King’s is working with some of the most prestigious British and international institutions to bring you King’s Summer Weekends for the intellectually curious. This stimulating and informative bite-size course is designed to fit around your personal and professional commitments.
Tracing your family tree and learning more about your ancestors has become a national passion, but many family historians soon find that internet research gives limited results, with simple lists of names and dates often being all that is available.
This course is for everyone who wants to expand their research into their family tree. It combines instruction on practical researching techniques with academic insight into how key historic events shape stories across generations. It is designed to help participants better read the information they discover, expand their investigation beyond the internet to include historical archives and guide them in their interpretation of details such as professions and social status to make their own journeys into their family’s history as rewarding and revealing as possible.
The registration deadline is 20 July 2018. For more information about the programme, please visit our webpage. Alternatively follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for up to date information about the Summer Programmes Team.
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.
Leaders aren’t born; they are made. The Art of Leadership provided students with an exciting, hands-on approach to leading. It interactively engaged students to develop their leadership potential with innovative lessons and challenges.
Team building exercise.
During lectures, the course explored core leadership concepts such as the distinction between leadership and authority, adaptive challenge/work, as well as transactional and transformational leadership. The most stimulating part, however, was applying critical leadership skills, including problem solving and decision-making, emotional intelligence, communication, and strategic action to real world situations. The students had to be prepared for challenges at any moment!
For instance, they were thrown into hot water and tasked to design and mobilize teams. They learned how to advance their interests strategically and to utilize networks. And they received a glimpse into manifold challenges and the dangers of leading.
The course focused on business leadership and beyond, drawing on case studies from politics, sports, the military, and the non-profit sector. Class interactions were also an integral and memorable part of the programme.
R.H. John Gummer Lord Deben addressing the class.
These interactions often took the students outside the classroom. We visited the Churchill War Rooms and Britain’s retail giant Marks & Spencer. Moreover, we welcomed several guests to the course who openly shared their leadership experiences and passed on their wisdom of what has and hasn’t worked for them.
Leading consists of more than just delivering results. As such, we also allocated substantial time for students to reflect on their personal motivation, drives, abilities, and skills.
After three weeks in the course, the students agreed they were departing with useful skills for their academic and professional future and a clearer picture of how to lead. Furthermore, they were instilled with a better understanding about themselves and who they aspire to be.
The course provides insights into international politics in general (main mechanisms, theories and concepts) and into the field of international energy politics in particular. We will study a wide variety of actors involved in energy policy-making: states (energy importers, energy exporters and transit states), intergovernmental organisations, industry, NGOs; the formal and informal connections between these actors and the outcome of their interaction on the global stage. We will engage with issues such as energy security, the geopolitics of energy, conflict over natural resources, the curse of natural resources in resource rich developing countries, as well as the politics of climate change and their implications for global energy policy.
Renewable Energy Solar Panels in Tokelau; Copyright: United Nations Photo/ Ariane Rummery
The course includes lectures on cutting-edge topics and interactive seminars. During this course, learning will take place in a very direct and hands on manner. You will meet with representatives of the corporate, non-profit and governmental energy sector and get the chance to ask them questions about their work and their expertise areas. The schedule includes a visit to an energy production facility, as well as a dynamic two-day simulation of political climate change negotiations. This will allow you to place yourselves in the shoes of top policy makers and attempt to solve some of the biggest challenges of our time: increasing pollution, energy resources scarcity and climate change.
UN Climate Change Conference in Doha; Copyright: United Nations Photo/ Mark Garten
London has been at the centre of a web of global espionage for over 100 years. The work of British officers and agents in every corner of the globe helped build the British Empire, and later supported the soldiers, sailors and airmen who fought in the World Wars. Throughout the last century the secret services struggled against terrorists at home, and international competitors abroad. This mission continues today.
Most of those who risked life and limb in the spying game did so in secret, but on this course we will cast a light on their activities. Driven by a variety of lectures, seminars, and exercises, students on this course will be immersed in the secret world.
Based a short walk alongside the river Thames from the iconic headquarters of MI6, King’s College is a world leader in the study of intelligence in war and peace. Its scholars have pushed the boundaries of the subject, writing ground-breaking books on British, US, and Chinese spy agencies, on intelligence and terror, on cyber-spying and cyber-war, and on privacy in the digital age.
Together, on this course, we will observe how intelligence and spying has developed globally over the past century and beyond; we will examine how it is used and abused by politicians, from Churchill to Obama; we will question how it is used in combating the terrorist threat; and we will discuss the implication of developments in spying and intelligence for each of us in the future.
We will open locked-doors, and gaze inside the top-secret world. Doing so, and asking the difficult questions, has never been more important; be part of the debate at King’s College London Summer School 2015.
Hello I’m Zoe, one of the summer programmes managers here at King’s and I want to inform students about our Pre-University programme.
The King’s College London Pre-University Summer School is a unique academic and social two week residential programme based in the very heart of London. It is open to independent high-achieving students who are enrolled within their final two years at high school and therefore are normally between the ages of 16 and 18.
The programme offers students the chance to experience university life at a world class institution, to focus on plans for university and to build new friendships with students from around the world. It also provides the opportunity for students to explore London and to use it as a classroom, with course specific excursions making the most of our central location.
In 2015 the Pre-University Summer School will offer five academic courses: Global Health, Global Politics, International Management, International Law and World History: London & The British Empire. All courses are taught by King’s College London Summer School academic staff and you can find out more about each individual course on our website.
The programme fee includes a number of exciting excursions and activities to take advantage of King’s College’s central location. In previous years students have enjoyed a trip to a West End theatre, unique walking tours, a live cabaret and circus evening and a boat party on the Thames. These excursions allow students to explore all that the capital has to offer but also provide opportunities to socialise with their fellow students outside of the classroom.
The social programme also includes a weekend spent outside of London, giving students the chance to experience another part of the country and to build relationships with their peers. In 2015 we will be heading to the ‘heart of England’ and visiting Stratford upon Avon (Shakespeare’s birthplace) and the historic cities of Bath, Oxford and Windsor.
Accommodation for the programme is guaranteed at the College’s Stamford Street Apartments. Located in the heart of Waterloo, these apartments are within short walking distance to our Strand and Waterloo campuses, where Pre-University teaching takes place, and minutes away from London’s top attractions. More information about accommodation can be found on our website. All meals are provided for students on the residential programme and are included in the programme fee.
Throughout their time on the programme, students will be fully supported by a team of trained and experienced Pre-University Summer School staff including a team of Pre-University Student Ambassadors. Ambassadors are current King’s students specially selected to support the students and help them make their stay as comfortable and safe as possible.
Guidelines for the application process can be found on our website.
“Sunshine reflecting on the beauties of London that have been hidden over the long cold winter, students from all over the world still crawling at the café, debating the last lecture they just had, and that rigorous, yet friendly, unusual academic atmosphere.
This is all what sums up my experience at the Summer School module on Media, Gender & Culture at King’s: one of my best formative experiences so far. Not only was the course itself a great opportunity to further focus on my personal interests and explore disciplines that were not offered by King’s during the first year, but it was also a fantastic way to get to know people from different parts of the world in a setting that is very unlike the regular King’s classes. Our professor was extremely engaging, the content she offered was of exquisite quality and the balance between theory and practice was just about right, demonstrating that academy and activism can, or perhaps should, mix together with brilliant outcomes. However, thanks to the variety of modules offered at King’s Summer School, students with an interest in more theoretical subjects are not let down and are able to choose a course that matches their specific preferences.
The teaching dynamic was also different to regular King’s classes: during the intensive 3-week period, with more in-class hours than any of my other academic modules, we were provided with the opportunity to truly concentrate on one topic and immerse ourselves into the relevant issues. Also, in case you have excess time, Summer School organizes various events and trips which means that you will have the opportunity to relax and strengthen the relationship with your coursemates. Most courses even include trips to different London locations which will enable you to visit spots of the city you perhaps haven’t had the time or the chance to see during the busy academic year.
Personally the Summer School has been one of the experiences I’ve had since I arrived at King’s: I gained a deeper knowledge of what I intend to do after my degree, my grades have gone up considerably after the course thanks to the close teacher-student relationship we all experienced, and I became more aware of social problems both within Britain and Europe as well as in places such as Taiwan, India and Russia. It is a perfect fit for Liberal Arts students, and I would highly recommend give it a shot and take on a module there … if you just have the time!”
Applying to an academic course can sometimes feel like an intimidating process, but the reality is far from that. Applying to our Summer School is a really simple process that takes just a few steps.
You can read a guide on how to apply for our Summer School on our website, but below are some of the most common questions we get asked in the office.
Why do I need to make a first and second choice when picking my course? Can I only pick one?
Of course we wish all the courses that we offer to our students would run each summer. However all courses need to attract a minimum number of students in order to run, and this combined with last minute events can cause courses to be cancelled. When you apply to our Summer School you are always asked to chose a first and second choice course, in case your first choice does not run.This means that when you are accepted by the admission panel, you are accepted onto the Summer School itself and not a particular course.
We confirm all courses running by the end of May, and if your first choice course does not run, you will automatically be allocated your second choice. You will have a period to make a decision on whether you want to leave the programme and be refunded – full details and dates are in our Terms and Conditions – or continue on with your second choice.
Why do I need an English language certificate?
If your first language is not English and you do not attend an English speaking university, you will need to provide us with proof of your language ability. All our courses are intensive and taught in English, and are not designed to act as substituent English language classes. The certificates we accept can be found here on our website. If you have another English language certificate that you feel proves your ability, please get in contact with us.
What kind of transcript do you expect?
Your most recent available transcript. You should speak to your home university about providing you with this. If the most recent transcript you have dates from the previous academic year then that is fine. If you are at all worried, we recommend attaching your high school grades if possible.
What should I write in my motivational statement?
Your motivational statement does not need to be very long. We are looking for the reasons why you are applying, what you think you will bring to the course and what you wish to get out of the experience. Please also include any other information you feel is important for us to know.
What else should I know?
Once you submit your application you need to pay a nonrefundable application fee. You can pay your fee using a credit or debit card. Once you make the payment, please don’t click away from the page or refresh as this can block the payment. If you do experience any issue with the payment, contact your bank to confirm they are allowing the payment before contacting us.
You will receive an answer regarding your application within 7 working days of submitting your application.
Don’t be tempted to apply without all your documents. Applications missing documents won’t be processed.
If your file is too large to upload, please try resizing it before attaching. Alternatively you can email this to us.
And finally remember if you have any questions, we are always here to help!
It’s that time of year again! Applications are open for the King’s College London Summer School. We hope that this blog will once again be a source of extra information for all potential students, and give you a better insight into why you should come to King’s, and what you will get out of your time here.
Why come to King’s for Summer School?
There are many reasons why we think you should join us this summer. Not only do we offer one of the largest varieties of summer courses in the UK, we are also one of the top 20 universities in the world* and based right in the heart of London, a truly global and vibrant city.
Our Summer School is different because we want your experience with us to be a total one, not limited just to the classroom. On top of your studies with wonderful tutors in small seminars, you will be offered the chance to experience a full social programme, and will get to explore London as part of your course and as a real Londoner. We hope the three weeks you spend with us will be some of the best of your life, and our team aims to help you as much as possible.
How do I find out more?
Well you can start with this blog! Here you can read student profiles, interviews with tutors and Summer School staff. We will be updating the blog weekly with lots of new content so please keep checking in!
Our website is where our most up-to-date news can be found. Details on courses, accommodation and more can be found here. We recommend reading all this information thoroughly before applying.
‘Hi! My name is Nuralyah Razali and I am a year 3 bio-medical undergraduate from the National University of Singapore. A year ago, my family and I visited London for the Queen Diamond Jubilee. My parents wanted to give me an opportunity to see and experience the everyday life in the UK in hopes that I would like to study here in the future.
Fast forward to the following year, I came across the Kings College Summer School website by chance and found out that King’s is a partner school with my university, the National University of Singapore. I’ve always had plans to pursue a post-graduate medical degree in the UK and I felt that King’s offered a really good programme which I hope to apply to in a few year’s time. King’s is not only a highly respected and reputable university for bio-medical research, but it is also the largest healthcare education center in Europe.
Coming from a science background, I wanted to study something that was related to my course of study but also had a historical aspect because I love reading about medieval medical history. That is why I decided to apply for the History of Medicine course at King’s. I believe that learning the history itself will provide me insight on how to better the lives of others through future medicine and clinical research, which I hope to be part of in the near future.
Nuralyah outside Guy’s Hospital
Imagine people running against you, the wind blowing with temperature of 18 degrees every morning, yet you get to feel the comfort of the sun rays while enjoying the walk down to school! On the left side is the panoramic view of Westminster, the London Eye, Big Ben and the River Thames. On the right, you get to see the Southbank, where locals do street performances like dancing, playing the guitar and even selling potted plants in small cute mini gardens by the river.
Small vans selling the finest Danish ice cream, Belgium waffles and hot dogs. Little kids playing bubbles while their parents have Twinning tea for brunch at the cafes: these are the many sights that I get to see while walking to school.
Scenes on Southbank
On the first day of school, we made our way through crowds of Summer School students from over 90 universities from around the world, got our timetables and headed to the auditorium for a welcome speech. I felt butterflies in my tummy the whole time, especially the part when the speaker welcomed ‘students from partnering universities: National University of Singapore’. I was about to stand up and wave for a standing ovation! We met Dr. Anna who was our professor for History of Medicine, along with the smallest group of students in a course – 6 of us to be exact. We had classmates from the USA, Bulgaria and Saudi Arabia, and amongst them were PHD students in Philosophy and History of Medicine and undergraduate in medical or pre-med school.
History of Medicine class 2013
The first session was really mind opening for a science student like myself in the sense that we get to read Shakespeare and were allowed to express our ideas on pictures of early Modern Europe-dating back to the 16th century. What I found most peculiar personally is that whatever explanation or reasoning I shared with the class, there was no wrong or right answer to the theory imposed. I felt really at ease in class and as the days went by I began to feel less afraid to share my own thoughts and views.
History of Medicine
We got to discuss primary sources of Vesalius, Galen, poems from the 1500s, and stories on how the medical market was so busy with quacks trying to sell off their goods (black market of the medical industry in Europe). The great thing about studying history in London is that it really IS the place to study history: not only did we have class activities; we visited museums like the Hunterian, Gordon and Florence Nightingale Museums. Every single museum has its own murky past to tell but what was common between all these museums is that they helped to mark out and define what the medical industry we see today is about. We take for granted the difference between a physician and a surgeon, the Christianity-era influenced background of the professionalism of a nurse, how hospitals back then only admitted the poor… how then did everything change to what it is today?
We ventured through the dark halls of Gordon Museum where we got to browse through ancient medicine books dating back to 1400s. Books in the past were made of copper-based material, and it was a very chilling yet wonderful feeling to be able to hold the finest medieval books of the ancient Roman and Greek history.
Enjoying London!
The Summer School also offered a social programme during the weekends which I was thrilled to be part of and to be able to get to know the other Summer School students. It also gave me a chance to learn and be exposed to the rich and diversified lifestyle that the UK has to offer to a student.
The first weekend we had a boat trip from Westminster all the way to Greenwich and back. There was music and good food, and the company was simply lovely; getting to know each other better under a wonderful panoramic sunset view.
The following weekend, I signed up for the trip to Oxford and Windsor. Our tour guide was like a walking encyclopedia! It was a lovely day exploring two of the most magical places in UK.
London life
The loveliest memory that I will always hold dear to me is that I celebrated my 21st birthday on the 14th of July while studying at King’s! AND I MET NATALIE TENA who acts as Osha in Game of Thrones and Nymphadora Tonks in Harry Potter series!! I took the time over the weekends and after school to explore different parts of London, browsing through street markets and tasting the local delicacies.
During my stay at London I constantly update my personal blog http://aleejustsaid.blogspot.com and I recommend anyone who intends to go on a KCL summer programme would do the same thing to! I hope to come back to King’s one day in the future. It was the best summer experience of my life and I know that there are many others out there who would love to have had the same experience. The most important thing is to be brave, be bold and take the time to discover yourself in the three weeks!
Thank you King’s for providing a platform for us to share our wonderful experiences! Am already missing the school adventures!’
