The option term is going by at light speed, which means that it is nearly thesis time. And while the course conveners have been quick to tell us that we have plenty of time to sort out projects and not to get too stressed out, I have, in fact, been stressing out about it. In particular, the process of choosing a project idea has been intensely frustrating for me. I would describe it as running on a sort of hamster wheel that cycles through several stages. (more…)
When I’m not doing problem sheets, or writing lab reports, or reading ‘recommended reading’ so dense with acronyms I just skip entire paragraphs, I try to relax.
Of course, working out regularly and going to Taekwondo really helps in this regard. But sometimes you just feel like it’s become a routine. A routine where being 2+ weeks behind on problem sheets and taking longer then you estimated to complete anything is the routine.
Ergo, it’s great to break that routine. Recently, RCSU – the science subjects union, organised a trip to Urban Axe Throwing. I don’t know how they know these people exist, but it’s fantastic that they put these things together, particularly since as a teetotal I don’t go to socials at clubs or bars.
The ease to learn to throw surprised me some,
One can in but a single session learn.
With only four attempts my axe did stick.
A team at first, we cheer as others learnt.
Then man on man a competition starts.
To each to choose a stratagem
Over the head, two handed throw, or
Upon one’s side to lift and toss
Lest I did not do so well when pitted
In such a way. Standing close a pace too near
My axe, it bounced, again, again, every time
under-rotated
A single step, it made all the difference
Do I resent my loss? The fun that exceeded by far.
The opportunity to talk to other older students on the physics course was also appreciated, giving me a better impression of what is to come in the months ahead.
Events like this are also heavily subsidised by the university’s student union, which is unbeatable when it comes to prices. There’s hundreds of opportunities you only get so cheaply as a student. These are also particularly easy to get involved in, as unlike societies, there is no sense of needing to commit.
Many of you are aware that since Thursday, the 20th of February 2020, around 50,000 lecturers, technicians, librarians and other academic and support staff at 74 universities are taking part in a total of 14 days of strike action, staggered through February and March, which will potentially affect about 1.2 million students through lost lectures and tutorials. The inclusion of Imperial College London came after the second round of ballet, where a majority of the staff voted for strike action due to pension and pay-related issues. The strike action is due to last till the 13th of March, with a gradually increasing number of strike days each week.
According to the UCU, excessive workload, pay, a 15% gender pay gap, increased casualization and changes to pensions for staff in the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), where members are being asked to pay 9.6% in pension contributions, up from 8%, are the main reasons for the strike action. For those of you who are interested, a much more readable, well-researched, comprehensive and well-written article has been written in the Guardian, shared by my mathematics professor to the whole cohort within the EEE department. Furthermore, another useful, informative poster I found was given to me at one of the picket lines at the entrance of the college.
Within the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), there are quite a few staff members who are on strike. For me, the modules concerned are Mathematics and Programming, in which lectures have been canceled due to the respective professors who are striking, whereas the rest of my modules (Analysis and Design of Circuits, Digital Electronics, and Computer Architecture) remain unaffected. Laboratories and other college facilities are still open and functioning, and as a result, the department seems to be in routine operation.
The Drawbacks:
The Benefits:
The path ahead:
It now seems that the UCU has now met Universities UK for further talks on USS, in what appears to be reassuring that most employers have changed their position since our last dispute over USS. They are now willing to agree with the demands of the staff on a range of issues. These talks are a result of the ongoing strike action, and it has come to notice that the employers do not want to have to deal with 14 days of strikes. So hopefully, the strikes might end earlier than planned!
Cadaveric dissection is becoming obsolete among medical schools. It used to feel like a rite of passage but as part of the curriculum update at Imperial, 1st year students solely use prosections for their anatomy learning.
Whether you have seen a dead body before or not, it seldom prepares you to what you will see in the dissection room (DR). Over the last four terms of medical school, we dissected the entire human body so I decided to write a free-form reflection on my experience emotionally.
The reactions from students in the first session ranged from being absolutely fine to fainting. The staff members were understanding and supportive. I never manged to get used to the strong chemical smell of the bodies and the room. It was the first thing I noticed. It is the first thing that came to my mind when I decided to write this. Many people say it makes you hungry but I never experienced that. Even after 10+ sessions in the DR, I still feel mildly uneasy and overwhelmed when I’m there.
Everyone inevitably grew desensitised to the fact that we were dissecting human bodies. The more times you cut, the more used you became to the motions. In fairness, it wasn’t burdensome. The faces were covered at all times unless we were learning about the head. We were provided with no information about the person’s life. I always felt that there was an unspoken rule in the DR to try to dehumanise the cadavers in order to cope. However, it was imperative that we acted respectively and professionally in the DR. We were given an immerse privilege by the people who donated their bodies to help our medical education. We owe them and their families that utmost respect and gratitude.
I expected the bodies to feel really cold to touch. They weren’t. The preservation process had rendered them less human like than we were anticipating. Yet, there were few vestiges of human-ness that were ample to remind us that each cadaver was once a person who had a family. It was an eye-opening experience to the necessity of emotional detachment in medicine. It was something that we had to actively work on.
This experience was incredible. I saw and held human organs. It was formative academically and professionally. This account is not how every student will experience dissection. Those were only some of the thoughts I had throughout the process. I hope you enjoy reading it :).
When you’re a student at Imperial, you don’t have to stick just to classes and coursework. You can do many extracurricular activities by joining one of over 300 clubs and societies. As a space enthusiast, I’ve decided to get involved in the Space Society this year.
More specifically, I’ve joined the CubeSat team which meets every Monday evening. Our aim is to make a satellite (for the UKSEDS Satellite Design Competition) which studies a hostile lunar-like environment. I’m currently in the Sensors & Data Handling group responsible for choosing, programming and obtaining meaningful data from sensors.
Here’s what we’ve done so far…
Huxley Building is on the South Kensington campus and is the main building for computing students. Having been coming to Huxley every day for over a year now, I know by heart how to navigate through the most important points there. However, there are some rooms in the restricted lab area (which I should be most familiar with!) I haven’t really noticed or used until recently and are very useful, either for working or well-being. These are my subjective hidden gems in Huxley.
Design week, the infamous week that we’ve all been hearing about since the start of the year. For those of you who do not know what Design Week is, it’s essentially a whole week dedicated to the Design and Manufacture module. In one week, all teams will have to design and complete a product for one of the 3 given problems. Yeah it’s crazy. Previously all design projects span for the term but now we will be doing all that in within one week.
Previously, it’s known to be the week where students compete to see who needs the least sleep but now the department has made significant changes to the structure of the week; having deadlines and tasks to be submitted by the end of each day and it’s godsend. Not only does it eliminate a lot of tension and stress, it still gives us time to get much needed rest (because we’ve all been just grinding on normal weeks), it also creates the feeling like we’re actually in the workforce, being engineers and enjoying the work that we do.
Like I said, there was a task to be submitted and a deadline that comes with it for every single day. It’s therefore crucial to have good time management with all the members and split the workload evenly to get the greatest quality and most work done in the small time frame. Over the whole week, i think that Wednesday as the toughest day as it’s only half-day. The good thing is that it’s only a half day: I get to go back home early to cook and bake because I love being in the kitchen, but the bad thing is that the time we have to complete our daily task was only 3 hours. It was TENSE. Everyone was running around and all the rooms were noisy with all the groups discussing on their work. But by the end of it, all the teams pulled through!
The week ended on Friday, with a presentation on the concourse where all the teams presented their design to a group of assessors that were our tutors and lecturers. It isn’t as tense as everyone thinks it is because everyone was just glad and relieved that the week was over. The best part? There was free drinks and pizza after the presentation for everyone. The department ordered so much pizza that everyone had their own pizza and there were more to spare.
So how did I find the week? I must say I genuinely enjoyed it. I know i can’t speak for everyone because some of my friends found the week really draining and tough but I believe it’s how you make of the week that counts. One important factor that plays is the team synergy. It’s crucial that the whole team runs on good positive energy and good vibes! I’m lucky enough to have an amazing team. Everyone pulled their weight, everyone were responsible and were always ready to help each other out whenever someone needed some help or support. There were always laughter and jokes in our team and I genuinely think that it helped a lot. Not only did we get to know each other better, we diffused the tense energy in the room and made work seem enjoyable. Another perk of design week is that the department feeds us. On Tuesday we had catered lunch and it’s definitely fancier that the catered lunch that we will typically get for events, and another was free pizza on Friday like i previously mentioned. A hectic week but an enjoyable one for sure!
I love coffee. I drink coffee every single day and will probably do for the rest of my life <3. This is why I was beyond excited when I found out about the London Coffee Festival (LCF). I remember buying tickets with my friend last year during a sleep deprivation-induced haze- coursework life :). It ended up being one of the best experiences I have had in London so far.
The LCF takes place in the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane. This year marks its tenth anniversary and it is one of the biggest gatherings for coffee lovers in Europe! It is usually held for 4 or 5 days with public and industry days. You can get a VIP or a standard ticket depending on your budget. The tickets are slightly pricey but if you love coffee enough, they are worth it. I obviously bought a standard ticket for a teatime session (4-8pm) because I was and still am on a student budget.
The Latte Art was mesmerising. We were able to watch baristas create their signature masterpieces live. It was so soothing and calming to witness how each barista started with one drop of milk and gradually created a piece of art.
Many reusable coffee cups manufacturers were at the festival showing off their beautiful and practical designs. The majority of them were selling their products at a discounted rate. I bought my precious coffee cup which I still have and use every day.
I tasted so many coffee samples and coffee-related products; coffee pastes, coffee cakes, coffee ice cream and espresso martinis. They were all free and we could purchase any of them if we liked what we tasted. There was a doughnut wall from which you could just grab a doughnut and eat it. I had more doughnuts than I am willing to admit.
Alongside the cosy atmosphere and the glorious coffee, there was live music in the background throughout the whole session. There was a free photo booth with cute probs but the photos we took are far too embarrassing to be posted on here.
One of the coolest things at the LFC was the huge ball pit in the shape of a coffee mug. I spent the last 30 minutes in there and it was a nice end to the day.
It was a truly unique experience and I am glad I went. If you love coffee or are looking for a cool way to spend your day in London, I would really recommend going this year :).
Taking advantage of the New Year spirit is a great way to self-reflect and regain motivation for what you want in life. My goals last year were,
so how do they tally up this year?
The good news is I’ve subconsciously managed to complete more than half of those goals despite my depression telling me otherwise, showing that we continue to grow as a person every day even when you don’t notice it. However, some of these goals were not realistic, so how could you get better at goal-setting and how does this relate to Imperial?
Throughout my time at Imperial I have been documenting my time through these posts. In my current emotionally fragile state, dreading the idea of leaving the comfort that has become Imperial, I took a trip down memory lane reading over everything I seem to have been a part of at uni. From Netball, wellbeing, MathSoc and the RCSU, I have kept myself fairly busy, with my volunteer roles for the Union taking a forefront in my daily life.
Whilst my time at Imperial hasn’t been all sunshine and smiles, my blog posts largely seem to paint this picture. This is not because I’m trying to “sell” Imperial, but because the stuff I write about is the sanity that has gotten me through the rough times. (I’m not the kind of person to dwell on the bad stuff… or am I?) Like most people at Imperial, my time here has been tainted with periods of anxiety and low mood. A number of aspects can trigger this, from the heavy work loads and high academic standards to social pressures and the general stress of growing up.
But throughout all of the rough times, I have always felt that the work I have done in my Union roles, no matter how time consuming, have made me feel a lot better about myself. I have met some of my best friends through the Union. And what’s more, I find organising events fun, because it means that I’m helping 100s of other people have even more fun and enjoy themselves. The feeling of seeing people at an event who would otherwise be stuck in the study room stressed, all dressed up for a good time just genuinely makes me so happy.
So what happens when volunteering goes wrong, and it starts to make you feel worse about yourself? This is a little bit of how I feel right now. I’m not sure when it started, but it all comes from my biggest regret.
A big part of volunteering is feeling like you’ve made a difference, a positive difference of course. Generally this has been something that has driven me, and encouraged me to do bigger and better things for the societies I work with. Recently I have felt a little limited within my roles, with a feeling for being able to do more. This is not to say that I don’t love the roles I have at the moment.
MathSoc is probably the biggest occupier of my time, brain and heart. I am lucky enough to work with an amazing committee and the sense of community and respect we get from our members is insane and makes it incredibly rewarding!
But within the RCSU, as the Sponsorship and Alumni Officer (and mascot bearer!), it has been quite a different story. Despite enjoying working with the RCSU, and going above and beyond my role, I have not always been welcomed with the warmth and cohesiveness synonymous with working with a well oiled committee. Despite getting a number of events together, my work doesn’t seem to be valued amongst my colleagues, leaving me feeling extremely deflated and questioning whether anyone actually appreciates my help.
Combine this feeling with the fact that I have nearly reached the end of my time volunteering for Imperial College Union and you’re left with a very exhausted Aishy, who doesn’t really know what went wrong. I have no do-over year, no year to run for a bigger position and make a bigger difference next year. No time to do it right. Many of my union friends will be continuing their efforts next year, most moving up into bigger roles where they will have a bigger impact but unfortunately for me, my three years are up and it’s time to move on. (Yes, this is causing serious FOMO)
I am well aware that 10 years from now, when I will hopefully have a steady career and will have moved on, none of this will matter. But right now, for me anyway, it is making me feel pretty down and I wish it wasn’t.
My biggest regret is not running for a bigger union role in my final year at Imperial, i.e. a VP in the RCSU. Seems silly right? But it isn’t, for all of the reasons above. With a bigger role, I would’ve been able to benefit a larger number of people, not experience committee friction for doing work outside of my jurisdiction and would probably feel a lot better about myself.
Volunteering has been the biggest part of my time at Imperial, through all 5 of my union roles, I have met some of my closest friends, had an truly special time and helped make a difference and that is what I will remember when I leave Imperial.
Don’t make the same mistake I made. Get involved now and Stand for a Union position in the upcoming elections!
#icuElections
