Blogs

I am a Syrian refugee living in the UK and studying at the University of Hertfordshire. My family and I had to leave Syria after I took part in a demonstration for political change. Soldiers knocked on our door and I hid. If they had found me, I would not be alive to write this. Many of the friends and family we had to leave behind are not.

What does it mean to be a feminist? That was the central question posed at the Harvard Women’s Leadership Conference last month. Founded in 1988, the annual conference invites female professionals to address female students at the university.  

China is rapidly becoming a major player in the higher education game if the 2018 Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings are anything to go by.

Universities urge students to develop a clear writing style and this quality is taken into consideration by markers. Yet the academic writing found in journals and books is often dense and wordy at best, and completely undecipherable at worst. As a political theory master’s student, I spend two-thirds of my time plodding through incomprehensible books and journal articles. Just last week, I came across such a complex sentence that I felt compelled to share it with the world.

Passport in hand, in awe of the towering buildings surrounding me, I joined the queue of De Montfort University students awaiting the main event of our trip to New York – a summit led by DMU to launch a new drive to support refugees around the world.

Although the “bomb cyclone” had stopped some of us from attending, those who had made it to New York entered the United Nations building with a sense of optimism – this was the UN and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us.

Drinking has always been a large part of student culture and never is that more true when students study abroad. However, the unlikely pairing of the Erasmus Student Network and alcohol distillery Pernod Ricard is dedicated to changing this image and educating students across Europe about the harmful effects of excessive drinking. 

As a first-year student at Vanderbilt University, I’m ready to take advantage of and enjoy the next four years of my liberal arts education. It’s the first time in our lives that we are pretty much autonomous, and whether you’re trying to decide what you’re going to eat for dinner or what you’re going to major in at university, everything is an exciting opportunity. My day can vary all the time, but this is a rough guideline of what I get up to as a university student in the US. 

At the beginning of my fourth month in London, I would like to reflect on some of the expectations and realities of my exchange. Here’s a breakdown of the expectations I had before coming to London and what the reality has been.

Expectation: The weather being rainy, foggy, and not really much else. 

When applying to study in the US, one of the biggest draws for me was the amount of opportunity that would be available. The connections I have made while at university in New York City have opened doors to many things that I couldn't have expected. 

US universities focus greatly on their alumni, and students are encouraged to stay in touch with their university long after graduating. This has advantages for those of us currently studying, who often have the chance to meet and connect with former students now thriving in various fields.

I have just arrived back in Australia after being home in the US for a few weeks in December and January and have been enjoying the warm, sunny weather. While I was home I basically had two weeks of placement at my local veterinary clinic and two weeks of vacation with my family and friends.