Tag: study abroad

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My Summer At King’s- Ivana Skenderska

Ivana Blog

Attending the Pre-University Summer School was an opportunity for me to get an early insight about the degree I would like to pursue at university as well as the industry I consider for my future career path. During the course I was able to explore not only numerous aspects of Business Management in the heart of London which is just a stone’s throw away from the City (one of the biggest financial centre’s worldwide) but also to improve my “soft” skills in terms of presenting or conflict management.

Moreover, at King’s I had the chance to interact with various people coming from truly international backgrounds. This collaboration let me build strong friendships for the future and get to know students from all over the globe. It helped me also to understand how to work in diverse teams and how to overcome the individual or cultural differences between the members in order to complete successfully and on time our group assignments. In my opinion this skill is really significant if an individual is considering making a career in business or any other related sphere and I am happy that the course offered me the opportunity to further develop it.

As a student at King’s I could explore as well first-hand the stories of two young entrepreneurs which for me was one of the highlights of the program. These were guest speakers who explained what it takes to be successful in terms of star-up companies in the real world judging by their own experience. Therefore, the meeting helped me to get a clearer image of how I can set up my own business or deal with the difficulties on the way to success. I also learned the importance of networking in the business world as a tool for building contacts and connections to people that might be useful for my professional development.

To sum up, being a student at the Summer School for two weeks gave me a taste of what is like to be at university and to live in London. The time at King’s passed quickly, but during the program my perspective changed thoroughly. Now thanks to the Pre-University course I am sure which degree to choose at undergraduate level and what kind of career will suit me the best.

I am looking forward to coming back to King’s and putting in practice everything that I learned from this action-packed as well as fun Summer School experience.

 

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An Interview With Instagram Competition Winner Adrian Moftakhari

Summer School Image

Adrian Moftakhari was a student at this year’s Undergraduate Summer School and was the winner of our ‘Summer at King’s’ Instagram competition.

So please tell us a little bit about yourself.

How could I define myself… ? mmh well that’s a good way to start this interview! I would simply say that I’m Adrian, a Swiss/Iranian bloke studying law, dancing tango and painting soon to be masterpieces when my nose isn’t buried deep into textbooks… I’m also a big fan of beers and coffees (especially when the company’s good!) astronomy and theatre. As a Swiss guy, I love skiing, cheese, chocolate and great watches (how typical…), but I can only afford the first ones haha!

This year I’ll be turning 22 and should have the first part of my studies in the pocket: the Bachelor’s degree. I’ve done all my studies in Switzerland so far, except for a couple of months Down Under to learn English when I was 17 (if you haven’t been there yet… you’re really missing on something pretty sweet!); I do hope I’ll be studying abroad again soon, it’s always a great adventure.

You’ve studied at King’s College London on the Undergraduate Summer School. What made you decide to pick King’s and the module you studied?

I’ve known King’s College London for a couple of years already, a friend of mine was studying there at The Dickson Poon School of Law and I have to say that it was really tempting. At the time I didn’t have the grades to get into King’s, I didn’t work hard enough in college. So I’ve always wanted to give it a try later on. My current school, the University of Geneva, offered its students scholarships for a couple of summer schools around the world; this included King’s, so what better way to finally try it?

What brought me to King’s in the first place is its marvellous reputation around the globe as a Law School as well as its location- the heart of London,  a city I’ve been fascinated with for a long time. So this Summer School gave me the chance to 1) study at King’s for a while, 2) live in London for three weeks and be able to see what it’s like (oh and it’s awesome by the way), 3) acquire some valuable knowledge on a specific subject.

This subject was “International Commercial Law”, as for now I haven’t had any class on the subject back in Geneva, so it was a great way to discover that branch of law. I wanted to know how international commerce was legally covered and I think that this class gave me a pretty wide and complete overview on the matter. I’ve broaden up my legal knowledge a little bit and I now know that it might just be something I’m interested in for my future. Those kind of classes let you discover things you might just not have the possibility to back home or back to your university, so it really was something good for me I think as I’ve always been interested in the matter.

What have been the best parts of studying at King’s this summer?

There was no BEST PART, I can’t choose anything as everything had value in its own intricate way. Of course I met great people there, made heaps of new friends and some of which I’m still in contact with every day. Sad thing is they all live pretty far, but it’s not that bad as I have a place to crash wherever I go now. I think meeting people is one of the core aspect of a summer school, if you don’t do so you’re definitely missing something, because they are what is left when you go back home and will always give you a big heart-warming feeling linked to your souvenirs.

But it has also been a time for me to walk around by myself, to take the time to get lost in London, immerse myself in the different cultures of the city and breathe in all it had to offer. Actually, definitely not all, there’s so much to do all the time, this city is alive and moving fast, very fast. Coffee shops have been a daily routine, check out the Fleet Street Press Coffee (on your right to the way to the Maughan Library) as I’m a big fan of flat whites, always a sweet way to start the day.

London is a town of culture, which means that you have to go see some shows and visit a couple of museums at least, so I’ve done that. But if you know some locals they’ll bring you to the “tourist free” spots of town and that’s where you finally get to see some real London, from the little bagel places to the hidden parks and the best spot for a sunset over the Thames… there’s plenty of things to do outside of the official guide. So yeah… so many great parts came with this summer school, and that’s without mentioning the actual studying and all the partying.

What will you take from your experience here at King’s back to your home institution?

This class has given me an opportunity to get a little extra experience in my curriculum vitae as well as general knowledge on the matter of commercial law. It was not easy even if we did not go too far in the subject, so much had to be covered. But now I know what it is about and will be able to continue my studies with a better understanding of what I want to do in the future. There is so much fields of law you can specialize into, and it’s all very broad, so you’d better know what you want early because studying it will take you a couple of years. So now I know a little bit more, my choices will be taken a little bit more enlightened.

What have you been up to since leaving King’s?

Since I’m back I’ve taken a week off with a visiting friend, but otherwise I was doing an internship in a law office in Lausanne. It’s now over and I have about a month left until the classes start again so I think I’ll allow myself some time away from the studies as I think I’ve done enough for one summer!

For those students considering studying at King’s for the summer in the future what advice would you give them?

Choose a course that suits you and that will actually bring you something in your future, all classes seem interesting but do some research before on who is teaching you and what it really is all about. But in the end, you’d better take some extra days before and especially after the classes so that you can have more time to spend for a last party or museum tour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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My Summer At King’s- Alexandra Blanter

Alexandra

In all honesty, I started off my two weeks at King’s a little shy, a little introverted and very uncomfortable. The idea of speaking in front of fifty people, of being thrust into a group of teenagers and being expected to mingle, was terrifying to me, and as anybody in my psychology class could tell you, my motto for the first couple of days was “hide in the back” and hope to be spared of the awkward small talk.

The thing about small talk though, is that it wasn’t as terrible as I thought it would be. All I had to do was start. After taking an embarrassingly long morning to muster the bravery, I said say hi to my desk partner, and next thing I knew, I was being introduced to people from Taiwan, South Africa, Dubai, Poland, Romania; people from all over the world. I even came across a guy my age who had been living twenty minutes away from me for the past 16 years.

Psych

And as cheesy and cliché as it all sounds, the next two weeks were probably some of the most memorable and impactful I’ve ever had. Coming from a small school and never having studied psychology before, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. What I got was an hour of meditation (yes, as a class), the opportunity to hold a human brain, which was strangely more exhilarating than I thought it would be, and a whole lot of talking about people and their minds. Without exaggeration, I loved every day. While I came in being unsure about my future prospects, I left almost positive that I wanted to pursue psychology.

But if I had to leave King’s with just one word, that word, I think, would be grateful. While at King’s, I realised that my life could, in fact, reach beyond just high school, that there were possibilities and opportunities waiting for me outside those that I had come to know at home. Meeting my teachers, my ambassadors, people from all over the world, allowed me to see a glimpse of what, if I worked hard, my future could become, and it was a future that I couldn’t wait to be a part of. I grew and I broke out of my comfort zone. I gave an oral presentation in front of my class and, surprisingly, didn’t die. I wrote a paper and, surprisingly, won a prize for it. I started conversations with people I didn’t know, and now we relentlessly poke fun at each other’s Facebook photos and send each other Snapchats while sitting on beds 3000 miles apart.

So yeah, you could say I’m pretty grateful.

Alexandra Blanter

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Instagram Competition Shortlist

A few weeks back we announced the winner to this year’s Instagram competition. Adrian’s photograph was snapped whilst cruising the River Thames and was chosen as the winner, by the Summer Programmes Team, from 335 entries.

As promised we wanted to share with you the other amazing photos from the competition that made the shortlist. And here they are..

Cake

portobello

oxford street

Bus

Pose

Blackfriars Bridge

Somerset House

KCL

KCL View

Regent Street

St Pauls

carosel 1

Bridge 2

Kelly BlogJumpBridge

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Instagram Competition Winner

First of all we would like to thank everyone who entered this year’s Instagram Competition. We received so many great entries from our Undergraduate, Pre-University and JESIE students and it’s been great to see all your interpretations of the theme Summer at King’s.

The Summer Programmes Team whittled down the 335 entries to just a few photos and voted for our best. And here is the winner…

Summer School Image

Adrian managed to snap this amazing photo whilst cruising along the River Thames at our Session One Boat Party. So well done Adrian for sending us such a great photo, which we all feel really captured our theme.

Over the next few weeks we will be sharing our Instagram competition shortlist with you all, so keep an eye for some more brilliant photos.

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Session Two Instagram Competition Highlights

Our Undergraduate and Pre-University Summer Schools are over for another year, and for all those who attended, we hope you had an amazing experience with us. We’ve had many entries to our Instagram competition, so before we announce the winner we wanted to share with you some of our highlights…

insta 2If you have entered our competition please do keep a look out on our social media pages, as well as this blog, as we will be announcing the winner over the coming weeks. Good luck to everyone who entered!

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Pre-University Summer School Students Explore London

roundabout

Last week our Pre-University Summer School students took to the streets of London on a number of class excursions. They used London as a classroom to enhance their studies in Medicine, Business Management, Law, Politics and Psychology.

Politics students were treated to a tour of the House of Commons, which is located only a short walk from both our Strand and Waterloo campuses, whilst our Law students visited the Royal Courts of Justice.

big ben

Our Psychology class visited the IoPPN for their class trip and, according to Student Ambassador Deborah Ayodele, students ‘…had the opportunity to see a mock MRI and understand a bit more about what it entails. Many were surprised to hear of its cost, as we were told even the mock scanners were an expensive £1 million +. It was a very informative session about the additional diagnostic methods used.’

Shoreditch

Our Business Management students visited Shoreditch’s Silicon Roundabout. They learnt about the ‘flat white’ economy of the area whilst also discovering new and innovative ways of working. This included a visit to Ziferblat (a co-working space) and a glimpse at the Vice offices and the Google Campus. Students were also treated to a look at the exciting Box Park in Shoreditch, as well as the many walls of street art in the area.

Sadie Sweetland our Pre-University Coordinator said, ‘…students ended up really enjoying the tour and learnt a lot about how the area is growing due to an influx of new businesses. They also got to catch a lot of Pokémon which I think was an additional bonus for a lot of them!”

 

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Session One Instagram Competition Highlights

We hope you are all enjoying your time at the King’s College London Undergraduate Summer School. Or if you are a Pre-University student yet to join us we hope you’re getting excited. You may or may not know that this year we are running an Instagram competition. Our theme is ‘Summer at Kings’, so we want to see photos that represent your time at King’s. We want you to think outside the box with this and are excited to see what you come up with. Don’t forget to tag us in the photo and use this hashtag #SummeratKings.

And for a little inspiration here are some of the highlights so far…

Insta Comp Highlight

Happy snapping everyone and good luck.

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Throwback Thursday: King’s College London Undergraduate Summer School

Untitled designMy name is Chih-I. When I was a King’s College London Summer School student in 2010, I was only 19 years old. I decided to spend the summer at King’s for several reasons.

First, I intended to improve my English by fully immersing myself in an English-speaking country. Second, King’s was reported in the year to be one of the top 25 universities in the world. For a student like me who cares so much about the teaching quality and the academic environment, King’s immediately attracted my attention.

Moreover, the campus as well as the accommodation provided were just perfectly located in the city centre: close to Covent Garden, the Strand Campus was also three-minute walk from Temple Station; the accommodation on Stamford Street was next to Waterloo Station, one of the London underground hubs, which enabled me to reach anywhere in the shortest time. Finally, considering the diverse backgrounds of the student group at King’s Summer School, I knew that I would be able to meet people from all over the world, each one with different culture and life experience. This has definitely constituted an ‘added value’ for my King’s Summer School experience.

Although I majored in Law in my home university, I decided to study musicology at King’s Summer School. Studying musicology does not mean to learn to play an instrument, as opposed to what one may think. Musicology is the scholarly research on music, a branch of humanities. In the three-week course, we addressed various issues regarding the interaction among music/art genre/style, political environment, and urban development in London. Outside the course, we went to up to 5 or 6 concerts/shows/musicals in the evening. We then discussed some of the artistic elements in these performances with reference to what we had talked about in the seminars. As for my final essay, I explored the self-identity of different personas in Pucini’s opera ‘La Bohème’ in relation to the socio-economic context in Italy in the 19th century.

The summer school has exerted positive influence on my later life in different aspects. First, it allowed me to know better the higher education system in the UK, particularly in terms of types of supervision and support one student can receive from the professor. It was from that moment that I came up with the idea to come to the UK for my master studies. The experience of living in one of the biggest cities in the world was marvellous, needless to say.

However, the best part of the summer school, in my opinion, was that I have made friends from all over the world: France, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, and the US, to name only a few. I have been able to keep in touch with some of the friends since the end of the programme, and have managed to pay them a visit in their countries, despite the distance. Some of them even helped me enormously with my master thesis. The wonderful fruit of our friendship was something that I did not anticipate before starting the programme at King’s.

Six years later, when I recall the old college days, I cannot help but be amazed by how the Summer School has strung our life together. Thank you King’s for creating such a superb memory in my life!

By Chih-I CHANG
Current MPhil student in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics at the University of Cambridge