Blogs

UK prime minister Theresa May has announced a review into tuition fees for UK universities. Taking to the stage at a further education college in Derby, she said that the year-long review will consider all aspects of post-18 education and how young people can be supported to find the right education path that fits them, whether it be university or further education.

The review will focus on four key questions: 

1. How to ensure that tertiary education is accessible to everyone from every background.

I began my first term at the Durham University International Study Centre (DUISC) in September 2017 as part of its first intake of students. I tried to research the DUISC before arriving, however, because it is a new institution, it was difficult to find information beyond their website. Although going blind into a new experience may make it more exciting, many prospective students might prefer to be more informed about an institution before attending.

Although Brussels isn’t commonly known as a popular university city, there is a lot that this small European capital can offer students.

Probably most famous for being the home of the European Union parliament, it is also known for its cobbled streets, chocolate, lace factories and, of course, the grand Market Square were one can sit and enjoy a coffee and admire the gilded buildings. 

I first visited the UK on a vacation as a curious and impressionable 15-year-old in 2013. The rich culture of London, the beautiful highlands of Scotland and the sunny beaches of Wales fascinated me. Having lived most of my life in the South Asian subcontinent and the Middle East, I was enthralled by the liberal ways of British life. I decided then that I wanted to pursue my university education in the UK.

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.