Summer in UK: The Wind of Change

As I'm from South Asia, weather in Uk affected me the most. Cold winter take away every charm from me. Even 24 hour heating not proving good enough for me in snowy January/February.

Nice sunshine and cool breeze at the end of April bring back reasons of life. . :) It seems that nature, people, buildings were hiding them inside in winter, and now they're uncovered to enjoy the heat of sun.

Aston looks incredibly awesome with amusing sunshine. The lake is now attracting students and birds. Every other day, students having good time sitting with friends for hours, which is peaceful. 

Most importantly, I can wear summer dresses, avoiding heavy coats! It feels like I'm in home now. This summer also ease down my study, allowing me concentrate on studies more than winter. I've had walk for hours everyday last few days to enjoy every bit of the weather.

Anxious Dissertation

Planning for a good dissertation made my life horrible last few weeks. It was even frightening before I met my supervisor first time. I've prepared the proposal with lot of uncertainties whether supervisor will approve it or not. All of a sudden, I received mail from supervisor stating that the proposal is good enough. His appreciation boosts up my confidence level and makes me feel good.

Aston allocates me to a supervisor from Staffordshire University. He’s very gentle, kind and knowledgeable. He read my proposal and gave number of suggestions to improve my dissertation.

After the first meeting, I developed believe that the dissertation will not be that much frightening as I thought before. Now, I’ve a clear guideline of what to do and do not. I also visualize the expectation of my supervisor from me.

I’m about to start data collection once results are out coming Friday, May 10. I’m already done with literature review, and somewhat completed the methodology part.

It’s all about supports that make life easy enough. I'm discovering all the good aspects of Aston University every day. It is Aston which makes me feel, nothing is tough when Aston is there.

Trip to Oxford in Easter Break

In this Easter break, I planned to visit the University City: Oxford. Oxford is a beautiful city of stunning architecture, history and culture. The city has ancient and modern colleges, fascinating museums and galleries, and plenty of parks, gardens and green spaces in which to relax.

As the oldest university in the English-speaking world, Oxford is a unique and historic institution. There is no clear date of foundation, but teaching existed at Oxford in some form in 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167.

Oxford’s remarkable global appeal continues to grow. Students from more than a hundred and forty countries and territories make up a student population of over twenty thousand. Over a third comes from outside the United Kingdom.

The neat, clean and ornamented Oxford city caught my eyes. I actually couldn't believe on my eyes. The beautiful architecture, ancient buildings touched my heart. I'm that lucky person who has the opportunity to visit such a historical, prestigious place of the earth. 

Lesson of Life

In Aston, I found everyone is so freaking frightened of exams. This is not the case for only a few but all. I’ve tried to find out reason behind this and came up with Aston’s custom. Aston is not pressuring on obtaining good marks but on learning stuffs perfectly.

I had some experience during term 1 and I applied those experiences to correct mistakes made in term 1. In term 2, I attentively followed lectures where I got useful hints of questions.

One prominent feature I found in Aston is that each and every instructor tried their level best to teach us lessons very vigilantly. Their approach of teaching is not only focused on exams or obtaining high marks but also learning topics perfectly.

Though, exam fear worked in term 2 as well. However, this time I was confident enough to handle the pressure. I started early, applied few techniques to do good in exam. Moreover, I developed self-believe: “I can do”.

By the Grace of Almighty, I had wonderful final exams in term 2. Aston teach me lesson of life, “Don’t run for marks, do your part”

Sudden Trip to Home!

At the middle of Term 2, surprisingly I had to went back home in Bangladesh. It was about 4.5 month’s detachment from family. There was a family emergency which led me to visit home. However, it was a surprise for my parents. They were uninformed about my visit.

I pressed the call bell of my apartment, dad and mom opened the door and they couldn't believe in their eyes. It was completely unexpected for them to see me during pressures of study in Birmingham. They’re touching me to make sure it’s actually their son or not!

I've spent nine fabulous days in Bangladesh. It’s the most memorable travel of my life that I can never forget.

Term-1 Results!

Long awaited results of term-1 came out earlier in February. My heart started beating fast once I get the mail regarding publish of result from MSc Student Support office. Soon, the day came when everyone desperately waiting to hear good news.

Fortunately, I got marks as I have expected. Soon after I came to know my marks, I called my parents back home. They were delighted after hearing the news. I felt like flying in sky. One of my cousins back home congratulated me in this way, “Asif, congratulations for your first foreign result”. Suddenly, I realized this is my first foreign result! I was just amazed with the feeling then.

However, I was upset that evening because few of my friends, course mates did badly in the exam. I felt extremely bad for them and found no words of condolence for them. One idiom goes in my mind, “Every coin has two sides”

International Scholarship Reception

It is a great honor for me to attend the “International Scholarship Reception of Aston University”. This year’s annual International Scholarship Reception was held on the 23rd January and was a huge success with over 100 students from over 40 countries in attendance. The event was organised in order to congratulate the students awarded a scholarship and to give them an opportunity to meet fellow scholars. It is an achievement, an experience, I’ll always remember.

The reception raises awareness of the various contributions of international scholars to Aston University’s community and the important role played by international scholarships in facilitating study opportunities. It also presented students with the opportunity to network with both members of staff from across the University and other scholars from different countries – as well as their own.