Name: Nada Adham
Department: Electronic and
Electrical Engineering
Course: BEng Electronic and
Communication
What was
your favorite subject at school?
At
school, my favorite two subjects were Maths and Physics.
How easy was it to settle into Sheffield?
I studied
a foundation year at Sheffield International College. Well, at first it was
quite hard. I was feeling homesick without my parents, family or friends. I
felt very lonely as I didn’t know anyone in UK before coming. Although, I had
come to UK once on a school trip, but it was mainly a camp. We didn’t go
outside the camp that much.
The
weather here is very cold and it gets dark much earlier compared to Egypt.
After
that, I started getting to know people from my course and through societies. I
made friends which I consider them as my best friends, who I can call friends
for life.
After I
joined the University of Sheffield, it became much easier. I already have
friends but I’ve met more people and made more friends. Plus, Sheffield is a
lovely place. I have started to feel home here. I guess, I’ll feel homesick
after I finish my course here :p.
How did you decide which degree course to
take?
From grade 7, I
decided to be an engineer. I was always impressed by my dad’s work (he’s a
mechanical engineer). Plus, I was always getting full marks in maths and
physics. I didn’t know which field of engineering I need to study. When I
finished high school, I found that I’m more interested in communication and
electricity.
What advice would you give to people about to
choose a university course?
I do
agree that it’s a hard choice. You’ll think that it’s this choice will affect
your future career and the rest of your life. Just brainstorm and think about
everything you might be interested in studying, and choose one of them.
Actually, none of us can be sure that he/she have made the right choice. Your
studies at the university and even your activities will let you discover new
skills that you never knew that you have.
What do
you particularly enjoy and why?
At the
university, I enjoy lab work where I can apply what I’ve learned and when I
connect circuits. I also love the learning atmosphere. You have to be
self-motivated and make the effort to learn at the university, you can’t just
depend on the lectures. You have to read books and spend time at home or in the
library studying. There are also extra-curricular activities like Engineers
without borders (EWB) and Sheffield Formula Racing (SFR) which I enjoyed
joining. You can apply what you’ve learned and you’ll exchange information with
engineers from other departments.
Apart
from that, there are hundreds of societies and clubs. You can also take part in
volunteering work or have an internship in summer. There’s also Give It A Go (GIAG) which makes
trips to different cities around UK. You can go ice-skating in the Arena
Don-Valley stadium or watch a movie in Cineworld.
Best job/most fun/most fulfilling/challenges?
I participated in the
international language festival with the International Students Committee (ISC).
It was an amazing experience where you can teach others your own language and
learn other languages.
How is
studying your subject or methods of learning different at university than at
school?
Learning at the
university is completely different from school. At the university, it’ll depend
more on your own efforts as the lectures don’t provide you with all the
material you’ll need to fully understand the subject. You’ll always need to
read books and use Wikipedia or youtube to fully understand the topics. You
might even sleep at the Information Commons (IC) somedays.
What do
you like to do when you are not working on your degree?
There’s a lot
to do here. I play boxing and I go swimming in the weekend. I was also doing
volunteering in a school. I also go on Give It A Go trips. I go to the theatre
or to cineworld to watch a movie.
