Michaelmas

Most formal lectures take place during the University Terms: Michaelmas, Lent and Easter. Michaelmas is the first term ranging from 5th October 2010 to 3rd December 2010. This period is the busiest and hardest time for majority students in the University since this is the time they are getting used to new environments, new lecturers, new people and new subjects. I was getting through an endless dark tunnel, but at least I had enormous energy so that I could carry out all the tasks enjoying myself.

Characterisation techniques
Materials and Processes for MEMS
Nanomaterials
Physics at the Nanometre-Scale
Science Communication in Media, Business and Research
Societal & Ethical Dimensions of Nano- & Biotechnology
MOTI (Management of Technology and Innovation)
Practicals

This is the list of modules we took during Michaelmas term. Considering there are total 11 modules associated with technology and science in the programme, the four modules in the first term may sound like easy. However, three of them are compulsory (or core) for the exam, and the rest one does not have an exam but alternatively requires a 4000-word essay. Besides, the other business and social science subjects also involve course works, so if you carry out all the course works and make applications for PhD, the workload is actually rather dauting and overwhelming.

I have pretty negative memory associated this term; the memory and the associated feeling is sort of blue and gray. I was just working without any clear vision related to the future. I was extremely busy and finding a academic supervisor for my doctoral research was extrmely difficult. First of all, even though you email someone who is looking for a PhD student, you may not receive a reply. In particular, as far as one of the best Universities in the world such as Cambridge or Oxford, there is huge amount of email sent through the email addresses of the universities, and hence you are less likely receive a reply from the people. I personally advise that you send an email and make a call to the person who you email. Secondly, the information on the internet, probably on the department website, is not usually the latest version, and has been updated quite a long time ago. This means that even if you make a call to the supervisor, you might get to hear that the PhD place has been taken up already by other students in the last year. Definitely, making an application for PhD got my life in the first term much harder. The good news is my hard work got rewarded in that I was offered a PhD place by the supervisor who I made an application to during this term.
  

The cue for Maticulation photo

Maticulation dinner