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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
