In early November we celebrated the achievements of students from the Faculty of Science who took part in a study year abroad as part of their undergraduate course.
The annual Study Year Abroad Poster Fair is an opportunity for students from Chemistry, Natural Sciences and Physics to showcase their international experiences. 22 returning students presented their posters depicting experiences gained from their travels, with a prize given for the best poster overall, and the best entry for an EU destination
Combining learning with leisure and cultural activities, the students sang the praises of their host universities in Europe and further afield, promoting a variety of destinations such as Bordeaux, Helsinki, Vancouver and Singapore.
Students considering undertaking a study year abroad were invited to attend, enabling them to receive first hand advice and guidance from their peers as to where to go, what to expect and why they shouldn’t miss such an opportunity to internationalise their student experience and enhance their employment prospects. Incoming exchange students currently studying with us from the University of Regensburg, Germany, Maastricht University, Netherlands and Simon Fraser University, Canada were also on hand to share their inside information as to what future students can expect when studying abroad.
Entries were judged by attending exchange coordinators Dr Randolf Kohn, Dr Andriy Gorbach and Dr Mark Opmeer as well as staff from the International Relations Office and the Faculty of Science Placements Team, who were able to come to a unanimous decision as to the winners.
The prize awarded to the best entry for an EU destination, was awarded to Natalie McLellan (MPhys). Natalie spent her study year abroad at the Université de Bordeaux and despite initial reservations about her language skills, came back almost fluent in French. Natalie said “It was an opportunity I would wholly recommend to all students”.
The overall prize was presented to Tom O’Brien (BSc Natural Sciences), who spent his year at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver, Canada.
Tom spoke highly of his experience in Vancouver and the excellent opportunities it provided both academically and socially.
Whilst being able to study modules in Physical Chemistry at SFU, which he had not previously undertaken at Bath, he still had the opportunity to ski and hike most weekends. Taking in visits to Banff National Park and Tofino on Vancouver Island, were two memorable highlights of his visit.
Tom lived on campus in his first semester, therefore making lots of new, international friends, and for his second semester moved off campus, giving him an insight into city life in Vancouver.
Tom said “ Vancouver was an amazing city to live in, there was always something going on. The only negative? The weather! It rains! A LOT!”
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