Blog posts

Challenge of the week: Strikes

MBBS Medicine

This week I have been challenged by the dispute over junior doctor contracts.

This is a thorny issue, and I am not writing to argue my corner. However, I have been quite challenged by how some of the information has been presented in the press. I know that the newspaper headlines don’t represent the general public, but like many I have been saddened by the ongoing debate.

I was therefore massively encouraged to see members of the public handing out badges, flyers and information outside my placement hospital. They were not there to argue about the issue, but to provide information to fully inform the public of the facts and to show their doctors that they are valued.

CERN

MSCi Physics

Happy 2016! I hope everyone had an interesting and vaguely relaxing break.

I was actually wrong in my last blog to say that nothing particularly interesting would happen before the end of term—I ended up helping out in the Science Museum lates for Tim Peake’s launch. Some people from Astrophysics had a pop-up planetarium and an infrared camera and I entertained (and scienced) the people waiting for it by showing them how to make a spectroscope out of a DVD. (It actually works surprisingly well.)

Two years ago I won an Imperial Essay competition and part of the prize was a trip to CERN.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s Hamlet

Amanda Koh profile

BEng Computing

When I heard mid way through 2014 that Benedict Cumberbatch would be playing Hamlet at the Barbican Theatre, I thought it a dream come true, my favourite Shakespeare play, and an amazing actor (lets be honest I’ve watched 80% of the films he’s in and I died while gibbering about Sherlock and Khan and Hawking and … ok i’ll stop). There was just one, small, totally negligible point of interest… I lived in Sydney, Australia and certainly couldn’t afford to fly all the way to London to see it. In addition to that, I wouldn’t be sure of my acceptance to Imperial College until AFTER tickets went on sale, and if anything was guaranteed to sell out?

#Christmas holiday specials# Trip to Edinburgh!!! (Day 2)

Henry Xu profile

BSc Biological Sciences

After the long night of Hogmanay light torch procession. We got back to our airbnb house. The house itself was fantastic with its prime location at city centre. It was a three-storey house and it used to be wine brewery decades ago.

On the second day, we talked along the Royal mile for the famous Edinburgh castle. But before reaching the castle, we made a short stop on the way to pay a visit to the St. Gile’s Cathedral. The cathedral dates back to 1883 and few well-knowns were buried there including John Knox and James Graham. We looked around, took some pictures, light up some candles, bought some postcards and then left.

I may have really messed up – MONEY MONEY MONEY

Ksenia profile

MSci Physics with a year in Europe

Back to money. Warning: I’m about to go into detail of how much money I have or don’t have and where it comes from. If this seems boring, that’s because it is, but I need to rant about my own stupidity.

Background setting of sorts: As I’ve mentioned at some point already, I receive no bursaries or grants, the minimum student loan and I live in Beit. Complain complain my own fault for choosing expensive accomodatipon weep weep I know. My parents are also not super-rich; they just have a lot on paper and no-one in Student Finance cares how many people your dog eats for or how much debt you have.

#Christmas holiday specials# Trip to Edinburgh!!! (Day 1)

Henry Xu profile

BSc Biological Sciences

So It’s nearly the end of the Christmas holiday. After staying at my room and revising for the whole day (not lying), I’ve decided to do some blogging before sleep…(or it’s because I can’t FALL ASLEEP!!!) I’m gonna write about my trip to Edinburgh over new year. This is my first trip I’ve ever took since I got to UK …and Edinburgh, undoubtedly, has become the furthest north place I’ve ever been. So many ‘firsts’ make this one of the most memorable trips I’ve ever had.

Experience on the British Railway…

I got up really early (6am) to catch the train leaving from King’s cross (7:30am).  

Autumn Term

Franz profile

MEng Biomedical Engineering

Happy new year! And merry belated Christmas!

I hope you had a great time with your friends and family, wherever you are.

It’s just been a few days since the start of the new year and I’m excited to continue my studies here in the Spring term.

But what happened in the Autumn term?

Well, for one thing, I became an Imperial student blogger, which I’m really amped to be. I know I haven’t written as often as the other bloggers (do check their blogs out – they’re great!), but I’ve been busy.

I’m not lying. Seriously…

Alright. To be honest, I could have made some time to write a post or two.

In Which I Share Some Wisdom

Isobel profile

BSc Biology with a year in Europe

There is one week left of the holidays (sorry medics, I know you’ve gone back already….) and I am feeling the stress. If you are studying at Imperial then there is no doubt that you had a stellar academic record before you came here. You got all of the A*s and did all of the extracurriculars and all that jazz, which is great, and you probably thought that university wouldn’t be much different. I don’t want to sound too depressing, there are many people in my year who I really admire for their intelligence and their ability to understand difficult concepts and write nuanced essays and hold down positions on various different committees.

1 Month of Hall Living Later…

Amanda Koh profile

BEng Computing

In the age of social media, being connected is incredibly easy. Not only that, for our generation, its as instinctual as breathing. Conversations between people blend seamlessly from online chat to real life, you can check if your friends are “attending” an event you’re considering, and keep up with their day to day activities by scrolling your newsfeed. In a way, this makes us ‘better’ friends than ever because we’re so in touch with each others lives.

But this intimacy reaches a whole new level, when you realise the person you’re messaging lives two doors down, you saw them just twenty minutes ago and you don’t need Facebook to know they had a 3 hour lecture this morning, ate pasta for lunch and are currently struggling with their maths coursework.

Ethics and Law: more than just an exam

MBBS Medicine

This week the 3rd year medical students sit their first clinical year exam: Ethics and Law, and I was reminded of sitting the same exam a few years ago.

For many studying ethics and law seems a bit strange. The course involves studying ethical issues in medicine from a range of different viewpoints. This can be great at times, with lots of discussion and interaction, but can also be rather challenging as you begin to work through your own viewpoint and why you hold it. At the time I remember this seemed more challenging and exacerbating than anything else as I desperately tried to justify my viewpoint on a range of hot topics.

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