And there is some sunshine again!

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all well and you have enjoyed the sunshine for the last couple of days (see Todd, even though it snowed for a day, the sun came back:) ). I am still astonished how quickly Easter holidays, or for all third years also known as ‘Crazy Report Time’ holidays, have arrived. Semester two is just whizzing by and before we know it will be graduation time. And speaking of graduation, the date has finally been chosen, the 21st July is when, hopefully, I will graduate. As soon as I found out about the date I basically dashed to the computer (no this is not a metaphor I was physically running 😀 ) and made sure that I booked flights and hotel rooms for my family. Manchester is quite a popular destination so for anyone, who has family travelling I would advise you to book quickly :).

With that in mind I would appreciate advice on the best places to visit near Manchester. For now I have set my sights on Liverpool, Sheffield and the Lake District but I am no expert so help will be appreciated! 🙂

IMG_8695

(Proof that it can be sunny in Manchester 🙂 )

Apart from my graduation craziness, a couple of days ago it was my last visit day as a student ambassador. This is one of the things I would definitely miss about university. It was such a nice break to talk to prospective students about uni life and what not, take them on tours around the campus and around the school and bore them with historical details about the buildings. For anyone, considering whether to become a student ambassador or not, I would definitely recommend it. It is a lot of fun, gives you a break from studying and does not take that much out of your time. Plus, occasionally you will get some free lunch :).

Speaking of work around the university, for any students who are looking for summer placements, don’t forget to check out what our school is offering. There are some really amazing opportunities within the school that might be worth exploring and it will definitely be something worth adding to your CV. I did one after my first year in university, I can say that it was both fun and I managed to learn so much as well. I got the opportunity to develop my own idea about enthusing the school children about computer science using the Raspberry Pi. I would highly recommend keeping an eye out for this summer’s opportunities on the school’s page.

raspberryPi

(A blast from the past: Visualising audio using Fast Fourier Transform on LED Matrix; something I created during my internship with the university 🙂 )

On another note, last Saturday was Earth’s Hour and I am happy to say that I have participated. I know it might look like a small thing that does not really make a difference. But Earth’s hour is really about reminding us that the planet we live on is very fragile and we should try however we can to preserve it. Let’s not forget that according to NASA, February has been the warmest month on record which is somewhat worrying. But the good news is we can all do something small: cycle to work, recycle that Amazon card box and all those old lecture notes or plant a tree. Also check out this year’s Earth’s hour video , and if you are interested our university’s THINK sustainability tool 🙂 .

Oh, and a quick fun fact; an island participating in Earth’s hour last year, turned its lights on. The reason: the island is being powered by a mini-hydro power plant, 100% of the energy is reusable. Now, I think that is super cool :)!!!

Speak to you again soon,

Veneta