Blog posts

Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful term…

MSc Science Communication

And just like that third term is over! In keeping with my previous end of term blogs I thought I’d stick to tradition, but this time use songs from some of the best-loved Disney films to round up my final term at Imperial.

Reflection (Mulan)

We finally reached the practical option term of the masters course and I chose to take courses in radio and documentary. For radio, I produced a short piece about cultured meat and together with some course mates, produced a short documentary called ‘the sun shines for everyone’. It was an incredibly busy term with not much time for reflection as it progressed, but looking back on it now I learnt so much and gained experience to aid me in the future.

Out on shoot for the Documentary.

You’ve got a friend in me (Toy Story)

One of the best parts about coming to Imperial has been the incredible friends I’ve made: from all the wonderful people in Dance Company to my fellow students in the Science Communication Unit. Whether it was pub quiz trips to h-bar, the Dance Company end of year meal, or the Imperial Summer Ball, filling my schedule with these trips diluted the sometimes insurmountable piles of work I had to do!

With the Tap team at the Dance Company end of year meal.

In Summer (Frozen)

As a postgraduate student, my time at Imperial has yet to come to a close. During the summer I will continue to carry out work on my dissertation, and undertake a work placement at ITN in their Science and Health team. With my official course end date in mid-September I’m not fully letting go of Imperial just yet!

My desk view for the next couple of months…

How far I’ll go (Moana)

However, the question I keep getting asked is what next? The honest answer: I really have no idea. Preparing for ‘real adult life’ is a bit daunting, particularly when I am fully aware of how hard it is to get a job, and how expensive it is to stay living in London. But it is also exciting, and although I don’t quite know how far I’ll go yet, I do know that my year at Imperial has been an extremely helpful and rewarding one.

Awards Time

Mathematics and Statistics

Maths Wins big at Union Awards

The moment we found out we got shortlisted

Sitting in the study room one Wednesday evening, typing away at my Python code, I was delighted to receive an email saying I was shortlisted for two union awards, the first being the Maths Wellbeing Team shortlisted for Wellbeing Team of the year, and getting shortlisted for Union Colours. Union Colours are awards are given to about 30 students a year who have made large contributions to the union through service to the community. This could be in a society, as a departmental representative or through a project.

The Maths Wellbeing Team

Over the year the Maths Wellbeing Team has done some big things to try and foster a better sense of community within the department whilst representing students’ issues and making sure the department makes constant efforts to improve.

Coursework

One of the biggest academic struggles in the Maths department has been through lecturers setting courseworks that take far too long to complete for the amount of marks they are worth. Noting a considerable impact on student wellbeing, the reps took it in hand to try to improve the system. By bringing up specific examples at student staff committee meetings we were able to raise the issue and allowed it to be slowly fixed with better requirements for lecturers to follow.

WellFair

In addition to our biweekly wellbeing events which have included board games sessions, afternoon teas and colouring in sessions, our flagship event this year was the WellFair. This event hosted various stalls from college support services such as Student Hub, student finance and the international team. There was also a games room with a cupcake decorating competition, a skipping competition and countdown style session, promoting the importance of taking regular breaks and getting involved in physical activity.

Microwave

There is one clear item missing from the Maths department and that’s a microwave. In the past, Undergrad Maths students have not had access to a microwave due to a lack of safety features. However, this year the wellbeing team has been constantly advocating for a microwave in the Maths Common Room and after months of begging and bringing up the advantages of having one for students, we got one! This has been a massive achievement for us!

Union Awards

Union award winners

We walked into a transformed Metric, covered with balloons, a doughnut wall and plenty of drinks and food. There was even a Photo Booth! Soon enough the awards were announced, starting with Union Colours, which myself and Hitesh, current MathSoc President, were delighted to receive. Then other awards were announced including academic team awards, awards for events promoting diversity and inclusion and fellowships.

Going up to collect the award

Whilst Becky, current Deputy President Wellbeing, was announcing the award for Wellbeing team of the year, we sat there holding hands hoping that by some chance we had won. And then suddenly she said the words “for their star event WellFair” and that was the moment we realised. As we went up to collect our award it felt like the perfect end to an amazing year for student wellbeing in the Maths department.

 

 

 

Having a Ball

MSc Science Communication

This Saturday the South Kensington campus was host to the Imperial Summer Ball. An annual celebration to help students unwind after a long year, there was plenty to keep everyone entertained all night long. Here is a snapshot of my evening with course-mates at the ball… 

Student Performances

In the SCR lots of acts from hip-hop dancers to a capella singers took to the stage in front of a crowd of onlookers. As ever, Dance Company was part of the action and I performed with them in a Disney Medley!

Performing a Jazz Routine to ‘Friend Like Me’ from Aladdin.

Funfair

One of the main attractions of the evening were the fairground rides. Our course bumped cars on the Dodgems and got a bit dizzy on the Ferris Wheel but had a really fun time doing so.

Fireworks

Out on the Queens Lawn were a few bars, and come 11 o’clock became the viewpoint for a firework display. Set to music from The Greatest Showman, it was a lovely moment from the evening.

Fireworks above the Sherfield Building.

Dance Floors

As with every good party there were lots of rooms for dancing. In H-bar there was some live music, in the Queen’s Tower Rooms there was a silent disco and in the Great Hall there were DJ Sets by headliners Jack Saunders and Pink Panda.

Before we hit the dance floor we struck our best poses on the red carpet.

Afterparty

For those who wanted to continue partying after the main event finished there was an afterparty held in the Beit Quad. A few of us made it over and ducked out at about 3am, which was well before the ‘survivors photo’ at 5am!

A great time was had by all, and many memories were made that I’m sure we’ll hold onto for years to come.

Year one, checked!

MEng Aeronautical Engineering

First year through my eyes

As the end of the year has arrived, it is time to reflect on everything that has happened over the past nine months.

I have moved abroad, started a degree, started relationships with people from all different backgrounds, I’ve experienced the exciting and sometimes lonely London.
I’ve spent more hours in the library this year alone than during all of my high school years combined. I’ve created a structure, been taught how flow behaves around aerofoils or how combustion allows us to move forward.
I’ve learnt how to overcome drag, both theoretically and figuratively.
I have grown, a scary amount.

University has presented itself as a marathon, a resistance race to be run one step at a time. The first year of aeronautical engineering at Imperial has been the greatest challenge of my life.
It has been a constant academic demand. A non-stop perseverance on digesting knowledge and interiorising it. But now, looking at it in perspective, it is very much rewarding. I will be recognised as one-quarter of an engineer! Not only that, I actually feel like I am so!
As a good friend of mine once told me, engineering provides you with the ability to solve problems, regardless of the topic they belong to, and she is very much right!

University has also been the sugar-coated presentation of what life truly is. In one hand, it shows you that loneliness can be your companion when it is you against the world. On the other hand, you are taught that in order to succeed, one’s effort is needed but also the help of others.

Dear first year, thank you for being one of the best and worst years of my life.
Dear readers, thank you for joining me on this journey.

What others have seen
As this is my last blog post, I wanted to include not only my experience of first year but also how the people around me saw me live it. That is why I asked three people to tell me how this first experience at university changed me.

“Leaving high school and starting a university career it’s is a great step in life. And if you add the fact of living on your own, in a foreign country, in a high-level college, and a high-level career as aeronautics, it becomes then a great challenge that Claudia has faced, showing determination and responsibility. She has grown, in many aspects. I’m proud to say how she’s standing in her own feet in a so short time, and how she’s managing the anxiety of hard studies and exams, taking so many important decisions. A great step in her life!”
– José Luis, dad

“Having known Claudia since we were 8 and being a part of her life for so many years now, I have seen her change, mature and develop, turning into the incredible person she is today. I truly believe that being at Imperial, in a city like London, has made her much stronger, she has become her own person, with her strengths and weaknesses, but she has learnt how to deal with every problem that has crossed her path, she knows what she wants now and despite the tough times, she has found the courage to not give up and continue fighting, never letting anyone’s opinion change her beliefs and goals.“
– Laura, friend

“Claudia is a new person since she left her hometown to go to Imperial College. Yet, she is the same girl. Although she has always been very self-aware and conscious about her limits, her first year at Imperial has shown her the nature of elite and elitist education and the academic market’s obsession with beyond-possible success and super-natural performance. She has learnt how to survive the perils of her world.”
– Ignacio, partner

Leave Me Alone | The Exam Life #3

MEng Civil Engineering

3 exams down, 6 to go.

You know how they said studying with a friend makes you less stress, yeah well, at this point its not anymore. I mean he made me laugh, he stalked someone (on my behalf-ish), he made fun of the way I’m typing up this very blog, he warned me when there was a secret sales, went to get coffee with me, He made me have fewer mental breakdowns. But being seriously tense and unease, having five mini mental breakdowns a day, all I want is to be left alone.

27 May 2019

You know what I did on Bank Holiday. The one day that’s supposed to be a holiday. Well, I was in the Skempton Building, along with half the department — rough estimate. I know it probably seem like I’m complaining about the hard work, but maybe I am. When people say to me, “first year is easy”. I wanted to say maybe it is, because you went through it and came through the other side. But maybe it isn’t fair for someone who’s going through that to be told what a worse future they’re going to have.

Anyway. At this time, I seriously wish I have a photograhic memory. The exam on Tuesday was mainly memorising, and well after the first 3 exams, my brain is at 5% capacity.

28 May 2019

The day has come, it was a 3 hours exam, and I left halfway through. I made a judgement call, I knew I was better spending my time revising for my next exam rather than staring on an answer sheet, I answered to the best of my ability. I’m going to admit, having Fluid mechanics the day after was not easy I attempted to do the 2018 paper, and I tried to do it, and nope not right. Being so close to the exam, not being able to do the question felt like an absolute failure.

Did the next question, and I can barely answer it, I finally brokedown. Thoughts rushed into my mind, I couldn’t do this, I can barely do this question, what am I going to do tomorrow. I went outside of the room, and called my sister. I was so upset and one of the undergrad office came to me, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have the support system that’s available.

I went back inside, with a clearer head. Finished my revision, and ready or not, I’m going to have to be.

10 Cups of Coffee A Day | The Exam Life #2

MEng Civil Engineering

22 May 2019
Constantly in denial that I was sleep deprived, sleeping an average of 3 hours a day and surviving on ten cups of coffee a day. The perfectionism, the need for constantly being right and accurate at the same time, led me to this day. The lack of sleep simply put me somewhere between constantly making small mistakes that frustrates me and the paranoia that the one thing that I didn’t perfectly understood was the one thing that would fail me.

Structural Mechanics, a subject that in my opinion requires focus on details, something I admitted lack in this circumstances. I contemplated and doubted about writing this post. The fact that I’m practically publicising my weaknesses, terrifies me. But it’s an experience that I would not have if I was not here, and an experience I can share.

Feeling fairly quite satisfied with how I did on the exam earlier that day, I continued to force my brain to function. When it wasn’t I went down to the library cafe and ordered a large americano or a double espresso.

23 May 2019
At this point, I might as well change my address to SW72BB, pretty much where I spent night and day at. I was so tired, so exhausted, all I wanted to do was lay down on my bed and cover myself on a nice warming duvet, preferably on my pyjamas. But instead, I felt guilt, I felt awful if I spend 8 hours in bed instead of 8 hours of revision. So I slept only when it was absolutely necessary, until I needed to go home. Finally, I ubered back home at 8PM. Finally getting the sufficient sleep that I so deserve.

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24 May 2019

Exam day! I ordered a large americano, cooled it down and drink it all before I go to the exam room. Looked through the first question, and I was like, yeah I can do this, no big deal. The second question, damn it, not this one. I remembered something like this was in one of the past papers, but a bit trickier. By a bit I mean, I’m just hoping that I didn’t already lost 1/4 question. One question at a time, the clicking sound of my fingernails on the calculator, the raised heartbeat, convincing myself that this exam doesn’t determine my future or who I seem on paper, but it does. It does, and what I did on that exam matters. Like always, I’ve always realised that things matter after its too late to do anything about it.

36 Hours at Imperial College | The Exam Life #1

MEng Civil Engineering

The first day I came to Imperial as a student I vividly remember being told not to spend 24 hours in the library, and yet I spent 36 hours in the library.

 

20 May 2019
Seconds after finishing my maths exam, I rushed myself to the third floor computer room in Skempton. After feeling like I just failed Maths, I can only fail one other subject, and I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t Computational Methods (the exam I had 2 days after Maths).

Somewhere between overdosing on caffeine and bankrupting over deliveroos, I was at the computer, frustrated and enraged that the codes didn’t made sense to me. In the verge of a severe mental breakdown, I tried to breath, convincing myself that I could simply pass.

21 May 2019
Hours passed by, then it was midnight. I packed my bags and moved to my other study spot. Second floor, Central Library. Going through the lecture notes, trying to understand anything I didn’t. I swear at this point I was probably paranoid, thinking anything I didn’t understand was going to come up in the exam, which btw at this time that hypothesis is true.

5 AM in the morning, my brain was on auto-pilot mode, and for some unexplained medical reason, my fingers are still typing up codes, while my brain went to sleep. An hour later, my eyes literally shut down against my will, and I fell asleep right there and then.

At this point 30 minutes nap was all I need, Spent the next 12 hours double screening between MATLAB and Net-a-porter. My focus was practically split at this point, but a split focus was better than doing nothing at all.

7PM, I was confident at this point that I could do the exam, so I uber-ed home and literally passed out on my bed.

After the unpleasant sleepover, I had a tiny moment of realisation that I probably shouldn’t “occasionally” skip lectures and should probably study more throughout the year. My gosh — I’m confessing too much.

Part-time work

MSc Science Communication

Studying in one of the most expensive cities in the world is one factor that affects people’s decision to study at Imperial College. Rest assured it can be done, but particularly for students like myself who are undertaking a one year master’s course, the different funding options means that money can sometimes get tight. An upside of the course though, is its flexibility in allowing its students to have part-time jobs. Indeed, most students from the Science Communication Unit have part-time jobs, myself included.

I have previously mentioned my job as an Observatory Explainer at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, but have not delved into many details. To give you a flavour of what part-time jobs are available around London, I thought I’d share what a typical shift at the Observatory looks like.

09:30 No weekend lie-in for me as I have to leave plenty of time to travel across London to get to Greenwich. Although the journey is sometimes a pain, especially the steep hill climb at the end, the view is definitely worth it!

10:45 Along with the other Observatory Explainers we need to set up the first of the two activities that happen at the weekend. In the Astronomy Centre we run the ‘Young Astronomer’s Workshop’ where families visit and take part in a variety of creative activities. We have to lay out the materials and prepare for the influx of people!

11:00 Over at the historic Royal Observatory site is ‘Observatory Unlocked’, where we deliver interactive talks and demonstrations for visitors to participate in. During the winter, we set up camp in the Octagon room, one of the original buildings designed by Sir Christopher Wren in the late-1600s. Inside we demonstrate how to use instruments such as sextants and also talk about how the mapping of planets, like Mars, has evolved.

However, now that some sunnier weather has appeared we are outside in the courtyard doing some solar observing. First, we have to set up the personal solar telescopes on tripods and position them to face the sun. Next, we have to pray that the clouds stay at bay as we help visitors look through the telescope and see the sun.

12:00 Every visitor is incredibly excited when they get to view the sun through the telescope, particularly if any solar activity is present, such as sun spots. Part of our job is also to communicate this phenomena to guests and engage in conversations with them. This does require a lot of thinking on your feet but the visitors are very engaged in the topics and I find I learn a lot from them as well!

13:00 As well as being able to answer questions about astronomy we also need to be able to answer questions about the Royal Observatory and its history. A lot of visitors ask about the red time ball drop at 1pm, which was previously used to signal to the sailors on the Thames what the local (Greenwich) time was, so they could adjust their timepieces accordingly before setting sail. Others ask about the world-famous Greenwich Meridian Line, the 0o line of longitude, and some ask about the telescopes which are housed at the Observatory. Below you can see the recently installed Annie Maunder astrographic telescope, so called to recognise the important work of female astronomers at the Observatory, which is currently used to image the Sun and other objects in the sky.

13:15 Back at the Astronomy Centre the morning rush is over but there are still families wanting to learn more about space. We provide several activities for different age groups to do on different themes such as human spaceflight, the planets and currently, stars. These include colouring-in sheets and make-and-do instruments such as planispheres. Our job is to welcome visitors to the workshop, hand out the materials and then provide further assistance whilst they’re getting stuck in. 

14:00 It is always a pleasure to see young children enthused by space and have them ask some quite challenging questions! It is also lovely to see the parents encouraging their children to pursue their interests and extend their knowledge beyond a classroom setting.

14:30 Time to wrap up the activities and tidy away all of the materials. There is a lot going on throughout the week at the Astronomy Centre and the Royal Observatory so we need to make sure everything is put back into place.

14:45 The shift is over but another chance to look at the view! Over the winter we had a later start and end time so sometimes when leaving work I would come out to a lit-up view of London…

Internship Applications: My Story

Mathematics and Statistics

Did I manage to get an Internship?

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!

 

 

Internship Applications: Top Tips

Mathematics and Statistics

How to successfully navigate applications

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

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

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