VARSITY 2017 by Ioan-Alexandru Herdea

I would describe Varsity like a Champions League between universities. For freshers who may not know what this, Varsity is a competition that takes place in almost in every UK city where there are at least 2 rival universities. Each sports club competes against the other one, with the idea of winning supremacy in the city.

This year, so far, the University of Sheffield AKA “Uni” fought with Sheffield Hallam University AKA “Hallam” or for ardent fans of Uni, “Poli” (abbreviation for polytechnic, which Hallam used to be) years ago in 58 sports. Over a period of almost a month, everywhere in Sheffield you could see supporting messages from both teams, on t-shirts, placards or even buildings. There was even a huge advertisement on Arts Tower “VARSITY” in black and gold colors.

 

In my opinion, this event is another reason why Sheffield University is voted as the #1 Russell Group University for student experience by THE Times 2017. I felt really proud being a Uni student, especially when I was walking with my Varsity t-shirt and the words “This city is ours” on my back.

Now, in terms of the games, most of them were free to watch. The games included many traditional sports like boxing, lacrosse, rugby, american football and of course Ice Hockey. Every student went to support their favourite team and the most awaited game was the finale of the Ice Hockey first teams.

I would like to share my experience about the last game as I attended it with  my squash club. It was the last match and was held at Sheffield Arena. It was maybe the most advertised one and I have never seen such a rush to buy tickets, which sold out in a couple of weeks. Fortunately, my club managed to buy excellent seats in the first 3 rows. As the tram was free for spectators, the trams and stops were filled with  singing and chanting spectators, similar to what you hear at football matches.  The trams were filled with supporters from both sides, so half were in black and gold and the other half filled with purple and white. When everyone reached the Arena, fans had separate entrances, to avoid any disputes and clashes. The queue was very long and there were some women walking with Instaframe for pictures. The atmosphere inside the stadium was electric with 8000 spectators and a great bonus - everyone got a free pair of inflatable clapper balloons.

 

The game was  really interesting and there was even a short fight between players. From my seat, the most fun bits were watching the players “squashing” each other on the side wall. The final result - Hallam won by 6-3, unbelievably they  marked in the last 20 seconds, but who cares… We still won Varsity overall!!!  The cup was handed to the new Sports Officer and after that, most of us headed to Varsity Roar, the most awaited party of the year.

 

A day before this big event, there had been a similar atmosphere at the squash games, just with fewer people. Unfortunately, this year we lost but almost all of the games were tough and quite close in points. The last one, against rackets #1 of 1st team, was the longest. In the 5th game Hallam led by 10-8 and our player gave one final huge push to make it 10-10 and win with 12-10.

 

Personally I cannot wait for the 2018 Varsity and see if we can defend our title over this city for the sixth consecutive year.

Well done Uni and keep goin’ !!!

Meet our International Ambassador: Muhammad Ali Rashid

Name: Muhammad Ali Rashid

Department: Chemical and Biological Engineering

Hi there, my name is Muhammad Ali Rashid, I was born in Pakistan and for the past two years was living in Nairobi, Kenya. I completed my IGCSEs in Pakistan from Lahore college of arts and sciences (LACAS) and did my A levels from Hillcrest International Schools in Kenya. For A level my subject choices were physics, maths, chemistry and biology.

From an early age I was attracted towards the field of engineering. I always questioned everything, how was this made? What’s in this? Tinkering away with everything I could get my hands on. This interest grew with time and by reading and watching all about the cool science stuff. I chose Chemical Engineering as it is one of the most versatile fields, gives you a chance to work in many big industries. It satiates my thirst for knowing how something is made. The course is also quite closely tied to biology which is my favourite subject (Surprisingly not chemistry). I want to be able to help come up with new viable energy solutions and chemical engineering gives me the exact chance to do so.

Choosing your University is a very important decision that plays an integral part in shaping your future. There were many things that factored into my decision to choose Sheffield. Firstly, the fact that it is part of the prestigious Russell group of universities, comes as a top 100 university in the world and is highly ranked for engineering. It is renowned for its research power which is something that interested me greatly. The fact that I would be studying in a Nobel Prize winning department excited me. The thing that got me the most was the diamond building. An 81 million pounds multidisciplinary engineering building. It has state of the art labs and facilities. Now that I have come to Sheffield I can say they were not exaggerating! The labs are like those out of sci-fi movies and there are so many great facilities.

Another reason to choose Sheffield was the city and the university's international outlook. The city is one of the safest in the country and full of friendly people, greenery and students. The university offers a humungous amount of societies to join and every week a plethora of give it a go events are held where u can go and try out new things. The university life is made easier by the fact that there is excellent support for international students, there are so many international students and societies that you quickly make friends from back home. Furthermore, the students’ union is the best in the UK, voted as number one for 6 years in a row. It’s a modern building which has everything for you in one place.

My Experience so far has been great, I have already met so many top companies and employers, started doing actual lab work and become part of something much bigger than myself. I feel I made the right choice coming to Sheffield and enjoy it so far.

My advice to prospective students would be to be bold, experiment and be adventurous while you have the opportunity to be so. Never be shy of asking what’s on your mind and when searching for universities make sure to talk to current students, read university blogs or watch videos about the university don’t always follow the website/ rankings there is always more to a book than what’s on its cover.

Interview with a Postgraduate Student

By Muhammad Shuja

This blog is a transcript of an interview I took with a Postgraduate Engineering student to give you an insight about postgraduate study at Sheffield.

Question: Tell me about yourself.

Answer: My name is Fahad Zulfiqar and I am from Pakistan. Currently I am enrolled in Masters in Advanced Computer Science at University of Sheffield.

Question: What did you study at undergraduate level and where?

Answer: I completed my Bachelors of Engineering Sciences from Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology in Pakistan.

Question: Why did you choose to pursue a postgraduate degree?

Answer: I was greatly intrigued by the Engineering Sciences stream and felt a need for Master’s Degree to further hone my skills. With computer science stream on the boom and the paucity of computer scientists, I strongly felt a need to differentiate myself from the masses with a postgraduate degree from the reputed institute.

Question: What were you reasons of choosing Sheffield to do your postgraduate course?

Answer: With a top-notch faculty and state-of-the-art labs, University of Sheffield is a Premium institute with a top rank in Computer Sciences stream. The breadth and depth on Computer Science curriculum further helped me in my decision. Moreover, an eclectic mix of people would enable me to improve my communication skills and groom myself.

Question: How has your time in Sheffield been so far?

Answer: Considering both academics and extracurricular activities, my time in Sheffield University has been great so far. I got a chance to groom myself together with mastering the concepts in the field I absolutely love.

Question: How would you compare your current course to your undergraduate degree?

Answer: The difficulty level of Masters in Computer Science is immense as compared to my Bachelor’s degree. This was partly due to the fact that the Computer Science program at Sheffield is directed toward the market trends and requirements. Facilities such as 24/7 library access and a serene environment made it possible for me to achieve my goals. Support from my faculty and friends is always available, making it a fun learning experience.

Question: What do you plan on doing upon completion of your course?

Answer: My goal is to work in a reputed software corporate and further hone my skills as a software developer.

Question: What advice would you give to prospective students or perhaps students thinking about going into postgraduate study?

Answer: The most important thing in life is to proceed in a field for which you develop a strong aptitude. With competitive job market and more computer scientists pouring out, postgraduate study is definitely a safe bet at the least. Postgraduate qualification from a Russell Group institute will definitely improve one’s chance of landing in a well reputed corporate.

Question: Do I have your consent of posting a transcript of this conversation online?

Answer: Yes

Thanks a lot for your time.