Category: Summer School

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Pre-Arrival Information: Getting From The Airport

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With the first day of the summer school getting closer and closer, we wanted to provide you with a little bit of information on how to get from the airport to King’s College London, using various types of transportation. Don’t worry you can also find this information on our website too. There are a number of airports in London that you may arrive into so please see information on how to travel from each of these…

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London Stansted

London Stansted is a little bit out of London, so is a little trickier to get to and from. From here you can take the Stansted Express straight to Liverpool Street Station, which roughly takes about 45 minutes. You are also able to take coaches from this airport. There are a number of different coach companies that you can book a ticket with, but please be aware that travel times will be longer than a train.

London Gatwick

There are plenty of different options to choose from when arriving into London from Gatwick airport. If you want a train that takes you directly to Victoria Station then the Gatwick Express is the option for you. You are also able to take a normal train (Southern or First Capital Connect) to either Victoria, London Bridge or St Pancras. You can also take a coach from this airport and it is one of the cheapest options.

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London Heathrow

You can take the Piccadilly Line (Dark Blue) of the London Underground from Heathrow Airport all the way into central London. It takes around 45 minutes from and is the cheapest mode of transport from the airport. If you don’t fancy taking a tube you may also book a ticket for the Heathrow Express. It takes only 15 minutes and arrives into Paddington Station. Once here you can take public transport to your accommodation. Another cheap option would be to take a coach from the airport. National Express take you straight from Heathrow to Victoria Coach Station, which is in central London.

London City Airport

London City Airport is actually within London, which makes it very easy to get to King’s from here. You will need to take the DLR (Dockland Light Railway) from this airport into central London. To get to Waterloo from City Airport you will have to take the DLR to Canning Town. At this station swap to the Jubilee Line (Grey) and you will be able to take a tube straight to Waterloo station.

If you have any other questions about transportation from the airport please do contact us at summer@kcl.ac.uk. We look forward to seeing you soon.

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The EU In/Out Referendum

This blog entry takes a critical look at the UK in/out referendum on the European Union, now a mere six weeks away, through the lens of Political Science. Questions about the meaning of security and sovereignty are raised, offering a measured review of expectations and outcomes. The blog shows the breadth of the referendum question and allows the curious mind to glimpse more behind the grinding rhetoric of the opposing campaign sides.

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King’s College London Obstetrics and Gynaecology Summer School

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During the long summer holiday following second year, I had a lot of free time to work with and I wanted to make the most of it, so I applied to the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Summer School. Part of this decision was that I wanted to start exploring what specialties I might consider pursuing later in my career but also because I was anxious about starting clinical medicine and wanted to face my fears head on. I’m glad I did because the programme was a gentle introduction to clinics. I really appreciated the chance to figure out how learn in the clinical environment without the pressure of assessment, sign offs and firm heads to answer to.

The best part of the programme by far was the student mentor I was assigned. Our student mentor was immensely helpful and went above and beyond to make sure we had a productive week. He was with us in clinics and surgeries, offered impromptu teaching sessions and when all these were saturated he even offered himself as a dummy to let us practise venepuncture. The words “role model” sound cliché but watching him confidently manoeuvre his way through the wards gave me the confidence to do the same and assert myself in the clinical environment. I think it’s really important to have role models in clinics and we often think of them as our consultants but the Summer School showed me I have just as much to learn from my near peers.

The course itself was intensive as it was just a week but pitched at just the right level for pre-clinical students. It covered a wide range of clinics; both nurse and consultant-led so we observed the roles played by every member of the team. It was also the first time I ever got to see surgery, which was really exciting. Most importantly, despite St Thomas being a big hospital, all the staff we met were friendly, approachable and eager to involve you wherever you went.

If I had to name just one thing I took away from this experience it is the gratitude I have to be a part of the medical profession. The summer school showed me that the trust patients place in their doctors and midwives is immense and I felt privileged to be present at moments as life changing as childbirth. The team at St Thomas’ were passionate and committed to every one of their patients, no matter how big or small the case. To that end, the Summer School has left me with lessons I will carry with me forever in both my professional and personal life.

 

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Undergraduate Summer School Social Programme

As summer is edging ever nearer we wanted to let you know all about our exciting social programme for students at the Undergraduate Summer School. The Summer Programmes team works with King’s College London Student Union to create a social programme that compliments the academic programme and gives you the chance to explore London and make new friends. Activities will take place on evenings and weekends, meaning once class is finished for the day, you are able to take part in some (or all) of these excellent events.

For each session there will be an ‘Official’ Opening Party and also a Thames Boat Party. Both are great opportunities to make new friends, spend time with your classmates and to chat to staff at KCLSU and the Summer Programmes team.

theatreshowsLondon is home to the West End and is a hub for musical and other theatrical performances. And for this years summer school, students will get the opportunity to see some of the best shows around. For both sessions there are tickets available to see The Lion King. In Session One you will also be able to see Wicked and in Session Two you will have the opportunity to purchase tickers to Aladdin. Tickets are limited so do book early to avoid disappointment!

We also have some brilliant day time activities. In both sessions students are able to spend the day exploring the historical towns of Oxford and Windsor– the Queen’s favourite holiday home. And for Session One only there will be a number of tickets available for the Harry Potter Studio Tour. Here you will spend time admiring the sets featured in the movies, as well as sampling butter beer and riding a broomstick.

wtourWalking around London is by far the best way to see it. And this summer you’ll also be able to take part in a number of walking tours. In the first session students are able to explore the quirky Camden Market and the quaint Notting Hill and Portobello Market. And in the second session you’ll be able to visit the locations used in the Harry Potter movies, as well as a Theatre Land Tour of London.

If you are interested in any of the trips mentioned above and listed on the website please do book your tickets early. There are a limited amount of tickets for some events, so if you really do want to go book as soon as you can. Throughout these events we want to see how much of a great time you’re having, so please do like/follow us and share your pictures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We look forward to seeing you this summer!

 

 

 

 

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My time at the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Summer School

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As a final year medical student I was due to spend Summer 2015 on an elective in Belize. When this fell through at the last minute I ended up doing my elective in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at St Thomas’ Hospital. Following this I was invited to be a mentor in their summer school alongside 5 other final year students.

The summer school took place over five days, with each mentor being assigned four students. On the first day of the summer school we mentors taught the students basic obstetric and gynaecological examinations and skills. The students were then given a timetable for the rest of the week where they would attend clinics and theatre to get an idea of the specialty. In addition to their time spent in the hospital, we asked the students to prepare a very brief presentation on something about the course that they had found particularly interesting. The students presented these to the mentors and course organisers on the final day of the course and we had a small ceremony where they received certificates for their participation.

The course proved to be a valuable experience for both students and mentors. As mentors we got to experience what it feels like to be responsible for a group of colleagues, trying to ensure that they got the best learning experience they could. This wasn’t always easy due to the busy nature of obstetrics and gynaecology, but for the most part we managed to make sure everyone got to experience all areas and had an enjoyable time.

It definitely made me personally appreciate how much work goes into organising our medical course and develop a new respect for the people who do so. For the students, the course gave them an excellent insight into a new specialty, with the chance to practice skills that most don’t get the chance to learn until 4th year and the opportunity to practice their presenting skills which are a big part of medicine.

Overall the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Summer School proved to be one of the things that turned my makeshift elective in the UK into a really enjoyable and worthwhile experience I would highly recommend it to both those interested in being a student or a mentor.

By Isabella Fernandes

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What is great about teaching on the Summer School?

UntitledThe Summer School should be fun. But also achieve interpersonal growth and fire up passion for higher education. Still further, amidst the busy lives of young people, it should bring about such outcomes with speed and panache; most certainly, it should be a substantive variation on information available via Wiki, FB, Twitter, et cetera. So, what is it like to teach faced with such challenges?

I teach Politics and International Relations and my experience has shown that the humanities encourage creativity. I still want students to read without worry they’d be called nerds if they do so also over the summer. A vital tool of Summer School teaching is the practice of the subject. My students partake in daily strategy games, such as negotiations and simulations, like the United Nations Security Council Reform Group; international trade games; smart city building exercises, and the rest.

My own expertise is key to inspiring and supporting creativity. It comes from constantly researching the subject matter of political science. A great enabler of this is seeing students as a lively focus group that literally takes the pulse of the course through their seminal comments and feedback. Because I teach international students in London and then also take Politics and IR ‘on the road’ to India, my students cover between them a substantive portion of the globe and bring together a myriad of views and expectations. Making sense of the world is about acquiring a key skill, which is the ability to separate information from knowledge. One of the most memorable sayings I heard, whilst lecturing in India, was: “Google cannot find your slippers in the Temple” (which in Hindi translates into something like: Google Apni Chappal Mandir Se Nahi Dhoond sakta.) Indeed, my students often find that social media is a phenomenal way to exchange beacons, whilst the Summer School enables the connection of a great series of these to create a whole and gain a different (critical!) understanding of the world altogether.

In my next entry, I will offer a practical example of this, focusing on the forthcoming UK in/out EU referendum, now only weeks away!

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Literature in the City

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It has been six months since studying at the King’s College London Undergraduate Summer School. However, every time I think of my fantastic experience my heart is still filled with pleasure. What I acquired there was not only the learning experience in class, but also living independently in a foreign country. Life in London taught me new ways to express myself, as well as gaining courage to turn my classmates into friends.

The course I studied in King’s was Literature in the City, which focused on reading and discussing the literary materials related to the city of London. In the Chinese-speaking culture I am used to, the tutor would directly and exactly tell students what the writer wants to claim in the literary pieces; however, things were totally different here. What you thought about the reading materials and how to share your own opinions to the classmates were important. We were divided into small groups, trying to reach mutual understandings, convincing our peers and being convinced.

Besides the discussions in the classroom, we had paid many visits to the spots where literary episodes were based on. Including the house Yeats lived in and the enclosed underground tunnels that people lived during Blitz. What’s more, we also took a boat  down to River Thames, the river that exists in almost every narrative of the city, and embracing history and innovation at the same moment. I still remember my tutor, George, a young and amiable scholar who was always analytical and calm in the classroom, became animated when we were travelling down the river.

I have some glorious and unique memories from my stay in King’s, forever printed in my mind: the sunny weekend in Hampstead Heath, loitering in the many museums and cathedrals. The most impressive was my encounter with an old considerate British gentleman in Royal Albert Hall, who helped me kindly with every detail so that I could enjoy a concert.

In the opening event of summer school, the speaker once told us that all of us had the equal chance to build connections with others and make our time during the summer school remarkable. Fortunately I had made the best use of my time during the summer and thankfully I seized the chance to join in with all of the activities, earning myself a brilliant time in London.

Yun Lin, Undergraduate Summer School 2015

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Meet The Team

 

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Hello from the entire Summer Programmes Office! It’s been an exciting few months for us here in London, what with welcoming a number of new team members and receiving your applications to our various summer programmes. So we thought we would introduce ourselves to you all and to let you know, if we had the chance, what Undergraduate Summer School module we would study and why…

“The Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine has a history of nurturing some of history’s best scientific minds. From the discovery of the structure of DNA, vitamins and beta blockers to the pioneering work on end of life care, researchers at Kings have made life changing contributions to the field of Biosciences. This module is a chance to be taught by scientific heroes”.
Dr Sarah Williamson, Director of Summer Programme

“They all sound so wonderful I think it would be so hard to choose – all of them academically intensive, yet challenging and thought provoking. And I love the fact you get to use London as a classroom”.
Ian Fielding, Deputy Director Summer Programmes

“I’m a great fan of TV Crime Dramas like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Silent Witness and Waking the Dead, so it would be great to uncover the fact from the fiction in terms of the real world of forensic science. Studying Forensic Science would also give me an excuse to return to my sartorial heydays of wearing a long white laboratory coat and protective eye goggles on a daily basis. I would also pick the Entrepreneurship module because essentially it is all about creating value and identifying opportunities. The module is very ‘market’ focused and would give participants the chance to identify their entrepreneurial potential, explore their creativity and develop a range of skills and knowledge that could be applied in any professional contexts”.
Michael Bedward MBA FHEA, Teaching Fellow (Short Courses)

“I remember studying Latin at school for seven long years. When I once had the chance to sit in on an Intensive Latin Summer School class during its second week I was amazed by how much vocabulary the students knew and about their cultural insights too. It is hard to thoroughly learn a new language from scratch when you are busy. That’s why I would take the very intensive and well structured Ancient Greek course on the Undergraduate Summer School”.
Dr Alexander Heinz, Academic Convenor Summer Programmes

“I would choose the Consumer Behaviour module because I am fascinated by what motivates people to make purchase decisions, and how technology keeps changing and shaping their behaviour”.
Miriam Menkarius, Senior Marketing Officer Summer Programmes

“I love reading and learning about different aspects of psychology which makes the module, Profiling and Psychology of Terrorism, really interesting to me. I’ve sat in on a couple of these classes and the tutor really knows her stuff, bringing in exciting guest speakers who are inspiring and relevant to this field”.
Laura Carseldine, Summer Programmes Manager

“For me, spending the summer studying plays and visiting theatres would be a dream come true so I would choose Theatrical London.  I think it would be fascinating to learn more about London’s illustrious theatrical history and to build my knowledge of the key plays and cultural spaces that define it.  The close proximity of King’s to London’s theatre district also means there are plenty of opportunities to see the latest productions, from West End shows to fringe theatre events.  Sign me up now!”
Zoe Hamilton, Summer Programmes Manager 

“I would choose the Public Health module as I am fascinated by how health care professionals plan and deliver health services in conflict and non-conflict zones. The current migrant crisis has created places such as the ‘Calais Jungle’ which have no government co-ordinated support infrastructures which are fertile ground for the breakout of epidemics. Public Health professionals are able to put in place simple and basic medical practices that could avoid the spread of disease.”
Fahema Ettoubi, Summer Programmes Officer (Admissions)

“Reading has always been a big part of my life, particularly during my childhood, so the bookworm in me would definitely choose the  Wonderland: 100 Years of Children’s Literature module. The opportunity to study some of my favourite pieces of children’s literature from a historical, political and moral stand point would be extremely captivating and getting to do all this in the heart of London is such a great experience. Something I wish I would have done during my studies'”.
Sage Fitzpatrick, Summer Programmes Officer (Operations, Marketing and Events)

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Our Summer School Experience

Pre Arrival

March is an exciting time of year for the Summer Programmes Team. Spring has finally come to London and we’re receiving lots of great applications to our Undergraduate Summer School.

And just before we begin welcoming a new cohort of students, we thought we would share with you some thoughts past students have had about studying at the King’s College London Summer School…

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“Getting to go behind-the-scenes at the Museum of London in Curating the City has illuminated the process by which curators tell stories through objects. This study of material culture will enhance the way in which I think about texts as objects to be scrupulously analyzed. My tutor was not only kind and relatable, but also passionate about the subject matter and engaging as an instructor…”
Anna Mukama, Summer School 2015

Untitled design 3“I have been involved with King’s Summer School for the past 3 years, doing courses ranging from History of Medicine to Neuroscience. I daresay that I am a veteran in terms of King’s Summer School, and what really kept me coming back were the impeccably planned lessons and the wide range of experience that the lessons bring for me.” Hsiu Yen, Summer School 2013-2015

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“My experiences at King’s Summer School are certainly ones I will never forget, to say the very least. Coming here, I didn’t have many expectations, but I have learned far more than I could’ve ever imagined. I have learned about London, and the UK as a whole, both in and out of the classroom.”
Samantha Birk, Summer School 2013 

 

Untitled design 4“When I was accepted to study International Human Rights Law at King’s College London, I was so humbled because it was an opportunity to study at a world-renowned university and in the centre of a global metropolis in a cohort of other like-minded yet diverse people…I am so grateful to have been a part of this incredible experience. Every day of Summer School has, without a doubt, helped me to grow and pushed me to better myself. ”
Jordan Soresi, Summer School 2015

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“I think if there’s one thing that the King’s Undergraduate Summer School has done for me, it’s broadened my perspectives. The various performances, galleries and historical sites we visited on our city walks provided the perfect backdrop for our learning and really helped me understand my course content on a deeper level… The insight and encouragement I’ve gained from my teachers and other students alike have really been invaluable…”
Lauren Reid, Summer School 2015

And this is just a handful of our happy Summer School students. So if you’re looking to have a memorable summer, studying in the heart of London submit your application to our Undergraduate Summer School now.

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New Staff Member: Sage Fitzpatrick

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Hi everyone, I’m Sage and I’m the new Summer Programmes Officer for the Summer Programmes team.

Spending the summer studying at King’s College London is such an exciting opportunity and is an experience you definitely should be looking forward to. For some of you though it may be the first time you’ve ever travelled abroad and spent an extended time away from home. But don’t worry, I’ve been in your shoes before, so if you have any questions about the summer school, or just general questions about what it is like living in London, please let me know.

As I write the weather in London is being it’s traditionally un-predictable self, but even so I’ve been making the most of the campuses close proximity to Somerset House and central London and spending my lunch breaks exploring. Just a short walk across Waterloo Bridge- which offers stunning views of Big Ben, the London Eye and The Shard, is the Southbank. It has lots of things to see, including the colorful Southbank Skatepark and the Southbank Centre Book Market, which is one of the only outdoor second-hand and book markets in Southern England.

Whilst studying at King’s this summer you’ll use London as a classroom and will get to see the city from an entirely new perspective, which is great fun. And in your spare time you may also want to spend some time visiting some other areas too. I would definitely suggest Brick Lane, which is great for street art, curries and vintage clothing, as well as Camden, which has a number of great markets and lots of interesting places to eat, drink and shop.

If you want to keep up to date with the goings on in London I would recommend checking out the Time Out London website, as well as The Culture Trip. Both can give you some great ideas on things to do and places to visit whilst you are in London.

London really is a great place to live and study and you should all be super excited about the prospect of this. If you haven’t already applied good luck with your applications and for those who already have a confirmed place with us I look forward to meeting you all soon!