Tag: Summer at Kings

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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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Life Lessons From London

When Jullian and I parted ways in the Heathrow Airport that morning, she was in tears. We were the last two of the 2015 Fulbright five to fly out of London. As I hugged my best friend goodbye, unaware of when I would see either her or London again, I wondered why the tears did not come. To my surprise, both my return to London and the tears came a year later.

Since receiving the Fulbright Summer Institute Fellowship to study at King’s College London, I have successfully completed my sophomore year at Washington and Lee University and worked as a human rights intern at the Equality and Human Rights Action Centre in Cluj-Napoca, Romania this past summer. My experience as a Fulbright Summer Institute Recipient allowed me to realize both goals.

At the beginning of my sophomore year, having just returned from an amazing summer abroad, I found myself experiencing reverse culture shock. I wondered how I could be homesick for London after visiting for only three short weeks. I was yearning for the freedom and creativity London offered and the sense of purpose with which I was filled as a Fulbright Summer Institute Fellowship Recipient.  I came to realize that I could still embrace these newfound parts of my identity on Washington and Lee’s campus; and perhaps this is what the Fulbright Commission meant by having “a plan to give back to your home country upon returning.”

I was able to give back to my home country upon my return by keeping in mind three key life lessons I learned while in London.

Lesson 1: London showed me that so many beautiful things have already been created, and there are so many beautiful things I have yet to create.

Able to call myself a Fulbright Fellowship Recipient and King’s College London alumna, I found myself empowered upon my return home. After witnessing all the world had to offer, I finally decided to shed my self-doubt and embrace my ability to contribute to the world as a global citizen. This desire to contribute manifested itself as an attempt to bridge the gap between students on my campus. With the help of a group of talented individuals, I co-founded and now co-direct Friday Underground, which is the first sober social alternative on Washington and Lee University’s campus since the institution’s founding in 1749. Because of the leadership skills I refined in London, I was able to create something bigger than myself. Friday Underground, a weekly coffeehouse event that offers both a platform for student artists and a space for cross-cultural dialogue, is uniting Washington and Lee’s campus and will continue to do so even after I graduate.

Lesson 2: “The essence of intercultural education,” according to Senator Fulbright, “is the acquisition of empathy – the ability to see the world as others see it, and to allow for the possibility that others may see something we have failed to see, or may see it more accurately.”

Senator Fulbright’s quote, which is meant to be a guiding principle for any individual chosen by the Fulbright Commission, reminds me to prioritize empathy and humility above all else. While at King’s College London, I practiced humility and exercised empathy by prioritizing the voices and opinions of my classmates, many of whom were not native English speakers.

To lead is to listen. This skill I embraced in lectures and class discussions once back at my liberal arts institution in the states. I led in the classroom not by dominating the conversation but by offering an encouraging nod or a kind smile to my fellow classmates.

Lesson 3: Profoundly master the art of human connection and take seriously your role as a cultural ambassador.

Because my experience as a Fulbright Summer Institute Recipient gave me the opportunity to travel abroad for the first time, or dip my toe in the pond if you will, I had the courage and curiosity to take the next leap and travel to Romania as a human rights intern this past summer.

It is crucial to remember that it is not the place but the people who matter most. Last summer, in a city as diverse as London, I furthered perfected my ability to engage with others. And still today, I take seriously my role as a cultural ambassador by making it my goal to profoundly master the art of human connection. For me, this means talking to strangers with genuine interest and finding the value in each human being.

I am grateful for the opportunity I had to return to London, if only for a weekend, while working in Europe this past summer as a human rights advocate. While in London, I explored the city again with Emily, a dear friend and fellow 2015 King’s College London Fulbrighter; I met Hannah, a new friend and 2016 King’s College London Fulbrighter; I visited my old King’s College London classroom and wrote a letter to Victoria Carroll, my brilliant King’s College London Professor; and, finally, that morning before I said goodbye to London again, I held my Caffè Nero coffee cup in hand as tears of gratitude rolled down my face and the memory of strolling down the streets with my best friend Jullian, on my very first night in London, played in my head.

Until next time, London,

Kassie

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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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An Interview With Author & Alumni Kudrat Dutta Chaudhary

Kudrat 1

Kudrat Dutta Chaudhary studied on King’s College London’s Undergraduate Summer School in 2014 and has been extremely busy ever since. On top of studying Law, Kudrat had written for a number of magazines and newspapers and in July her debut novel Laiza: Sometimes the End Is Only a Beginning was released.

You studied International Relations and Criminology and Criminal Justice at King’s College London’s summer school, how did you find your experience?

My experience at the King’s College London’s Summer School was a life changing one and is something that I cherish to date and would continue to do so for all times to come. I thoroughly enjoyed both the courses that I’d undertaken, which were International Relations and Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Studying International Relations with such a demanding module strengthened my intellectual faculties and gave me an expert insight regarding understanding complex International situations to find reasonable and fair solutions. On the other hand the subject matter and teaching of Criminology and Criminal Justice helped me grasp issues that plague our society and how they can be dealt with effectively. Apart from academic learnings, I’d also want to highlight that the sort of holistic and diverse environment that the summer school provided me with to interact with students from all across the globe was definitely an experience of a lifetime.

Overall, after the completion of the summer school I found myself way richer in terms of knowledge and insight; something that I feel has made me evolve and wise in every way.

Apart from writing your novel, what else have you been working on since your time at King’s has ended?

I studied at The King’s College London Summer School in the year 2014 and ever since then two years have passed and these have been the busiest two years of my life.

Apart from comprehensively working on my debut novel, I undertook an Accreditation course in Mediation from the Australian Disputes Centre, Sydney in 2015. The completion of the course made me an accredited International Mediator which also means that currently I happen to be one of the youngest mediators of the world. Owing to this, I was bestowed with an opportunity to intern with Holman Webb Lawyers, Sydney in 2015 which was definitely a brilliant experience and a very augmenting one.

Then I got selected to intern at the Ministry of External Affairs, India in September 2015 wherein all my learnings from the course of International Relations came in handy. Then in March 2016, I interned as a Judicial Clerk at the Punjab and Haryana High Court which too was a very fulfilling experience not only as a Law student but also as human being who believes in social justice.

Laiza 1

Your novel Laiza- Sometimes the end is only a beginning, was released in July, can you provide us with a brief summary on what the book is about?

LAIZA- Sometimes the End is only a beginning is a fiction novel based in real time, of about 95,000 words approximately expressing all the emotions and dilemmas on a wide spectrum of feelings. It is deep, engaging and intriguing. Laiza represents the plight of a million women who may fall, get injured, but never back down.

It is a story that would introduce the world to the dark side of disasters; it’s a story that would inspire every reader to fight in life, no matter what. It’s a story that needs to be heard. The main themes of the book are Feminism, hope, human trafficking, Indo-Nepal relations, Nepali culture and self discovery.

Did your travels to London and your study at King’s inspire your writing in any way?

I personally feel that we are all a culmination of the experiences we have and the travels we make! So my travels to London would continue to be a part of my being and personality forever, irrespective of the fact that they’re mentioned in my writings or not.

Moving on to the inspiration I sought from my study at King’s. Issues of Feminism and Human Trafficking along with Indo-Nepal relations which are the main themes of my book are basically figments of International Relations. The book is very intense and hence it runs on a consistent background of Indo-Nepal relations and how they affected my protagonist’s life. Every detail about their ups and downs in the year 2015 has been mentioned in the book and analysis of true events to include them in my story was definitely the pedestal wherein study of International Relations helped.

Apart from this, I personally believe that I am a very positive person and for me the toughest aspect of writing ‘Laiza’ was to characterise antagonists! I believe I could do so along with providing every antagonist a back story as to why they became what they became because of being a Criminology student.

So to be very honest, I haven’t used my study and travels to London in the most direct ways to write the book, but they certainly have helped me at various points to twist, turn and knit the story with no loopholes so left to be plugged in the end.

For those student’s at King’s who are budding novelists what one piece of advice would you like to give them?

If you want to write and that’s what you’ve been wanting to do ever since, then START NOW. As Hemingway says, the first draft of everything is bad, so don’t let that dampen you, instead seek inspiration and go on to liberate not just yourself but also the one whose life would change after he/she experiences your work.

And please, don’t ever let anyone tell you that you aren’t worth it, Because you certainly are. Most importantly Free yourself from your own limitations before anything else.

You can now buy Laiza: Sometimes the End Is Only a Beginning on Amazon. And if you wish to contact Kudrat please so send her an email:kudratduttachaudhary@gmail.com

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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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Undergraduate Summer School Law Careers Panels

Students at Law PanelDuring Session One of the Undergraduate Summer School we offered, for the first time, a number of informative law career panels to some of our students. With the collaboration of the Careers and Employability service at King’s, we were able to invite a whole host of interesting professionals to speak with our students about different career paths for law students.

Dr Alexander Heinz, Senior Tutor for the Summer Programmes team felt that, “the career panels were much enjoyed by the students… panel members and the students had engaging conversations about career paths and were highly interested in receiving advice from representatives of a range of legal professions.”

In Session One our law students were treated to an exciting panel facilitated by Professor Alexander Türk. He is Director of Postgraduate Taught Programmes and is also Director of the Postgraduate Diploma/MA in EU Law (by Distance Learning). Additionally Professor Türk is General Editor of LexisNexis EU Tracker.

Professor Türk was joined on this panel by Dr Nigel Spencer a Global Director of Learning and Development at international law firm Reed Smith LLP and Abdullah El Maghraby a Second-Seat Trainee at Baker & Mckenzie, sitting in the Banking department. Two King’s College London Alumni also joined the panel. Jenny Galloway is an Associate in a Financial Services Litigation team and Daniel Jacobs is a Trainee Solicitor at Norton Rose Fulbright.

law career panel

The law careers panel in Session Two was facilitated by Professor Eva Lomnicka from the King’s College London Dickson Poon School of Law. Eva Lomnicka obtained an MA and LLB from Cambridge University, qualified as a barrister and then came to King’s as a lecturer in 1975.

Professor Lomnicka was joined on the panel by Sarah Thorner, a Legal and Business Affairs Executive at Fremantle Media, who spoke about what her experience of being a lawyer in the media industry. Also on the panel was King’s alumni and Associate at Freshfields, Tom Hingley, who spoke about what it is like working in intellectual property law. Imogen Holmgren and Lucy Crittenden, both from Reed Smith, joined the law panel. Imogen is an Associate at the company and discussed her role working on private equity transactions & M&A agreements. Lucy decided that she wanted to focus her career on people development, so she’s now a graduate Recruitment Manager at Reed Smith.

These career panels were a great way for students studying EU Law, International Commercial Law and Criminology and Criminal Justice to ask professionals real career advice about their chosen fields. And if you are thinking about studying Law at King’s College London next summer please see our website.

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London… As told by our Fulbright Institute students

fulbright students

For three weeks this summer we welcomed four talented ladies to participate in the Fulbright-King’s College London Summer Institute. This three week cultural and academic programme gave Angel, Hannah, Miranda and Alaina the opportunity to experience life in London, whilst studying Children’s Literature at King’s.

During their time in London the students blogged about the opportunities that faced them whilst studying and living in the city. They were asked to also produce a multimedia project about how they would describe their experience at King’s and how they would choose to represent this. And this is what they come up with…