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University of Southampton Life, Page 21

IET Ambition and Achievement Awards

Money is a major issue when it comes to university, but there are opportunities available to get support from companies and other organisations. I applied for a scholarship from the IET which initially entailed copious form-filling and writing many UCAS-style personal statements. After a few months I was fortunate to find I was one of the 20 selected to attend interview from an initial batch of around 400. The interview was tough but I was happy with how it went. Iā€™d just have to wait and see. Continue reading →

Freshers Week at Southampton

Part 1 I've been here for about 5 weeks now, it doesn't feel like it though... but then again time in University seems to work completely differently from the rest of the world. It feels like I've been here for no time at all, and yet freshers week seems years ago. The first thing I noticed when I started here was how much free time you have. And yet even with all this free time, I always seem to run out, every time I start doing something I always end up doing it for hours on end. Continue reading →

Masters, What an Intimidating Word

Masters, what an intimidating word. I mean He-man was a Master of the Universe and here am I, trying to be a ā€˜Masterā€™ too. Honestly speaking I am still trying to come to grips with what that means, Masters, where do I fit in within the overall scheme of things. Wait, I should probably introduce myself, Iā€™m Aaron and I will be bombarding you with randomness for the remainder of the year. Anyway, back to ramble number 1. Continue reading →

Careers, Mountbatten and Freebies!

Iā€™ve just experienced firsthand how valued ECS students really are. I visited the Universityā€™s IT, Science and Engineering Careers Fair and you only have to say youā€™re studying Electroā€¦ - and theyā€™re falling over themselves to promote their particular companies and careers options. They then all asked what year I was in and I somewhat sheepishly replied, ā€œFirstā€, assuming that they would no longer be interested, but I was wrong. Continue reading →

First Thoughts about University of Southampton

#1 ā€“ First Thoughts Wow. Iā€™m actually here. I donā€™t really know when it hit me; it seems to have been kind of gradual. But Iā€™m actually at Southampton University, learning again, after a year out in the Real World. Itā€™s quite a surreal experience, but to tell the truth I absolutely love it. The place, the people, the course, I donā€™t know if itā€™s something in the water but everything here just seems incredible. Continue reading →

Im Finally a University Student

Hello, world! (or should that be System.out.println("Hello, world!");) It's only in writing this blog, that it's finally hit me that I'm a university student!? I know this may seem strange.. I've shopped for myself and cooked for myself, done my own laundry, gone to lectures, done lab work.. The list goes on, but still, it's only now that I've realized that I'm a real university student. Continue reading →

New Mature Student – Part II

Part 2 As expected, the work has already started to flow in. The mathematics module is self-taught and frequently tested. Most of the subject matter will be familiar, but even so it takes time to complete the exercises provided. As knowledge of programming varies considerably between various students in part I, ECS-speak for the first year, all levels of ability are catered for. Continue reading →

New Mature Student

Part 1 Hot coffee, cool orange juice and a freshly baked baguette at the ready. Maybe its not most people's idea of a Sunday breakfast for a student, but it is not expensive and it gives time for a moment of reflection as the clouds have began to settle after a seemly hectic two weeks since the beginning of term. Continue reading →

JumpStart!

JumpStart! Have I only been here two weeks?! Wow. I feel like Iā€™ve been here forever ā€“ but in a good way. A very good way. Like most people, I arrived here amidst a confusing concoction of excitement and anxiousness, but I am amazed how quickly we have all settled in and what an amazing time I have had. Fresherā€™s week was extremely hectic and very fun. I met so many new people and forgotten oh so many names ā€“ but then thatā€™s half the fun really. Continue reading →

What I Did This Summer: Part I

There was a long period over the summer where I didn't write a blog entry, and it all stems from what I spoke about in my June entry: my 9-month report! What happened was that I worked fairly heavily on it during June to get it completed for the end of the month. During this time my supervisor, Hugh, was off sick for a while, though from my perspective this let me knuckle down and really get some writing done. Continue reading →