Blogs

When starting university, many people are 18, just leaving home for the first time, and comparing their A-level results.

However, I do not fit into any of these categories because I’m 25 and approaching the end of my first term studying specialist sports journalism at the University of Derby.

In the British public’s imagination, Oxbridge is the pinnacle of academia.

There is a belief that Oxbridge is full of rich, white, private schoolers with the brainpower (or amazing general knowledge) of University Challenge contestant Eric Monkman. The media often sensationalises the admissions process, taking questions out of context to make these universities sound unreasonable.

Every year, more and more students choose not to drink alcohol, bucking the stereotype that students spend most of their time drinking.

I personally do not see the point of alcohol. It doesn’t taste very good, in my opinion, and nothing good comes from it. Moreover, it’s very expensive to spend money on drinks as a student.

As​ ​my​ ​first​ ​semester​ ​in​ ​New​ ​York​ ​comes​ ​to​ ​a​ ​close,​ ​I​ ​can’t​ ​say​ ​I’m​ ​not​ ​a​ ​little​ ​bit​ ​excited about​ ​returning​ ​home​ ​for​ ​winter​ break.​ ​As​ ​fun​ ​and​ ​unconventional​ ​as​ ​my​ ​university experience​ ​has​ ​been​ ​so​ ​far,​ I'm eager to return to the normality of Scotland.​ ​The hectic​ ​city​ ​life​ ​​over​ ​the​ ​past​ ​four​ ​months​ ​has​ ​left​ ​me​ ​longing​ ​for​ ​the peacefulness​ ​​of​ ​home.

My name is Fatima Afzal and this is my story of how I became a female engineer in an international environment.

My experience began when I applied to a British petrochemical company for my industrial placement year, as part of my chemical engineering degree at Aston University. Immediately after accepting the offer I started working in one of the facilities in Malaysia. This provided me with a great platform to launch my engineering career.

The international community at Harvard University adds another dimension to the educational experience. The diverse network allows for the views of students to be challenged and debated along a wide range of perspectives.

My name is Reona Matsumoto and, as you might gather from my name, I am Japanese. I usually introduce myself in the following way: “I’m Reona. Yeah, like Rihanna but with an O.”

I was born in Singapore, and grew up mostly in Tokyo, apart from a few years spent in Shanghai because of my father’s job. I have spent most of my life in Asia and this is my first time here in the UK, for my year abroad in London. 

Before starting university, I had been estranged from my parents for nearly five years. However, I did not realise the “technical” term for my family situation until I began to fill out my student finance application.

Because of the situation I was in, applying for finance was difficult and involved sending off various letters and evidence about my living situation. This caused problems as the reasons for my estrangement were different for each parent – my father has never been in my life and my mother passed away when I was 14.

As a graduate of several programmes in the UK I know how much the academic environment can shape the way you feel and behave in those formative years.

My campus universities offered a placid pace of life and a sense of community, while the city counterparts, if isolating at times, offered adventure and diversity. Here I reflect on the different lifestyles I experienced at the two types of institution.

A decade ago, creativity was at the bottom of the top 10 skills wish list but today it is near the top. This growth in demand for creative skills and design skills across what Design Council terms the "design economy" has been revealed through its forthcoming ground-breaking research "Designing a Future Economy: Developing design skills for productivity and innovation".