As the summer term draws to an end, it’s a good idea to summarise what it was like for me. This time was exceptional since it was my first encounter with full remote studying (apart from pre-pandemic self-learning episodes with text tutorials and YouTube educational videos).
Modules
Compared to autumn and spring terms, the number of modules for second year computing students was much smaller. We only had to work on a group project and the introduction to law module.
The project was called “Designing for Real People” (DRP). In groups of 4, we had to create a web or mobile application that solved a real-world problem. We were required to pick several target users outside of our team and be in touch with them throughout the entire project development time in order to get feedback on software we were making. This wasn’t an easy task during the pandemic! Thankfully, my teammate used his connections and therefore managed to get enough people to talk to 🙂
There was also the law module, but it was nothing too complicated. Just 4 hours of lectures about copyright, contracts and GDPR + a small piece of coursework which counted as a part of the DRP project grade.
But how did we work?
It wasn’t as hard as it seemed to be. All lecture recordings were available on Panopto and there were lab/clinic/Q&A sessions delivered on either Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Within our group, we held audio meetings nearly every day on Teams, chatted using both Teams and Facebook and communicated with the users and project markers on Zoom. We didn’t have any time zone problems as we were located in three adjacent time zones, including the UK one.
There were also two larger presentation sessions on Zoom and these went almost flawlessly. Why almost? In the middle of some other group’s presentation, I unmuted my microphone by accident. Oops! Luckily, this unwanted interruption lasted only a few seconds.
The end
This marks the end of my student blogger role. It’s been a pleasure to write here and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading all of my posts. As always, stay safe 🙂
Imperial is challenging. Every Imperial student can tell you that. But some people REALLY struggle with their degrees. I am one of those people. Imperial was not what I expected and I have had a love-hate relationship with this degree. Before I leave Imperial, I want to share my up and down journey during the course of this degree because it really hasn’t been perfect, but I have almost made it and I know you will too.
Pre-Imperial
I really loved maths. There is no other way to describe it. Between my four A-Levels in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry, I spent over 70% of my time doing maths or calculations of some kind. I was obsessed and I couldn’t have imagined studying anything else at university. I’m sure many people can relate when I say that at school your identity is very much what you’re good at. I was just the Maths girl. It was an identity I had held for years and I hadn’t really thought much about what would happen when I was surrounded by 240 other “Maths kids”. At school I was used to having an identity, being an individual surrounded by people who were completely different to me. I was confident and I spoke up at every chance I got. But then things changed.
First Year
My first friends – Year 1
Day 1 at Imperial was crazy and it feels like a lifetime ago. Walking into the Clore lecture theatre I gravitated towards the first girl I could see, Jasmin, shortly followed by Lizzie joining us. Little did I know that these two girls would become some of my best friends and we would be stuck together for another three years.
My first few mathematical lectures at Imperial were intense. It seemed like a big step up from school Maths. It was like opening up a different language. This is something my teachers had tried to convey to me, but I had quite realised what it meant. I suddenly had a bunch of new courses I wasn’t sure if I liked, like Analysis and Group theory. I even found mechanics awful, despite having really enjoyed it at school.
Maths became really hard. I found myself growing more and more detached from it struggling to have any motivation to complete problem sheets or revise for weekly tests. I no longer had the infinitely strong support base I was so used to having at school. I was so used to being good at Maths, that I had really never experienced what it was like to struggle. Instead of doing the sensible thing and asking for help, I locked myself away believing I was the the only one struggling this much. The Maths department has many places to ask for help, problems classes, office hours, friends, academic and peer tutorials. Yet I used none of these. I lost a lot of confidence and became a lot more reserved. (and everyone who knows me knows that I am not a quiet type of person)
I somehow clawed my way through first year exams with the support of a few friends who realised I just needed a little nudge. But my relationship with maths was definitely on the down and I didn’t know how I could survive another two years of this.
Second Year
Second year was no better really. If anything it was worse. I was having to take more advanced courses in the same topics I had struggled with in First Year. I was now having to battle Analysis II, Differential equations and Algebra II when I had barely pulled through easier versions of these modules. In order to cope with the difficult work situation, I found myself turning to clubs and societies to keep myself happy. I probably took this a little tor far, engaging a bit too much and compromising my degree a little bit. But it was the saving grace that got me through my second year so I’m not sure if I would’ve made it without them.
Come second year exams, I had really lost all sense of passion for Maths. It was like counting down because I knew there was no point giving up now. I scraped through those exams by the skin of my teeth, I am less than proud to admit. But the important thing is that I made it.
Third Year
Of course this story has a happier ending, you didn’t think I would just leave you with some depressing message right! Third Year in the Maths Department means that you can choose your modules entirely. After two years of compulsory modules I was sooo excited! I took a steady list of Stats modules with some extra fun ones too. If you’ve read my Her Story feature then you’ll know that I have a passion for Statistics, more so than Maths! Between my statistics modules I fit in some Data science and even a teaching module, which I am currently writing up. (More to come on this soon!)
Things started looking a little brighter. I actually enjoyed my modules, they might have required more work, but the work was manageable and I finally understood things! It had been a long time since I had the feeling of keeping up with modules. After some positive coursework marks, I started getting my enjoyment back a little and confidence levels rose a little bit.
Three years on
This year I have the incredible opportunity to actually do some project work. From analysing the differences in ingredients of various curries in Statistical Learning, to getting a great introduction to Machine Learning and Statistical Modelling with projects on the effects of drinking coffee on heart rates and analysis clothing catalogues. The opportunities and hands on learning approaches Imperial adopts has highly benefitted my peers and I. I have fallen back in love with Maths and I couldn’t be happier.
The moral of the story
The going will get tough at some point in your life. But the important thing here is to persevere. Keep at it. If you really love something, you will fall back in love with it, no matter how much you hate it in the moment. Just keep trying because now that I’ve made it through, I couldn’t be prouder of myself. I might be a little battered and bruised, but it’s been a wonderful journey through which I have learnt so much.
To anyone who feels like they need to seek support through a tough time, I highly recommend it, I wouldnt’ have made it here without the amazon support I have had. Speak to your personal tutor, senior tutor, the college counselling service or your GP amongst others.
The end of your time at Imperial will no doubt be amazing, but you’ve got to enjoy the journey too in order to have a perfect ending.
If you’re a first year student, sorting out accommodation is straightforward: a place in an Imperial hall of residence is guaranteed in nearly all cases. The situation is different for returning students though. They can’t live in first-year halls unless they find a vacancy (you have to be lucky here) or become a hall senior. Because of that, most returning students decide to live in private accommodation. However, there’s an option to continue living in halls without taking responsibilities of a hall senior or hunting for vacancies in first-year halls. It’s Evelyn Gardens, a set of three halls (Willis Jackson, Southwell, Holbein) located just a 15-20 minute walk away from the South Kensington campus.
I’m one of the students who decided to live there. What was my experience?
I am desperately trying to revise but to little avail. The exam season panic has fittingly kicked in. You may ask why I need to revise when all my assessments are going to be open-book. I had the same question. We were advised by our faculty that the exams will be testing understanding instead of simple factual recall. Hence, we need to know the material and understand it sufficiently in order to pass. The faculty has kindly arranged an online mock so we can familiarise ourselves with the platform used to deliver the exams.
I couldn’t help but compare and contrast my exam season this year with that of last year. Due to obvious reasons, all students currently have to revise at the same place where they are staying. Last year, we had the choice of going to Central Library which is my favourite Imperial Library so I am dedicating this blog to it.
There is nothing exceptional about it but it is good enough. Under normal circumstances, It would be open 24/7 except for Fridays when it would close at 11:30 pm. However, it has been understandably and responsibly shut for a few weeks now. It is not the only Imperial Library for medical students. The Central Library was always busy and lively during exam season from the opening times to late at night. I love working there at any time but I prefer it at night. If I had to pull an all-nighter before a deadline/exam (please don’t do that, it’s not good for you 🙂 ), I wouldn’t choose another place.
There is no particular aim for this blog. I just wanted to give an update on exams and say that I miss revising at the Central Library.
It has been two weeks since I finished my first ever hospital placement or firms as we call them at Imperial. 2nd year has been going at full speed, so it was really nice to spend the last three weeks of term in hospitals seeing and talking to patients as opposed to lectures or tutorials.
I was based in the acute stroke unit in Charing Cross Hospital with three other students. Although, we had a general induction from Imperial the day before we started and a Charing-Cross-Hospital-specific induction on the first day of firms. It still felt daunting to go into the ward as we all felt that we didn’t belong there yet. This placement ended up being my best academic experience at medical school so far. Here is what made my experience as great as it was in the form three tips:
Always introduce yourselfusing yourfull name and year of study
This is because hospital have medical and nursing students coming and going constantly. Therefore, it is important for staff to know what year you are in. This is vital as it will determine what clinical skills they expect you to confidently perform on your own. However, they may be unfamiliar with how your course works. So, if you get asked to do something which you don’t know how to do, explain that you haven’t been taught that. You can turn it into a great learning opportunity by asking them to teach you the specific task so you can do it for them. This way you can learn and help at the same time!
Never be afraid to ask questions and create your own learning opportunities
Teaching at hospitals is fundamentally different to lectures and tutorials. You are completely independent and it is your responsibility to lead and manage your learning. You are not entirely alone as there are teaching fellows and staff to support you. The transition may be overwhelming initially but everyone gets through it. Furthermore, you get told exactly what you need to learn. In some hospitals, they may timetable teaching sessions for you while in others they may not. Regardless, you can always ask staff to teach you. Don’t get discouraged and take it personally if they say no. They may be extremely busy or they may not enjoy teaching.
Make time for self-care
Just like you are responsible for your learning, you are responsible to find time for you to take a break and to have lunch. It is in nobody’s best interest if you starve yourself or overwork yourself. However, don’t take constant breaks or leave early everyday in the name of self-care.
It is perfectly natural to feel out-of-place and nervous in your first clinical attachment. It will take you time to adjust but you’ll get there. At the end of the day, it may be your first placement but it won’t be your last. So as long as you reflect and learn from it, you will be fine. Don’t be afraid to be independent and proactive about your learning and try to be helpful as much as you can.
Studying at Imperial; one of the best universities in the world, is certainly not easy. It can get tough sometimes. Catching up with lectures and tutorial sheets, meeting report deadlines, rushing projects, all the while trying to maintain a decent social life and sleep. Sounds impossible doesn’t it? It doesn’t help that I’m the kind that cannot stay still and do one thing at a time!
“You’ll only focus on studying and not join anything else this term!” It’s been 3 terms and it certainly hasn’t worked out AHAHAHAH. I TRIED but at Imperial, there are just so many exciting things to do! From all the clubs and societies to join, and the fact that we’re in London, opportunities are endless. I’m currently part of a student organisation focussing on entrepreneurship and I’m working at a startup! It’s exciting for sure, but it hasn’t been easy.
I’m not saying this to brag but I just want everyone to know that it’s okay to say no. It’s important to acknowledge that we can’t do everything and that’s okay. Everyone who knows me knew how much I was struggling half way through the last autumn term. I was at least 3 sheets behind every single subject, multiple lectures to catch up (I had food poisoning and was down for a whole week), multiple meetings in a week (for the student organisation) and multiple projects to handle (student organisation and startup). Halfway through I really felt like drowning. If one more speck of dust landed on top of my head, I’d drown.
At some point, I genuinely knew I had to say no to some things and focus what’s ahead of me. My mental health was not in a good place but through it all, I’m blessed enough to have colleagues and teammates who were understanding. I also had an amazing support system with friends checking-in on me every now and then, and forcing me out to take breaks with them. These little things helped a lot and eventually I could set my mind in a better place.
What I want to say here is, it’s okay to fall back. It’s okay to say no when everything spirals out of our own control. Everyone seems to be doing well but the matter of fact is that everyone is struggling in their own way, fighting their own battles. There certainly are some who are doing really well, that’s for sure but there’s no shame in asking for help and support, no matter how simple it is. Imperial has a robust support system so if you’re in any position to need help, please reach out!
I guess many of you came across Imperial Horizons when doing research about our university. For those who didn’t: it’s free classes (held once a week at 4-6 PM) which give you a chance to learn something outside of your main course and get it indicated in your final transcript. There is a really wide range of topics available for every student and once chosen wisely (read on!), it’s a great way to jump away from your everyday lectures and labs! Horizons isn’t only about languages:the picture shows what modules I could pick for this year.
My 2nd Year of Medical School was a rollercoaster to say the least. I’m going to use a couple of words to describe what was probably the most interesting year of my life so far.
hectic.
2nd Year was such a blur to me. I remember starting the year off by becoming a ‘medic parent’ to my lovely children who were 1st Year medics. It’s a great tradition we have here at Imperial (and quite a few other unis) where you’re given the option to have parents in the year above you who guide you through the year and can act as a support system especially in those first few weeks of university. After the hype of Freshers settled down, it was back to lectures for us 2nd Years and then a fun clinical placement which ended the first term back on a high!
familiar.
Starting university again initially at least for me felt slightly overwhelming. Realising that summer was over and I’d probably forgotten the bulk of the content I’d learnt was daunting. But after those temporary feelings passed it started to feel like I’d never left university- I caught up with friends, got back into the swing of lectures and everything felt normal again.
challenging.
2nd Year was undoubtedly the most academically challenged I’ve ever felt. But it was also the most interested I’ve ever been in anything before. I got to do things like learn about the drugs that have revolutionised modern medicine in Pharmacology and dissect the intricate muscles of the hand in Anatomy. The Easter holiday in particular sticks out to me- this is the period of intense revision just before 2nd Year medicine exams commence. Whilst at the time, preparing for exams was not exactly enjoyable- it has definitely taught me a lot about myself and the way I learn information which I think will be invaluable to me going forward.
fun.
“enjoyment, amusement, or light-hearted pleasure”. Thats what Google says at least. Overall, if I had to describe my 2nd Year the word I would use is fun. Maybe I should have written that first? Of course there were highs and very low lows. From memories of being in the library frantically trying to make some sense of a cancer pathway to going on a spontaneous trip to Copenhagen with my friends, ultimately it was a year that I look back on and laugh at.
growth.
Most people who live in halls of Imperial in their 1st Year tend to move out and live somewhere in West London with their friends in 2nd Year- which is what I also did. Finding somewhere to live that fits all of your requirements and doesn’t mean you have to eat ready meals for the rest of the year is a feat in itself. It does force you to be more responsible and develop skills you otherwise may have had no incentive to develop. Whether that be buying your first hoover or sorting out your council tax exemption letters- you do feel like a real adult which is nice (for a bit).
… and now I’m a 3rd Year!
wishing everyone the best for the new academic year!
Here’s a timeline of how I finally secured my Second Year Summer Internship at one of my favourite companies.
August – It’s all about the CV
A year in advance I found myself sitting in the waiting area of an empty careers service getting my CV checked. I would throughly recommend using the service over summer before they become extremely busy in October again. The careers service was able to not only identify key experiences I should include in my CV but also suggested some structural ideas. Whilst I know loads of people who LaTeX their CVs (overkill IMO) I think that you can make a perfectly good CV on Word. (I even know someone who made theirs on PowerPoint!!)
October – Get the ball rolling on applications
Whilst researching industries, I soon realised that I had this strong inclination to work in transport. Weird, I know, especially for a maths student. Unfortunately I could only find a few internships that fit the transport bill so I also applied for other management consulting internships mainly in finance.
Soon I was getting used to the endless cycle of online applications, cover letter writing and online tests. (See my last post for more details on these parts of the process). I even started to get some replies and then finally an invitation to a telephone interview from Nomura. With its excellent reputation and a fantastic summer intern programme, I was extremely excited to have this opportunity.
November & December – Dealing with the first rejections
Although I felt that the telephone interview had gone well, unfortunately I was rejected a few weeks later. At first this felt like a major set back. However with the sound advice of friends around me, I soon realised that rejection isn’t something personal. It just means that company had a particular person in mind for the role and you might not have matched it perfectly. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t progress further in that application process as it probably wasn’t a role that was very well suited to me, and I wasn’t overly passionate about it anyway.
But it wasn’t all bad. Aside from the rejections I also completed a number of video interviews and continued to submit more applications. I started to get the hang of it and applying almost became quite addictive really. In hind sight I probably spent too long on applications, but I just wanted to be sure that I would get something for the summer.
January Part 1- Interviews
This was probably the busiest month in my internship cycle. I was giving up hope on finding an opportunity so started emailing smaller companies and start ups. Finally a 3D printing company responded and invited me in for an interview for a data analytics role. It was my first in-person interview for an internship role and although the role wasn’t well paid, I went in with an open mind. After 25 minutes of questions about my CV and relevant past experiences I was offered the role! I didn’t accept it then and there, because I knew I still had some companies that hadn’t responded to me yet.
Meanwhile I discovered that Imperial College Netball Club’s Sponsor MThree, was advertising an internship for Computing and Maths students. It was heavily tech based, something I lacked skill wise, but I thought why not and applied. After completing a numerical and coding test I was invited in for a first round interview. Even though I lacked computing skills, they decided to take me through to the next round (an assessment centre at their client Natwest Markets) given my enthusiasm for the role and eagerness to learn. This showed me how even if you’re not perfect for a role you can still bluff your way through.
January Part 2- Atkins!
Finally I got the email I had been eagerly waiting for, from Atkins, a civil engineering company. My first choice internship which specialised in consulting within the transport industry. It was good news and I was invited in for an interview. I found this interview the easiest to prepare for as I was most passionate about the industry. My interview with Atkins was almost fun. I enjoyed talking extensively about my experiences with MathSoc, rail fares!! and why I was passionate about transport. (very easy for me to answer). I came out of the interview positively buzzing.
The next morning I woke up and whilst still slightly dazed I got the email offering me the role! It was such an amazing feeling to have got an internship in something I was really passionate about. And finally it meant I could stop worrying about this massive part of my second year.
I am really looking forward to sharing my about my experience working at Atkins this summer so stay tuned for more posts!
One of the hardest parts of being a penultimate year student is juggling applications for internships alongside academic studies. Having just been through this process, I wanted to share my journey and also some top tips on how to survive this time-consuming task successfully! In this first post I will talk about the general process and my top tips!
The general steps in the application process
Online Application – This usually involves providing your personal details, answering some questions about your motivations for this career, listing your previous work experiences. Sometimes you will be asked to provide a CV and cover letter
Online Assessments – Either with your application or sometimes if you make it through the first round, you will be asked to complete some online assessments. These are usually:
Numerical – testing you ability to work with numbers
Verbal – true/false questions based on articles and blocks of text
Situation Judgement – arguably the toughest of the lot, this tests how you would react in different workplace situations
Coding – depending on the type of internship you are applying for you may also have to complete a coding task
Telephone/Video Interview – If successful you will then probably be invited to complete a first round interview. This will either be through an automated video interview system, where your record your answers to the questions. Or you could have someone from the company call you to ask some questions usually lasting 25-30 mins. This first interview will usually consist of questions about your career aspirations, what skills you have and basically giving you a chance to showcase your strengths.
Final Round Interview/Assessment Centre – Finally you will be invited into the office! If you are called in for an assessment centre then it would usually be with other candidates. You will be given some group tasks and also an interview. Alternatively some companies might just call you in for an interview. This could be more technical than the phone/video interview in previous rounds.
My Top Tips
Start early, sort your CV out the summer before and then apply as soon as they open
Apply to more than you think you’ll need as this will ensure you find something
Email smaller companies and startups as back ups or look for a UROP
Don’t take rejections personally, its not that you’re not good enough, its just that they might’ve been looking for a particular type of person or skill
Don’t compare. Some companies wait a while before sorting through applications, you’re still in the running until you hear otherwise!
Keep a detailed spreadsheet, including the date you applied, that you regularly update listing how far you are in the application process for each internship
Have a standard Cover Letter for each industry that can be tweaked for the company, this will save time instead of writing a new one each time
Getting through an Interview
Before
Make sure you have researched the company and have answers prepared to all standard questions
Have some key facts you like or can relate to about the company
Have scenarios ready to answer any questions about leadership, conflict and others
Make sure you know your CV/application answers inside out
Find out how to get to the office and have a back up plan incase there are problems on the day, plan to arrive at least 20 minutes early
At the Interview
If you’re more than 15 minutes early to the office, take a walk around the block or grab a quick coffee
Arrive at the building and find out where you need to go, (now’s a good time to go to the loo if you need to)
When you meet the interviewer, shake their hand firmly and say good morning, remember they are judging you from the moment they meet you
If they make small talk before in the journey to the interview, remember to be insightful and reflect the person you are in your answers
If they ask you to tell you a little bit about yourself, don’t just rattle off your cover letter. Think about what points relate to this company and industry, try to sell yourself, explain how these experiences could help you in the internship
Think of the interview as a two way conversation
ALWAYS ask questions at the end of the interview, standard ones can include asking about the next steps in the application process, asking if you seem to have the right attributes for this role, or asking the interviewer about their career
At the end of the interview thank them for their time and ask who you can be expected to hear from them, this shows your keenness for the company
So these are some of the tips that helped get me through this application period and I hope they’ll help you too.
Stay tuned for my next blog post about my own trials and tribulations of finding an internship.
