[Info] University closure (23rd December - 4th January)

The University closes on the 23rd December (tomorrow) and re-opens on Monday 4th January for the annual seasonal vacation.

Every year, during this period, the staff at the University have some vacation time to spend with their families.

If you have a question, The International Office will be maintaining a light service through Facebook and Orkut. We will reply as soon as we can.

If you also want to get into the holiday spirit - it's not too late to send one of the University's seasonal e-cards.

Have a great break everybody and best wishes for 2010!

Stuart

[Info] Cardiff's 'Campus Horizons' plans for a new campus and more

As a prospective student of Cardiff I thought you would like to see some of Cardiff University's building plans for the future.

I'm sure you will want to know you are studying in a forward-thinking university that is committed to providing a top educational environment.

During a time when most UK universities are scaling back their building plans, Cardiff University is pushing ahead with its ambitious project to enhance the University's environment. This includes a new campus next to the current Cathays campus (to be called the Maindy Park campus).

The new campus will provide facilities for inter-disciplinary research activity, green space for the general public and have a focus on sustainability. These plans are backed up by the University's current investment in the information technology infrastructure.

There is more information and slideshows on the newly launched Campus Horizons website.

Stuart

[Video] Alumnus from MA International Journalism

Here's an interesting video of Piyush Roy, an alumnus from Mumbai, India.

He graduated from the MA International Journalism programme in the School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies and worked for several major newspapers and magazines in India. He talks about some of his experiences during and after studying at Cardiff.



Some related links:

• More information on the MA International Journalism: http://www.cf.ac.uk/jomec/degreeprogrammes/pgmasters/mainternationaljournalism/index.html
  
• The School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies: www.cardiff.ac.uk/jomec
  
• More videos on the Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/cardiffinternational
  
• Videos on Youku: u.youku.com/cardiffio

Stuart

[Video] International students go ice-skating

We've been working on lots of videos this week. The latest is below.

International students from the International Foundation Programme went ice-skating at Cardiff's Winter Wonderland last week and took their video cameras along.

The Winter Wonderland runs every year from November to January and features an ice-skating rink, a big wheel (with amazing views of Cardiff) and fairground rides and stalls.



The rink is infront of City Hall and next to Cardiff University's Cathays campus. It is a beautiful setting for an ice-skate especially on crisp clear Winter nights.

You can also see more photos on the Winter Wonderland website: www.cardiffswinterwonderland.com

Related links:

• International Foundation Programme: www.cardiff.ac.uk/ifp
• Cardiff's Winter Wonderland: www.cardiffswinterwonderland.com 

Stuart

[Video] Cardiff and CU students from 1926

We discovered this fascinating video today on Youtube. It features a section of one of Cardiff's main shopping streets as it was in 1926.

This is approximately the same view today - if you spin it round you can see Cardiff Castle on your left. There are no trams and the street infront is now pedestrianised.



In the second part of the film you can see some Cardiff University students celebrating ' Rag' week. This is a week when students dress up and put on activities to raise money for charity. It still happens today and last year Cardiff students raised over £23,000.

Stuart

[Video] LLB Law scholarship winner

If you're thinking about studying an LLB you'll probably be interested in the video below.

The video features a Canadian student, Zeher Chadi, who has so far accumulated £8,000 in scholarships (including last year's top £5,000 prize for being the highest achieving student).



In fact, last year, the School of Law gave out a massive £33,000 in international scholarships to 21 LLB students for outstanding academic performance. You can see all the winners and find out more here: http://www.law.cf.ac.uk/alumni/newsletter/2009/sept/sept4.html

Want to see more videos?

• www.youtube.com/cardiffinternational
• u.youku.com/cardiffio

Stuart

[Advice] Improving your job prospects at university

Most students come to study in the UK because it will help improve their job prospects. Even if you have not chosen a career, you will want to know you are being prepared for work and that after your degree you will have opportunities and options.

I thought it would be useful therefore to give you a few general recommendations about how you can improve your job prospects while you’re at university.

1. Choose a top university with a worldwide reputation.
Studying at a top university will give your degree extra recognition from employers. It’s good to check with people already in the industry - they might be able to give you advice on the good schools for their area. You can see Cardiff’s high rankings and worldwide impact on the Research website: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/rae/results/

2. Study hard.
It may seem obvious but applying yourself and making the most of opportunities will give you an extra-edge over other candidates. Extra-curricular activities like guest lectures, field trips and additional seminars will broaden your knowledge and provide networking opportunities.

3. Maximise your potential.
In the work-place it is important that you can be creative and apply your knowledge effectively. Cardiff offers ‘Student Enterprise’ – a free programme designed to give you the opportunity to develop and practise entrepreneurial and business skills: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/enterprise

4. Get advice and meet employers.
Job-hunting can be tricky and even seasoned professionals need some advice. Most universities offer careers advice. Cardiff’s Careers Service has a specialist international adviser who can offer assistance on choosing a career, interview techniques and improving your CV/ résumé. At Cardiff we also have a regular programme of events where potential employers come to campus and meet students.

5. Enhance your résumé.
Employers don’t want robots. They want interesting people who are driven and able to work in teams. Your employment prospects are enhanced if you can demonstrate your talents outside of academia. You can, for example, get involved with a student society or join the Student Volunteering Unit. You can find out more about student societies on the Students' Union website: http://www.cardiffstudents.com/activities/societies

6. Get experienced.
Work experience is a great way to show you can apply your studies. You can get work experience by taking a part-time job, or opting for an undergraduate degree with a year in industry. The Careers Service also runs some ‘taster’ sessions and these are very popular.

7. Network and build lifelong friendships.
Cardiff University has 27,000 students, more than 3,000 from outside the EU and more than 5,500 staff. Professors and other staff will offer you advice and direction. Other students, both from your own country and other countries, can also provide valuable insights.

Do you have other ideas? Any good tips you can pass on to other students? Comment below.

Stuart

Welcome to the International Office blog

Hello,

My name is Stuart and I work in the International Office at Cardiff University. The International Office helps international students who are thinking of, or planning to study at, Cardiff.

Why have we started this blog?

We know that you will have many questions about studying in the UK. Obviously you can use the website to find out information but sometimes it is nice to hear from people who are working at the University. We have years of experience of welcoming students to Cardiff and have seen many successful graduates.

Our aim is to provide you with some insight and hopefully answer some of those questions you have about the process of coming to Cardiff. We want to give you a personal view about living and studying here.

How can you help?

As this blog is for you, we’re interested to know what subjects you would most like to read? If you have an idea – please comment below. In fact please comment on any of our posts. It would be great to get your feedback and we love hearing from you.

Remember if you have any questions about admissions you can e-mail us international@cardiff.ac.uk call us via Skype (user: cardiffinternational) or connect with us through any of these websites:

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/cardiffinternational
• Orkut: http://www.orkut.com/Main#Profile?uid=17979784092837957659
• Friendster: www.friendster.com/cardiffinternational
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/cardiffio
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/cardiffinternational
• Youku: u.youku.com/cardiffio

Hope to hear from you soon!

Stuart