Astynnia’s Second Year (International) Blog

Second year came and flew by real fast, beginning from the Experimental Design Module (EDM), January exams, Research Skills Module (RSM), dissertation and up to today with my revision for summer exams. I remember those stressful days when I was overwhelmed with preparation for my dissertation. The grade was announced 3 weeks ago and I am glad that everything went well, better than what I was expecting! So I’m very pleased with that, as it was a whole 10 credits (1/12^th of the year) in itself. This year has been so enjoyable and it’s gone so fast that I almost can’t believe that in less than a month, I will be flying back to Malaysia for the summer. I booked my flight tickets without telling my family because I wanted to give them a surprise, which is something that I am looking forward to. 🙂

My overall experience of 2^nd year has been amazing. The most valuable thing I have learnt is how to manage time effectively. With all the deadlines I’ve had to meet this year, it’s made me more organized and efficient at getting things done (well) on time! This is definitely an essential skill for undergraduate, and I believe this will come of great use to me in Final Year – when I hear things get real hectic!

I have also used this year as an opportunity to travel while I have been away from my home country. I have learnt so much about different cultures, and have created some great memories which I can look back over as making travel videos are my favourite post-vacation activity.

This year, I got to know more people and made more friends in Biomedical Sciences, which definitely made my life in Manchester more exciting on the social side of things. Although at the moment it’s all study, study, study, there are a lot of gatherings being arranged for before everyone parts for the summer holidays. Oh and the weather is finally picking up too, so there’s plenty to look forward to!

A catch up with my best buddy on a sunny day in Manchester last week

 

So much excitement during Kygo’s concert!

Catching up from my previous blog post, there has been so much going on! To make the most of my time in Manchester and all the brilliant music venues there are here, last month I went to a concert at Manchester Academy (which is right opposite the Stopford building, where most Life Sciences lectures and practical’s take place – ideal) to see a DJ called Kygo. The music and atmosphere was amazing. The music scene in Manchester is definitely something I will remember!

Also, as a lot of my friends are graduating this year, we had a formal dinner at The Living Room Restaurant in Deansgate. We had a great night there and it was very fancy! It’s always nice to get dressed up for a formal event every once in a while. The restaurant was elegant and modern which made for a lovely atmosphere. Oh and the food was delicious too!

 

At the Graduation Dinner

I also attended a sports event that we, as part of the International Society, organized at the Sugden Sports Centre and it was really fun! We had 6 station games and the ideas for the activities were modified from a Korean reality game show called Running Man such as “Flying Coins” and “Ping Pong ball Piggyback”. Then after the hectic and fun-filled day there, we moved on and ended it with a karaoke session! It was such a fun day!

Sport day at Sugden Centre

As second year comes to an end, it’s time for me to start thinking about what Final Year Project to do next year. There are a number of different options, and I’m not quite sure which one I want to do yet but I will have a good think about it once exams end. To help me make my decision and to learn more about the different options, I attended the business pitches by the final year Life Sciences students earlier this month. It was a presentation for their Enterprise Final Year Project and it gave me an idea about the business style enterprise project option which I find interesting. One of the topics that caught my attention was “Diagnostic test for Schizophrenia” as the team members designed a tool virtually to test for the disease.

But before all of that I have semester 2 exams to get through! I have mixed feelings about my upcoming exams but I’d say I am most confident about my ‘Parasitology’ exam. It’s been my favourite subject for me throughout the whole of 2^nd year as I love microbes! Plus there is no essay in the exam, only short answer questions! I also find my other modules ’Immunology’ and ‘Cell Metabolism and Metabolic Control’ interesting – revision isn’t all that bad when you’re genuinely intrigued by the things you are learning! The exam that I am the least confident about at the moment is ‘Clinical Drug Development’. It’s quite different from anything I’ve done before as it’s more pharmacology based rather than focusing on how cells, organs and systems function in the human body. However I am working hard so I’m still hoping for the best!

I know that final year is not going to be easy, but in the midst of busy schedule, I am looking forward to some more memorable experiences and taking advantage of all the fun things there are to do in Manchester. Even after 2 years of living here, there is still so much more to do! Academically, I am looking forward to doing the volunteering work with my friends as part of the Final Year ‘Leadership in Action’ module. It is always a good idea to do some community projects over the year as it will help me to take some time off from the books and get to know more people around the university. I think it will be good for my CV too!

Well that’s it then! Good luck in upcoming exams and I hope that you guys enjoyed reading my 2^nd year journey! 🙂

Astynnia.