Xenia
Name: Xenia
From: Nicosia, Cyprus
Degree: BSc Computer Science with a Foundation year.
Status: Xenia was interview in the second year of her degree
You´re from Cyprus – what was it like to move to the UK?
Moving to a different country was difficult at first. The language and culture are strange and even something as simple as travelling by train is something that you can´t do in Cyprus. In particular I found the style of studying very different to Cypriot high school. Over here you need to be much more independent and organised and it´s up to you as an individual to decide how much effort to put in. It takes a while but everyone settles in and it helped that I got to know many other Cypriot students, and students from other countries who were all in the same situation.
What does the foundation year involve?
The foundation year teaches you a combination of mathematics and sciences to prepare you for your course. I also found it valuable in they way it allowed me to become accustomed to living in the UK and studying in a different style before I started my degree.
Can you tell me about the first year `Crossover Project´?
This was an interesting exercise. We worked in groups of six to design a piece of software which would organise and keep score of a tennis tournament. At each development stage we handed over our work to a different team and worked on theirs so by the end of the project we had worked on five different systems. Seeing how different teams had approached the same problem in different ways gave me a real insight into problem solving.
What second year topics are you finding interesting?
I´m enjoying `system design´. It´s a very practical module which teaches you some of the essential techniques used in industry. If I go on to work as a professional software engineer these are exactly the sort of skills I will need so to have so its good to start learning them now.
What do you do when you´re not studying?
I´m a member of the Hellenic Society, which organises social events for Greek and Cypriot students. When I first came to the University I found it a useful way to meet other Cypriot students I´ve been a member ever since. This year I´m the Public Relations representative for the society which involves organising lots of parties. My advice to new students, especially those from overseas, is to be prepared to make the most of all the opportunities that studying in the UK offers to you. Everyone says that your years at University are the best years of your life, and I believe that they are.