again, then try to cook some vegetables as soon as you’ve bought them and put them in the freezer ready to eat later in the week.
Social Interaction ideas: Fun
Video calls!
It’s fair to say one of the biggest changes that isolation has caused is the fact we can’t see our friends in person. Many have had to say goodbye to friends who’ve had to move home 3 months early. Some are also now living alone as flatmates head home. All of this can leave us feeling socially isolated and that’s not good. Why not try some of these out
Video/Audio calls – The easiest way to keep in touch with friends and family despite the distance. Whatever method you like: Messenger, Zoom, Teams, Discord or one of the many more options. Maintaining relationships right now is so important to staying positive.
Online games – There are plenty of online games available to stay connected with your friends in a fun way. From online “Pictionary” (skribbl.io or gartic.io) to cards against humanity. Another popular game I was recently introduced to is Stardew Valley (would highly recommend) What could be more fun than building a farm with your friends!
MathSoc’s online socials
Get involved with your societies – Loads of societies are doing stuff online, from bingo to online socials. MathSoc, the society I run, has recently done a bunch of online socials such as skribbl.io, we even have a movie night coming up. We’ve even launched a campaign called #MathSocAtHome, which is all about keeping our members connected at a time like this. We have had some competitions such as a video call screenshot competition and we’re asking people to send in their best memories from the year which we share as a way of keeping people positive.
Netflix Party – clue’s in the name, but try Netflix-ing with your friends, just as if they were with you!
Any other worries
*Disclaimer: I may or may not be following all of my top tips, but I aspire to have followed them all by the end of this week
I hope that some of these tips help you with your revision and help boost your wellbeing. I know that people will be worried about exams and things right now, my biggest piece of advice here would be to speak to your department and reps. They will likely have answers to your questions and be able to support you best. Feel free to drop me a comment or message as well.
All in all, all that’s left to say is: Try your best to stay positive and productive, you can’t do anymore than that.
Ever since the World Health Organisation’s classification of COVID-19 as a pandemic, a new face of the world was unveiled to us. A world where countries are progressively shutting down borders and locking down. A world where supermarket pasta and toilet roll aisles are ravaged and international capital cities turning into ghost towns. A world that I took for granted.
Taking a step back from this exceptional sanitation crisis and with the social distancing, I realised how elements of what seemed part of a natural lifestyle were in fact blessed treasures: walking in to university daily, picnicking in Hyde Park with some friends, attending workshops, conferences, art exhibitions, socials and the list goes on! Having discussed this with some friends, we also agreed on how easy it was to feel locked up and literally cut off from the rest of the world (especially with everyone being in different times zones). Loneliness, stress and boredom may start to kick in as well as an untameable desire to run outside and scream.
Don’t worry you’re NOT alone.
It’s very easy to loose your sanity in such an insane environment but remember that you’re not the insane one the world around you is. I wanted to put up some tips to help turn that confinement upside down to render it slightly more fun.
1. “REUNITED AGAIN AND IT FEELS SO GOOD”
For some, being trapped indoors with your family and four energetic siblings may seem like a nightmare but it’s also a great way to spend some quality time with your family outside of term. Take advantage of that through doing multiple activities such as board game nights, movie nights, cooking. I was missing England too much and decided to make scones with my brother although we were unfortunately missing the clotted cream. Nothing beats homemade food!
2. “CONNECT WITH YOUR FRIENDS”
I know how challenging it can be to keep in touch with everyone at once especially with the different time zones and schedules but definitely organise grouped calls through WhatsApp, Messenger, Skype (sounds prehistoric I know but I rediscovered it and have to say that has some amazing new features such as adding live emojis on videos and screen sharing). I recently have been on calls with friends from the Netherlands, UK, Korea, France, Austria and China! Technology really does bring people together in times like this. If you haven’t already, also download Houseparty, the new confinement app! It alerts you when your friends are “in house” so its super easy to begin a conversation and has series of games such as Chips and Guac. Of course don’t hesitate to host remote Netflix parties!
Andrex chilling with the antiques* #Friends
* I took this picture in London, a luxurious pack of Andrex toilet paper was featured in an antique shop and it really lifted up my mood!
3. “WORK, WORK, WORK”
No motivation to work? I understand. Its quite hard but try to schedule in a few hours a day to work on your degree remotely especially as exams are approaching while giving yourself plenty of time to rest. By doing so you’re making sure that you’re not doing everything last minute and enjoying that well earned Easter break!
4. “HOME EXERCISE”
It definitely won’t replace sprinting in Hyde Park or rowing in the Thames but try to do some at home exercise, you’ll see that it will bring your mood up. Some ideas include yoga and mediation, home workouts or justdance sessions!
5. “SPRING CLEAN”
Moving back home always means quite a lot of unpacking for me. I know however that I am far from being alone on that aspect. For many, there are just some cardboard boxes or stored items that we did not really have time to take care of (or at least that’s what we said back then 🙂 ) when we left to university and slightly forgot about them. Now is the perfect time to deal with those and spring clean!!
6. “TRY OUT NEW THINGS”
On top of taking on old hobbies that you put aside during term time, this confinement period may be the perfect opportunity to take on new challenges and try out things that you would have otherwise never done. Try learning a new language, a new instrument, coding anyone? Sign up to MOOCs, become the next Shakespeare or Picasso!
Please also check out Charlotte’s blog on COVID19 and mental wellbeing! After all, healthy brain healthy being.
In these difficult times we need to support one another and trust the scientific community.
So please call up those loved ones, make some homemade tiramisu and pick up a new book!
