Student life

Classes are about to start up again for me over on the Camden campus at the University of Sydney. After a lot of debating, I have decided to stay in my apartment for the first part of the year and maybe move out to Campbelltown, which is closer to the campus, later. One of the things I’ve been thinking about because of this though, is who I am going to hang out with for the next chunk of the semester.

Now that the average student rent is £566 a month and the average maintenance loan from the government comes in at £602 a month, students are left with just £36 of their maintenance loan to cover the rest of their living costs. 

According to findings from the National Student Accommodation Survey, carried out by Save the Student, 44 per cent of students are struggling to keep up with high rents as the maintenance loan is just not enough to cover them. 

My university, King’s College London, sent an email to students about the planned staff strikes on 5 February, but there was very little detail. The email mentioned the University and College Union (UCU) and Universities UK (UUK) without any context and, while references to pensions were made, it failed to explain exactly what the strikes were about.

Case study: fashion students from the University of Manchester and volunteers with the British Heart Foundation

First-year University of Manchester students from the BSc fashion management and BSc fashion buying and merchandising courses have been volunteering in the British Heart Foundation’s Stretford shop for the second year running. 

From 22 February, lecturers across the UK are set to strike against changes to the UK university pension scheme. 

A poll conducted by Times Higher Education and Trendence of 1,556 undergraduate and postgraduate students found that student support for the strikes was evenly split, with 38.4 per cent of respondents in favour and 38.4 per cent opposed. The rest were undecided. 

I was recently invited to return to my old secondary school to talk with current students about what I’m doing with my life now.

The aim of the visit was to help Year 10 students (14-year-olds) make informed decisions about their education, careers and lives beyond school. Alumni from different generations and in various lines of work discussed their experiences: what they did while at school, what they did next, and how they got to where they are today.

“Volunteering at university has improved my well-being a lot and gives me a regular routine beyond studying and time to socialise with people I might not have met otherwise,” Kelly Wing, a linguistics student at the University of Cambridge, says about the benefits she gets from volunteering.

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.