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PhD Induction Sessions

My next two monthly reports November was a month of more training. This started with the ECS Induction sessions which introduced us to reading groups, gave us the chance to practice making a conference poster and panel sessions with existing PhD students and with PhD supervisors, allowing us to interrogate people with varied perspectives on PhD life. The middle of the month was consumed with preparing for and participating in the FESM Generic Skills Intensive Training course. Continue reading →

Exam Time!

Mayday, Mayday, Mayday You probably know that it is an emergency call and I hope you have only heard it in movies. Actually, it is the best way to describe the current situation! Yes, Exams - the hottest topic in university at the moment. Whether it's classroom, labs, library, halls, cafeteria, SUSU shops, sports centre, Uni-link buses, university road, bus-stops etc (don’t know about toilets), you see people talking about exams. Continue reading →

Network Issues over Christmas

OK, I know it's been absolutely AGES since I've last updated this. Two months and a bit. It's a disgrace, I know and I'm terribly sorry. I've been busy. I was probably busy doing stuff other than work, but nonetheless, faffing is still an activity :P At least we've got loads more bloggers to fill in the gap this time around. I can't believe how much the ECS student blogging community has grown and they're writing some pretty good stuff as well. Continue reading →

Seasons Greetings

Roast turkey. Crackers. Party hats. The Queen’s speech. Watching the Great Escape. These are the main traditions of Christmas Day, and of the Christmas holiday in general. And for the next three years, I can add a large helping of coursework and revision to that list. Although there is only one day of term left as I write this, I still have to hand in one piece of coursework and do a maths exam. Continue reading →

Southampton’s Ranking is going up!

Guys, grab a Times Higher Education Supplement copy. It is hot, interesting and it tells you something very good. Yeah, the University of Southampton is going up. Last year it was ranked 141. Now it is 80! It has taken a huge jump. And that’s a solid proof that the University is doing well. You may not be fond of ranking but I really count on them. Among the many unbiased opinions regarding the prestige of an institute, the ranking is a very good option. Continue reading →

Comedy is the Key to Learning

Unfortunately we are human beings! Learning at ECS is really fun. I love the way teachers use humour to reverse the class attitude, especially when we are bogged down into some horrible details. A couple of weeks ago, our lecturer was talking about WSDL and WS-Addressing. The topic got so complex that I started looking for my coffee to keep my eyes open. Other fellows were looking at the wall-clock and even the door! I was confused with the irony of the topic. These (WSDL etc. Continue reading →

No Santa Outfit Yet, There’s Maths to be Learnt

Christmas is getting nearer, but I can’t don my false beard and Father Christmas outfit just yet. There are still several coursework deadlines to be met before Christmas, along with several more tests in the Maths modules. These add up to a considerable amount of work, and there will not be much relaxing until they are completed. Tickets have gone on sale for the ECS Christmas party, which takes place on the 8th December. Continue reading →

Time is Always Against Us

“Time is always against us”. By Morpheus, in one of my favourite movies - Matrix-Reloaded). The beauty of the quote is – you can easily replace “us” with “students” and still enjoy it ;) I would never be able to understand why we are given such a “short-time” to complete our coursework ( e.g. “just” two weeks to write one-page table, three weeks to prepare a 15-slides presentation and a month to read 20-pages standard specification). Continue reading →

How to Decide Where to Study

System.out.println(“Hello World”); * And that’s how you start your career in software engineering! Among the many good decision that I have made in my life, l would rather say – short life ;) one was to join software engineering and the other was to choose ECS for my MSc! I have an odd habit to delay an important decision unless I have gained all the essential knowledge needed to make that decision. Continue reading →