As a Chemical Engineering student, it is not surprising to have more contact hours in a day than some have in a week.
My week begins with a 9am lecture. We all know that an early morning lecture on a Monday may seem daunting, but on the bright side, it gives a kick start to my week to be more productive! During the one-hour slot between lectures, I will attend a weekly group meeting with our demonstrator to discuss our Product Design project. My chosen project is about solid oxide fuel cell for efficient energy conversion, and we work in a group of six. We talk through how far each of us have progressed on our assigned parts, whilst the demonstrator guides us to make sure that we are on the right track. Lectures continue up until 5pm, with a small lunch break in between.
On Tuesdays, I have lectures from 10am to 5pm, with two hours break in between. I always make sure to have a big breakfast to keep me fuelled for a long day’s work. Apart from the academic learning, I also take part in the Cameroon Catalyst meeting during the evening. Cameroon Catalyst is an international development charity which brings together students, engineers and specialists who lend their expertise to help facilitate sustainable development in villages in Cameroon.
Like every other student in the University, all of my lectures and tutorials end at noon on Wednesdays. Although most people are involved in sports societies on this day, I prefer to recharge myself by calling my mum (any international students can relate) or doing stuff that I enjoy. I often spend the free hours of my day cleaning the house, doing my laundry or going grocery shopping.
Thursdays start off with a 10am lecture, followed by another group meeting for the project. Since the project takes up a huge part of the module credit, we need to meet up regularly to keep up our teamwork and get ourselves prepared for the presentation. In the evening, I will hang out with a few close friends of mine. We will have a great time cooking dinner and making desserts together every week. Spending quality time with my friends is always the best way to lighten up my mood.
In this semester, our laboratory practicals are placed on Fridays. As the lab times are placed in random timeslots, I usually stay on campus to do some work for the day. I believe that it is worth finishing up as much work as you can for the week, so that it will be less stressful when next week starts.
My weekends can be quite boring because all I do is watch films, study, eat, sleep and repeat – unless if I decide to meet up with some friends. I hope this blog gave you an insight of the life of a chemical engineering student, or at least a bit of an idea of it! Everyone has a different way of managing their times, but the most important thing is to make sure that you’re enjoying the university experience.