Study weekend 2010 a student’s perspective…

Professor Martin Anthony shares his expertise with External Students at the Study weekend 2010

My experience of the Study weekend 2010

By Adrian Neumeyer

When I signed up for a degree programme at the External System in 2009, I only had a vague idea about how the year would develop and what life as a self-learner would be like. It turned out to be a demanding period, with endless hours at the desk, reading through textbooks and working on exercises. Despite all the challenges, it was also an amazing experience of intellectual enrichment. Staying motivated all the time is so important. What helped me in that respect, apart from the joy of learning new things, was the outlook that I would have to opportunity to meet my study mates at the study weekend.

I know many of you could not come to London this year, either because you live far away, or because your work commitments did not allow for it. Therefore I would like to give you some impressions of the study weekend which was held on February 5^th – 7^th 2010.

For some of the students the fun part already started on Thursday evening. A group of 20 students who had replied to my post on the VLE forum, met up for dinner in the cosy Spanish restaurant LA TASCA near Victoria Station. I was really surprised that so many people showed up, keeping in mind that everybody had a different travel schedule. We enjoyed a delicious dinner with various kinds of tapas, and very soon became engaged in wonderful conversations.

Being at the study weekend and meeting students from all over the world confirmed my presumption about the people who, by their own choice, decide to take up studies while working. What drives these individuals is far more than the mere need to get another certificate. The people I have met are concerned with social issues in their home country; they want to take over responsibility and change circumstances. Others devote a significant amount of their time to getting environmental awareness into companies. Even others have realised that they possess skills which go beyond what their current job demands from them, and hence want to get into a different field of work. I listened to many personal stories during the weekend, and each story I found equally fascinating.

As this was the first Study Weekend I attended I was curious about how the study sessions would be held. My first class was a Statistics unit, and James Abdey, our instructor, made a wonderful prelude on Friday morning. He immediately got everybody’s attention with his entertaining yet effective way of getting statistical concepts across. Of course it is impossible to cover the entire syllabus in three hours, but James and the other instructors knew very well what were the difficult topics in a course that required a closer look. Therefore the revision sessions were of great value, and helped me to bring all the knowledge that I had acquired over the past year into better order.

Another session I was eagerly awaiting was Introduction to Economics, taught by Professor Amos Witztum. It is one of the units I found most inspiring, and the study of economics has indeed changed my way of thinking about many aspects. Professor Witztum made an important statement when he noted that the motivation to study should come from the desire to learn, not from a short-term thinking about an exam. We all should remind ourselves of that from time to time. An economics lecture can also be quite amusing, as we discovered when Professor Witztum started to discuss the kama sutra of prices. If you now wonder why you have never heard about this concept before, don’t worry. It is not directly examinable

On Friday evening, a welcome reception was held in the Old Building. Professor Jonathan Kydd (Dean of the External System), Rosie Gosling (Director LSE External Study) and Professor Janet Hartley (Pro-director for teaching and learning, LSE) welcomed the students. Having the chance to talk to the instructors personally, who were also present on this evening, made the event very enjoyable and useful.

One thing I realised very early when I signed up for a degree at the University of London was the fact that the External Programme gives great attention to the feedback of their students, and is constantly seeking to improve the study experience. This is probably what makes this programme so successful, and what sets it apart from other distance learning institutions. The student forum, held on Saturday evening in Hong Kong theatre, was such a feedback opportunity, where we as students could actually bring up our ideas about what could be improved in the programme or the study weekend. The discussion focused on two main topics. One was the request to issue student ID cards. Another whish many students expressed was to provide more interaction possibilities with the instructors, and to bring more interactive resources onto the VLE. Of course many things can be done. In the case of video recordings, a big step has been made forward (take for example the videos available in the statistics units). From my perspective, what matters in all the discussion about adding further facilities is that we should not forget the purpose of the External Programme: To offer world-class education at very reasonable cost, giving a wide range of people the opportunity to gain a highly-respected award. Adding more learning facilities and events would for sure be beneficial, but would also drive up the cost of study and consequently exclude some students, mainly in less developed countries.

Concerning the organisation of the study weekend, we were thinking that it would be a good service if the organisers could negotiate better rates with hotels near campus. On one side this would simplify the preparation of the trip to London. On the other side it would bring down the cost for accommodation.

The study weekend was a big success, both from a learning perspective but also as a social event to meet new interesting people. I want to send a big THANK YOU to Rosie, Sarah, Craig, all the External study team at LSE, the instructors, and all the other people who have contributed to this event. Not to forget Ronny and Arun for their efforts to ensure smooth supply of coffee, water and cookies!

I am looking forward to seeing you all again next year.

 

Adrian Neumeyer