Hello everyone!

Today’s post is going to have bits and bobs on different things, as mentioned in the title.

Last night was the Malaysia Student Society Surrey’s Annual Dinner 2015. The theme of the night was Simply Red and my oh my, everyone was dressed to impress!

 

The event was held at Wates House, which is a traditional pub located on campus from 6.30 to 10pm. The event included dinner, performances, lucky draws as well as a gift ceremony for the final year students accompanied with a personalised video. It was really nice to see everyone probably for the last time before summer holidays as exams begin in a week’s time.

Now back to the bits and bobs for today!
Global Graduate Award in Languages (GGA) is a university-wide languages programme, open to all students at Surrey University. It is a programme which runs concurrently with an academic year and involves 2 hour lessons once a week with an experienced teacher as well as tests on theory, speaking and a final exam. All language modules are accredited for undergraduate students and awarded 15 credits per course. Though these credits don’t count towards your degree, it does appear on your transcript as well as can be included in your CV. There are many different languages available such as Russian, French, Mandarin, Arabic and Spanish just to name a few and in different levels ranging from level 1 beginner to level 6 fluent speaker. The best part of it all; it’s entirely free!

In my first year, I did take Mandarin lessons for the first two weeks before chickening out. I do wish I had stayed on though as it’s such a skill to learn new languages in this day and age. I definitely plan on taking up a language once I’m back for 3rd year after completing my placement year. For more information on GGA, check out the link below;
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/englishandlanguages/study/global_graduate/index.htm

Moving on, as a University of Surrey student, you have the chance to work or study abroad as part of your degree. I personally feel that being able to study abroad broadens your horizon and forces a person to step outside their comfort zone. Working abroad moreover increases your employability tremendously as it shows that you can adapt, adjust and thrive in a different environment and have the necessary skills to do this.

There are international study exchange opportunities in many different subjects and can be taken either in the second year for one semester or for the full year. Imagine living in Florida, USA for a year whilst studying and earning credits that contribute towards your Surrey degree.Surrey University has many ties with universities abroad depending on which faculty you belong to i.e FEPS (Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences).

In terms of working abroad, it’s usually a work placement during the Professional Training Year. Again, each faculty has ties with companies and universities abroad which take Surrey students as part of a placement year. The best part of this is, there is something called Erasmus+ Exchange; grants that are available for all students who undertake either a period of study or a period of work abroad in Europe.This is of great help especially for students who undertake unpaid placements as the grants provide funds that can go towards accommodation, food and general expenses.

Another interesting this about student exchanges is that it also applies for incoming students meaning students from Malaysia for example who would like to study a semester or a year at Surrey University. Universities such as Monash University do have such arrangements with Surrey University for selected programmes.

To find out more about work or study abroad placements, check out the link below which is extremely user-friendly and has explanations on everything you need to know;
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/exchanges/index.htm

To all students planning to study at Surrey University, definitely have a look at these wonderful opportunities available which will only make your time at Surrey even better. As we like to say, Wonderful Things Happen Here:)

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Till next time,
Selamat tinggal!