Keep Calm and Go to University

BEFORE FLYING OFF TO MANCHESTER…

…get to know your university, even if you live at the other side of the world.

How do you do it?

You can order brochures/leaflets/guides, read the University’s webpage or connect through social media. UoM has various social media pages, so join them and ask questions. It’s the best way to know more, calm your fears and start getting excited about the future! If you have more specific questions on your degree, get in contact with your department. Even before being accepted by UoM, I had been pestering my department with the silliest questions, but it helped to understand the kind of people you will be dealing with: patient, kind and very friendly.

ONCE YOU’RE IN MANCHESTER…

…and have settled down, start exploring! It’s the best way to beat homesickness. Get as busy as you can by meeting new people, jumping into different experiences and studying a lot! Even if you miss orientation, you can join groups through the Student Union’s page. There will be lots of events both hosted by the University and the City of Manchester. Exploring the city you’re staying in will make it less unfamiliar and less scary, especially at night. Who knows what you will discover (cupcakes in Piccadilly Garden at £1, anyone?)!

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY…

..where art thou when I need you? As a student, we all know how tight our budget is, so here are some places where you can get freebies:

• Business, Management & Finance Fair; Engineering, Science & Technology Fair;Postgraduate Study Fair, and The Law Fair.
• Freebie Websites
• Research Volunteer

And don’t forget that with your student ID, some places will give discounts!

JOBs, CVs and COVER LETTERs

..but where do you start? The first place to visit is the Career Service. It is through them that I got to know about the various job websites in the UK and they’ve got some useful materials, especially when you don’t know what to do after you graduate! Moreover, they have an updated list of vacancies on CareersLink, so you can start job hunting as soon as you get to university.

The second place to visit are the Career Fairs mentioned above. Some jobs do require specific degrees, but I have discovered that many only require a 2:1 in any subject.  The reason is because they look for specific qualities which are measured through thepsychometric tests and assessment centres. It’s really important to practice for these tests as most are timed and you need to work quickly through the questions, especially if your mathematical knowledge has become rusty.

Fairs are also a  good opportunity to meet the HR of the company and to get their business cards. Unfortunately you cannot leave your CV with them, but you will receive all the information you need to leave a digital copy of your CV, especially if you want to apply for a graduate programme (with deadlines before Christmas, so you’d better start applying asap!). And don’t forget to ask a lot of questions, as it is an opportunity to understand the company and their application process better.

The third place to visit is the job centre in Manchester, which have jobs in the public sector, such as in the City Council, public schools, NGOs and apprenticeships.

The last place to visit would be the various social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) as a lot of companies advertise job vacancies through their social media pages.

In then end, remember that even with all the ups-and-downs, it will be worth it! And don’t forget to enjoy your time at the University!

Ciao!

The post above is one I wrote for the UoM Careers Blog: http://manunicareersblog.com/2015/09/04/keep-calm-and-go-to-university-tips-from-international-graduate-renesa/

Useful APPS in Manchester

Hi everyone!

During my stay in Manchester there were several apps which I used continuously, as they were useful for my everyday life.

Here they are:

1. Airplane mode: with this switched on, you can sneakily take pictures without switching your phone off. 
2. Calculator: to add up all of my shopping and see if I went over my budget.
3. Currency: very useful. I used to check euros vs pounds. If the product was too expensive in euros, I wouldn't buy it. An effective way to not waste money. 
4. Calendar: not only was it useful to keep all my classes and events organized, but it got rid the use of a 'planner',  which wasn't convenient in rainy Manchester. 
5. Dream Diary: to not over think on nightmares. 
6. Flashlight: useful during winter, when the days are shorter and you get home late due to classes. Or to find the matching sock early in the morning without having to switch on the light.
7. Office: you can start the layout of your paper in the bus.
8. Adobe: no need to bring heavy books in class when you can read it in PDF version.
9. Shopping List: As the app's tile says. 
10. Weather View: you need to know in advance if you need to wear rainboots or not. Although the chance that it will rain is always high. 

I hope this helps! What app did you find useful to study abroad?

To Graduate or not to Graduate?

(First of all, let me clarify that this post is not about getting or not getting your degree. It is about whether or not attending the graduation ceremony is worth it.)

Graduation time is here again and it's already been one year since my graduation. Truth be told, I still do not regret not attending my graduation ceremony. Why? Read on...

For my undergraduate ceremony, there was no doubt I would attend it. As we were a small university, I got to know most of the student body, both my seniors and my juniors. At the end of the three years, the students, professors and staff felt like a second family, so graduating amongst all those people who have supported me throughout all those years, was exciting and emotional. It was a special day and we were made to feel special.

Instead for my Master degree, I decided not to attend it. Why? First of all, in less than a year, even if I attended all of the social events and parties, would I have been able to find a friend whom I could trust? Meh. I did get to meet a few amount of people, but that doesn't mean we became close friends. So there wasn't any strong attachment towards my fellow classmates and wanting to graduate together. We were in the same stormy sea but not on the same boat. Second,  I don't understand why I had to pay £40 outside my tuition for a black gown and a cardboard hat. And that's only for renting it for one hour. If I were to buy it for keepsakes, it would have been around £100. Third, the ceremony was so short due to other departments' ceremonies being all squeezed in two weeks, thus you had to be very quick with the shaking of the hand and grabbing your degree. I've seen the recording of my department's ceremony and there wasn't enough time to savour the moment.

On the other hand, there is no doubt that attending a graduation ceremony is exciting and nostalgic. It's exciting to hear one's name in front of a huge crowd, shaking the Dean's hand and flipping the tassel from right to left. It's a proud moment as after all those months of hard work and sleepless nights have now come to fruition. It's nostalgic, as from that day onwards you will not see your friends and professors everyday. It is also the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new one.

So should you attend your graduation ceremony? If it is possible, attend at least one. Preferably one where all your friends and family are gathered, so you can reminiscence through all the good memories and snap lots of pictures.

Congratulations to all the graduates!!

Difference between UK & US higher education

Hi everyone!

Today I am going to talk about the differences I found in a UK university compared to a US one. Having done a BA in an American institution, I feel there were several differences between the two types of education.

The first one was: There is more freedom of choice in an US system than in an UK one. By this, I mean that the UK education has core courses which have to be taken in a certain semester whereas in the US, you can choose when to take them. It does not matter if you don't take one core course in the first semester, as you will still need extra credits to graduate.

The second one is: You can have double majors/minors in an US system whereas in the UK you are stuck with one major. For me this was a disappointment, as I enjoyed having the flexibility of exploring other departments alongside my major. It also gave me time to realise that I wanted to do an Economics concentration one year before graduating, which gave me a chance to add a Minor to my degree.  Also, it gave me the opportunity to be able to apply for a wide range of jobs as I had developed additional skills outside my major (such as public speaking, web design, literature, etc).

The third one: Exam scores are cumulative in an US system instead the UK system depends hugely on the final exam/paper. I found that a cumulative system is more fair instead of relying only or mostly on the final exam/paper. In case one paper/test goes badly, there is always the next one which could help a student pass the course. Instead, having only one exam/paper at the end of a semester, is not enough to show the professor what you are capable of. I have also noticed that each professor wants something different from a paper. Yes, the way to write an essay is the same worldwide, but the content and how you present it, varies from person to person. Thus, how and what you show your argument may not be what the professor is looking for.

The fourth: UK system has lectures and US system has more small discussion groups. Both systems have lectures, but I have realised that the US encourages discussion in class frequently. This is also a way to help shy students to get the 10% (or more) of participation score and keep up with the weekly readings (it also puts the knowledge read in a book to be added in the discussions). The US system focuses a lot on the student experience and academic growth. More importantly, the students get to have a personal engagement with the professor, which helps with their future recommendations, as the professor gets to know the student as well. In the UK system, lectures are usually followed by seminars, but mostly it focuses on independent studying. There are small discussion groups called tutorials, but they are very few which limits the amount of discussion time between professor-student and the amount of topics to be discussed. Also, the student is supposed to do the weekly readings by him/herself and acquire knowledge for the final paper/exam. Instead, in the US system, the various in-class discussions, group projects, presentations and papers, all build up to the final exam/paper.

To conclude, yes, I am biased towards the US system. I have found that it gave me the opportunity to grow both personally and academically. I have enjoyed learning from other departments, students and professors. Of course, it must be taken into consideration that the American institution I have attended was very small compared to the big Ivy League ones. Maybe smaller UK institutions are very similar to the US ones, as they can focus more on the students. Maybe, Master courses in the US are the same as the UK. This has been based more on my experience, but I would recommend anyone who can, to attend a day in their chosen universities to see how they teach.

Remember, just because a university is world-renowned, it does not mean that it has a good education. Sometimes, only certain departments are renowned in those institutions, not all of them. Which means that some departments have more funds to improve their building. Also, not everyone who becomes a professor can teach. 

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education" - Albert Einstein 

Hi Everyone!

So today's post is going to be a list of low flight cost companies in Europe. Here they are!

Ryanair
Easyjet
Jet2
Lufthansa
JetAir
Vueling
Monarch
SAS

National Airlines:
Norwegian
Luxair
KLM
Iberia
Germanwings
Brussels
British
Austrian
Alitalia
Air France
Air Berlin

Have a good flight!

Job hunting websites in the UK

Today's blog is going to be about the job-seeking websites in the UK.

The ones I have registered to are:

• Guardian Jobs
• Rate my Placement
• Graduate jobs
• EuroGraduate
• Total jobs
• Prospects
• Target jobs
• Yougov
• Student gems

The good thing about subscribing is that they keep you updated on any new job openings/graduate program/career fair from various companies.
The bad thing is that it will be annoying checking the daily e-mails.

Good luck on the job hunting!

One of the first things I did when I started my MSc was attending Fairs and joining groups.

 The groups I joined were:

• Islamic Society
• Bangladesh Society
• Italian Society
• Manchester University Comic Collective (MUCC)
• Gospel Choir
• Yoga & Living Well Society
• Japan Animation Society

Good thing they were free and I did not have obligatory participation, as I only attended one session of the MUCC.

My main reason for not participating was either the meetings ended too late at night or it clashed with my lectures (I would also have them during lunch hour). If the societies updated their meeting hours in their page ( I am referring to the one under the Student Union), I would not have sent my request to join them. Even so, it is a good idea to participate actively, as you are meeting new people with similar interests and different backgrounds.

  Instead the Fairs I attended were:

• Ethnic Diversity Fair
• Business Fair
• Postgrad Fair

I highly recommend to attend these Fairs (or any other Fairs) as they have so many freebies! The most useful ones are pens (I have 3 mugfulls of pens), notebooks and bags! Other gadgets include magnets, bookmarks, pencils, highlighters, stress balls, keyrings, pendrives, t-shirts, sweets, chocolates and much, much more! Oh, and of course, information booklets on the companies/universities.
Fairs are the best places for poor students to stack-up on school materials, as they will last one year and you saved money :)