Being a part of the King’s College London Summer School was a fantastic opportunity to explore the city of London in it’s academic as well as non-academic sphere. It was an incredible experience which comprised of contemporary learning fused with modern thinking based in a multicultural environment.
The course I picked was Negotiations: Strategy and Skills, which to me was a perfect blend of conflict management, cognitive psychology, behavioral economics and strategic thinking. This amalgamation along with the cultural diversity in the classroom, provided the most unique experiential understanding. Every single day, we negotiated, but explored a different aspect ranging from personal conflicts to organizational to political to ideological and many more. At times it grew into strong arguments and led to fierce debates, each one wanting to voice their own opinion, supporting their individuality, reiterating their beliefs and values. However, this is exactly what made me constantly challenge myself, every day of the summer school I could see myself grow, pushing myself to do better than the previous day.
Apart from the academically rich London, King’s College located in the heart of the city, gave me the chance to explore the culturally rich London as well. I had the opportunity to discover a new restaurant for every meal, a new attraction every day and a new getaway spot every weekend. As I walked across the Thames River to the Strand campus every afternoon, the magnificent London Eye and Big Ben with the trademark red telephone booths greeted me. Apart from this, visiting the historic and scenic places stretching from Oxford University to Windsor to Hyde Park to the Museums and the list just goes on, made the complete experience a lot more enriching.
By meeting and interacting with people across the globe, I was able to expand my personal horizons as it made me a lot more perspective based. In every conversation, there was a persistent intellectual stimulation, allowing me to learn from every person in the summer school. Thus, with all the studying and touring, it also led to holistic development. It was just three weeks, but there was so much to take back from the trip.
The overall journey was incredible, from being strangers to becoming the best of friends. From losing your way in London, to being in love with the city. From just having fun to making memories that will last a lifetime.
Sharmi Sheth, India