Home to some of the world’s best and oldest universities, the UK is replete with rich and diverse centres of history, culture and education. A UK education is an experience like no other, immersing students in a melting pot of multi-cultural experiences, festivals, plays, and literature.
Benefitting from a UK education is Joyce Chiong, a Political Economy student at King’s College London (KCL). She chose the UK to pursue her education because it was far enough from home to experience a pleasantly unfamiliar world. She shares, “I’m glad I chose a UK education because it helped me understand myself better, step out of my comfort zone, and learn to deal with different situations alone abroad.”
Expanding the Scope of Knowledge
A UK education has taught Joyce to become more sensitive to British, European Union (EU), and US perspectives of global issues. This provided her a valuable complement to the perspectives with which she is familiar in Singapore. “London provides a variety of learning opportunities, in the form of wide access to literature and leading academics, close proximity to historically significant sites, and the chance to attend talks by global leaders such as Kofi Annan, Amartya Sen and Ben Bernanke.
“These myriad opportunities are especially helpful to my course in Politics of the International Economy, as I am uniquely enabled to understand issues from multiple perspectives. Our classes are also filled with debates, forcing me to be more outspoken and learn interpersonal skills in relating to people from different cultures,” she muses.
Joyce also shares that through these experiences, she has learnt the importance of critical thinking and having an opinion on a range of issues. Her academic experience has also made her better able to support her views well with strong theory and knowledge.
A Matchless Experience
Remembering her pursuit to go beyond her comfort zone, Joyce got involved in various activities to complement her academic journey. She took part in a weekend Frisbee beginners’ tournament with the KCL team, which came to become one highlight of her time in the UK.
She shares, “After an entire day of matches at Brighton, the host university threw a huge party in the night. Despite the night of partying, everyone proceeded to give their best in the next day’s matches, epitomising the typical British student’s mentality of ‘work hard, play harder’.”
From the perspective of a UK student, Joyce speaks highly of London’s array of opportunities to satisfy all manner of interests. She shares enthusiastically, “Even though I have lived in London for two years, I still feel like I have yet to see much of it. I never tire of exploring the city, and am in the habit of visiting the many markets on my free days – such as Portobello Market, Camden Lock Market, and my favourite Borough Market. I now understand why Samuel Johnson said, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life”.
