Pictured from left to right: Jots Sehmbi; graduate of Bsc Information Systems and Management, Rosie Gosling; Director of Institutional Liaison, University of London International Programmes at LSE, Frank Wisselink; graduate of BSc Economics and Management 2010 and Liz Wise; graduate of Bsc Politics and International Relations 2010.
Hi all fellow students,
I completed my BSc Information Systems and Management degree after 7 long long long years this year…and thought it might be helpful to offer some words of encouragement and possibly some hints and tips for new students just starting off before I signoff from the VLE….and have a little look back at the 7 years….
When I joined UOL many years ago, there was no VLE, no online official discussion forums or online study guides. What existed was an unofficial forum called yansa.org (you are not studying alone) which was being run by a fellow student. This forum helped me to connect with other students who were studying the same courses, and out of that lifelong friendships blossomed.
Working with a core set of students, we established an unofficial online study group using messenger technologies and other online based forums. Soon I was waking up on Saturday mornings and logging into chat and study sessions with students from all across the world from Iran, Europe, Australia and the US. I thought wow…what a great feeling communicating and working with students across the globe to achieve study goals and support each other.
We then thought it would be a good idea to have a physical meeting once or twice a year for students who were starting their studies, as way of establishing study groups and putting students who had already completed modules, in touch with new students. I had already been meeting with 2 students once or twice a year at LSE as way of “kicking off” our studies and supporting each other, before the first kick off weekend was arranged.
In 2007, the first kick off weekend was organised at LSE by 3 students, with the help of the lovely folk in the LSE External office to get access to rooms and the library. We had around 30 students attend, from all over the world. Rosie Gosling also spoke and gave a warm welcome and helped students with studies. Out of this grew a following for the event with students contacting us for dates of the next kick off weekend. We ran the kick off weekends for another 2 years and by the time the last one was held in 2009, we had lecturers for 4 different subjects and 50 students attend, and Rosie was always there to give her time and a warm welcome and encouragement at each kick off weekend. Students gave great feedback and said that having 2 occasions (the kick off weekend and the officially run Study weekend by LSE) to help with studies was very useful. Particularly, having an event at the start of the academic year to *kick off* studies was good for motivation, and meant that by the time the revision weekend came around in February, students had made good progress and established study groups. Due to the success of the kick off weekends, the event which is now a Kick off day, was officially taken over by LSE in 2010. This is one of the high points of my time with the University of London International Programmes; to be able to create an event which will continue to provide support and guidance for new students year on year.
Other high points include:
1. A great sense of achievement in having completed the course by independent study as well as working full time and dealing with all of life’s complexities.
2. I’ve made lifelong friends from all over the world, who have shown me parts of the world I may not have travelled to and continue to offer wonderful friendships.
3. I have learnt a great deal of things along the 7 year journey, which I’ve been able to put into practice in both my professional and personal life.
4. The feeling that anything is possible and that the world is small place!
5. Understanding that changes are possible if we all work together.
There were of course times, when I felt I wasn’t getting anywhere and it was hard to focus on studies with having to also work full time. But bit by bit, year by year I finally completed my goal…so I my first top tip is this: don’t give up, you can do it, it’s about patience and doing what you can manage in the time you have. Even if you only manage to take a single unit in a year, that’s a great achievement, so give yourself a pat on the back for that!
Here’s a list of my other tips:
1. Focus on courses that you are interested in because you will likely do best in those.
2. Utilise all your resources, VLE, chat sessions and forum study groups if you can. Study groups helped me greatly for motivation and progress. When I was studying Sociology, a group of 8 of us would email a question we had made up on a particular topic to the rest of the group each week and we all had to respond via email to the question. They were short questions and only took 10 minutes to write a response…but they helped the key concepts gel in my head.
3. Start writing essays and answering short questions early, don’t ignore the end of chapter questions in the study guides. If you can answer those questions, then building up to a long essay should be simpler.
4. Create yourself a proper study space where you won’t be disturbed and you then know you’re in “study mode” when you enter that place. Not everyone has a place at home where they can study so think about using other public places: libraries, parks and coffee shops. I loved revising in the summer in the park as I didn’t feel I wasn’t being deprived of the sun by being stuck to a desk, and I got a nice summer glow in the process too!
5. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t stick to your study plan, you will have good and bad days, as long as you do *something* you are on the right track.
6. Plan but don’t over plan – set yourself weekly and monthly goals at the start of the academic year and then adjust if needed. Having a plan is better than having no plan!
7. Enjoy your studies, if you treat them as a chore…it’s harder to study…no one likes chores!
8. Remember that you are NOT alone and there are lots of other students out there.
I have loved and thoroughly enjoyed my time studying with the University of London International Programmes and just wanted to share some of my experience so hopefully it can also help other students starting off.
Good luck to you all.
Best wishes,
Jots Sehmbi
Posted by LSE office for UOL International Programmes 
Happy holidays to all…
December 19, 2011It is that time of year again when the office closes down for Christmas and New year and the Study Weekend draws near.
Office closure
The LSE office for University of London International Programmes will close from the afternoon of Wednesday 21st December until the morning of Tuesday 3rd January 2012. You may of course continue to write to us (uolip@lse.ac.uk) and we will endeavour to get back to you as soon as we return to the office. Please refrain from sending repeat enquires over this period as this will slow down the response time.
Study weekend 2012
The 2012 Study Weekend is fast approaching and will take place from Friday 3rd February to Sunday 5th February 2012.
If you have never been before, the weekend consists of short courses in many popular courses of the Economics, Management, Finance and the Social Science programmes. It has been designed to help students with examination preparation and technique. It is an excellent opportunity for students to discuss the syllabus with subject specialists, receive guidance on the curriculum, discuss issues of particular concern and share experiences with other International Programmes students.
To read more about the study weekend, view the timetable and to book your place visit the website, here.
Please note that booking closes on Monday 16th January.
You might also be interested in watching a short film about the weekend:
You may also like to read the following blog posts:
My first Study Weekend – an External study staff member’s perspective
Study weekend 2010 a student’s perspective…
Study weekends have been designed to help you but lecturers will not go over the whole syllabus. The study sessions are an opportunity for you to ask questions and to alleviate any doubts that you may have. We have found that the study skills sessions are particularly useful and so we would encourage you to sign up for these, and they are free!
We have also set up a Facebook event page, here. The Twitter hashtag for the day will be #swe2012
As usual we will be having a party on Friday evening and as ever we will be celebrating the successes of those students who have been given scholarships to study at the LSE and we will be inviting other graduates for you to meet. We find that our alumni are a great source of support, information and guidance. The party is a chance for you to relax and have fun so please do come.
Any enquiries about the event should be emailed to s.k.douglas@lse.ac.uk
Please check the FAQs about the Study weekend web page before making an enquiry.
At the Study weekend we are looking for students to participate in a video recording session which aims to bring the student study experience to life. We’ll be asking volunteers questions such as:
What is it like to study with us?
What do you like?
What are the challenges?
What advice would you give to future students?
How has undertaking the programme helped your career prospects?
Here is an example of the type of video that you will appear in:
Videos recorded at the Study weekend will be used on YouTube and in marketing material for the EMFSS courses and are likely to be featured on the UoL International Programmes website.
If you are interested in participating, please contact alice.ross@london.ac.uk
Examiners commentaries
Many of the 2011 examiners commentaries are now available in the VLE. These are important for you as they provide the ‘voice’ of the examiner, they will indicate how the examination questions should have been answered and in some cases indicate what a really good answer should look like. Please read them carefully. There is a warning on every commentary to alert you to the fact that examiners can examine any part of the syllabus and to warn students against question spotting. Remember that you are studying for a degree not just for the examination.
Registering for examinations
Login to the Student Portal and under ‘My Account’ you will find instructions on how to register for examinations.
If you have not recieved your Portal login details or if you have forgotten them please write to uolia.support@london.ac.uk and remember to quote your student number.
Via the Portal you will be able to print off your personalised exam registration form.
The deadline for registering for examinations is 1 February 2012 unless you are coming to the study weekend where you may hand in your application in person.
It is crucial that you submit your examination entry form by the deadline for examination entry.
If you have any queries regarding examination entry you should contact the University of London examinations office (emfssexams@london.ac.uk) or telephone: 020 7862 8333.
The examinations timetable is currently being worked on an will be made available on the examinations website.
That just leaves us to say Happy holidays to all and we wish you a very happy and successful new year.