We’re going to keep this one short and sweet for you because we don’t want you over exerting yourself. We’ve devised 5 key tips that will help turn your learning experience from mediocre to magnificent.
You can use all, some, or one of the tips but we’re certain (especially from experience) that they will help. So, here they are:
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Read beyond the subject
You’re probably sick to death of reading but it’s imperative that you read up on your subject; your lecturers/teachers will tell you that for free. We agree wholeheartedly with them too, but if you want to do better, you should broaden your horizons and read beyond your subject. You’d be surprise what you’d learn and what you can apply contextually to your course. In other words, make use of the library and the Internet!
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Attend conferences
Not everyone is able to do this but if and when you have the spare time, you should attend conferences associated to your studies/interests. It’s highly likely that you will be able to network with others who may be of assistance for your future modules. You may even meet representatives for book publishers that are offering discount codes for certain books.
Oh and finally, conferences are great places to disseminate research, so if you know you have work you’d like to showcase, conferences are a good start – find the organisers details and contact them beforehand.
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Volunteer
We think this important too! You should do what you can to find a relevant voluntary role outside of what is required for your course as soon as possible (and not wait until you do a module that requires some form of work experience). Not only will it show how innovative you are, but you’ll gain a wide variety of experience by putting that knowledge you have into practice.
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Engage with your department
Stay in the know about what is happening in your department/faculty!
Find out whether your department have any form of social media or blogs that you can immerse yourself in and maybe write your experiences to. You’d be surprised how flexible your department can be when it comes to involving students. Another thing you can do to engage is go along to “social stuff” like trips, breakfast clubs, or study groups that your department are either hosting or endorsing.
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Society?
If you haven’t already, identify whether your institution has a society of interest to you, or your course. If there is one you should really get joining, but if not set one up! (don’t stress yourself out in the process).
The benefit of being part of a society means you’ll be able to gather with like-minded people in your own spare time which is quite refreshing. You’ll also be able to share and develop ideas that will improve society somehow.
We hope all of the above will improve your academic experience. Let us know how you get on too.
The CrimiTalk 