Trip to Durham University

The trip to Durham university is certainly rewarding, inspiring and helpful. On the first day, we had to wake up really early to meetup at school. Despite the fact that some trouble took place, we successfully got on our bus to London as well as getting on the train at London. Once we've arrived at Durham, we first went to Marriott Hotel to put down our luggage. We then headed towards University of Durham to attend a talk regarding archaeology. Before attending the talk, I would've never thought that archaeology is correlated to engineering. However, after the talk, I understood the importance of archaeologists to engineers especially to civil engineers. By that time, it is already quite late and we went for dinner at a local restaurant that serves pizza and pasta. Unfortunately, there weren't enough seats by that time. But such unfortunate events led to us visiting the castle in Durham which acts as a student accommodation. After our short tour around Durham, we were able to get a taste of the food at the local shop. Following up the delightful meal would be some rest at the hotel.

On the next day, we first went to attend a talk held by the international office telling us the details of studying at Durham University as well as A-level requirements if we are to study at Durham University. We were then given a tour by a student around Durham University where we went around the campus checking out different collages and departments, as well as pubs in collages. Afterwards, we were able to visit the engineering department in Durham University. We were first brought to participate in a lab section investigating the efficiency of wind turbines in converting energy. It was rather challenging as the whole experiment is based on trial and error but we were then told how turbines are designed to maximize the efficiency. We then had a tour around the department as professors show us around different labs as well as telling us what the students have done in the past. At last, we had a chat with professors that specify in certain areas of engineering such as civil engineering and mechanical engineering such that we could learn more about what are going to be taught. I think the tour is quite useful as I am able to learn more about what types of equipment and researches will be done when I study at university. Before our dinner, we had a quick chat with different international students regarding university lifestyles and what collages to choose. Our dinner was as expected really delicious.

On our last day, we had a chance to visit the library of Durham University as well as having some free time to roam around the campus. We then proceeded to visiting Dominic's Collage, which was quite spacious and quiet. In the end, we successfully went back to Oxford.

From this trip, I think it's a great opportunity for us to know more about the subject of engineering, about how it works and how students cope with it. It also served the purpose of introducing the university to us and giving us an extra choice in the future when submitting UCAS applications. I am truly grateful for this opportunity and thank Mr Fuge  for his planning and relationships with the University.

Further actions (reading, lectures, museums)

I have been reading several books that are related to engineering as a whole, namely, “Think Like an Engineer” and “What If?” These book has provided great insight as I get closer to my dream by knowing more about it. The book “What if?” includes quite a number of unsolved miseries and questions. As engineers are people who create something that would be useful to the community, these questions and queries are great for engineers as they can create based upon these problems. “Engineering beginner’s guides” is as just as its title says. The book introduces me to a large variety of engineering knowledge such as design engineering and the importance of knowing human wants. It also talks about morality and ethical issues of engineering, which makes me think a lot. The question of whether the engineer should be in charge of any casualties caused by the collapsing of a building or malfunction of a machine is rather thought-provoking.

 Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend any lectures as there wasn’t any engineering related lectures available at the times that I am free.

Clubs and activities – what have I learnt?

 For clubs, I have only joined Maths club as I am aiming to become a civil engineer. In Maths club, I have learnt that maths is not always boring and repetitive. It can be represented in different ways and maths is sometimes fun. Puzzles can be made, and patterns could often be observed when playing with a set of numbers. I have understood that xin a bid to truly decipher and understand certain ideas I have to treat things differently and at a different angle. Unluckily, maths club has been suspended lately and I am unable to learn more about the secrets of mathematics.

 I have also joined the trip to Durham and I am looking forward to it.

Applying for voluntary work

 Voluntary work is without a doubt a very important part of my CV. Therefore, I have joined a large variety f voluntary work, ranging from weekly volunteering at Keen, fund raising with Wings of Hope, to one-time voluntary work with Virgin sports as well as run & raise. The Virgin Sports volunteering was exceptionally memorable as we had to give out water and carry out the duties of a water station for a marathon under the rain. The day started off with us filling up water bottles at the station and at that moment it was just slightly raining. However, when the marathon was about to smart, rain poured down. Some of us were questioning whether the marathon would be cancelled but in the end it did not. I was rather shocked that it would rain that much and also had thoughts of giving up, but I stood firm and our duties were fulfilled. Although the weather was terrible that day and it was raining cats and dogs, none of us had any complaints said. We knew deep down that it is important for us to carry out our job or else the marathon would not be as successful. It was certainly gratifying after the event as cleaners, members of Virgin Sports and participants of the marathon all thank and praise us for our hard work and perseverance. KEEN and Wings of Hope has yet to begin but I am certainly looking forward to the precious experience of helping others as this skill is certainly useful for my future.

Getting rejections or offers

The journey to getting work experience offers are not as easy as I thought. Despite sending tons of emails to different corporations, only a few has replied me. Not to mention that among those that have replied, only a few has sent me application forms, while most others just gave me straight rejections. Undoubtedly, this experience is, I could say, heartbreaking, but it is also one of the more memorable and significant parts as this serves as a chance for me to understand the difficulty in getting a job in the future. Luckily, I was given the opportunity to participate in one of the well-known civil engineering companies’ projects which will be at Christ College during February. I am really grateful that my work experience location is this close to Oxford as well. Despite all the ups and downs when sending emails and having phone calls. The success in the end gave me such happiness and pride as I further enhance myself by obtaining an important skill needed in life.

Applying for work experience

Ever since my arrival at OIC, I have been constantly working on my CV as well as my cover letter. The start of it was dreadful, as I have no idea what to put on my CV and cover letter. However, with the help of Dominic as well as some online website, I have been able to progress little by little and finally complete my CV based on my past achievements and activities. Yet, little did I know the more difficult part has yet to come. Applying for work experience was more tiring than I thought. Before sending countless of emails and having phone calls with them just to hope to get a chance. I had to search for companies that are related to my university subject choice as well as selecting those that are easy to travel to, the selection process was dull and repetitive but I successfully went over it. Despite the fact that the process is quite time consuming, it has helped me in learning more about the sector as well as what services It provides as different websites of different companies record their achievements and projects. I am grateful that I didn’t give up within a week as this process has helped me greatly in fortifying my choice of university subject.