Smart, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles MSc

University of Warwick

I have access to a lot of resources, not only in the acedemic aspect, but also in terms of social activities and events outside campus. There are few people on campus during weekends, let alone winter, spring, summer breaks. The location of the university is too far away from bustling cities. It's safe but also too quiet.

The uni campus is a really lovely with a community feel. A lot of the buildings have been remodeled or updated in recent years, which gives the campus a modern and welcoming feel and additionally there is a lot of green and outdoor spaces. Sometimes, the uni can feel a bit separate from a lot of major cities and activities but public transport makes it very easy to get to places. Student support could be better at times although in my case I have felt sufficiently supported. The buses from Leamington to the campus can be very over crowded and hard to use especially at peak times but it is not the be all and end all. Overall, Warwick is an incredible university offering a good student life, exceptional studies and great facilities.

It’s a great place to study due to not only the quality of the course but the layout of the campus. There is almost everything you could imagine here and it’s all so conveniently spaced, living on campus is a dream. So far all lecturers and personal tutors have been extremely supportive and the work has been fun and engaging whilst remaining somewhat challenging.

Te campus is very modern and clean, with all facilties provided. It feels nice and safe to be here. Lectures are great, and the seminar system is something very new to me but I am enjoying it! Student life is rich: lots of events are organised within the societies, to meet people, make friends and have a good time. The Sports and Wellness Hub is amazing! It's regretful that the membership to access sports clubs are this expensive, as they are not affordable to everyone, especially for exchange students like me who are here only for a year, and who have to spend a lot of money already, for our accommodation, grocery shopping, transportation, etc.

The facilities and teaching are great, all the practical and physical aspects of the uni match up to its reputation. It’s both a wonderful and beautiful institution to study at. The society’s are good there are many options and the events I have been to are well organised and very fun. The location is great too, I wish there were more on campus restaurants/cafes etc as there are none surrounding so you’re very limited for options on places to eat etc. But that is the only con about being so isolated, the campus feels like its own peaceful town and community. I am staying in the Arthur Vick residence and it is so peaceful, no trouble with noise disturbance even at night it is always quiet. The wellbeing facilities are great, I am in contact at the moment with both them and the disability team to get tested for dyslexia and both have been absolutely amazing. My only criticism is that they seem to predominantly accept students from London, from my own experience it feels like at least 60% of students are from London. This creates cliques and many pre set friendships, the few friends I have that aren’t from London feel this too. Not only do some look down on you for not having grown up in London and gone to a repetitional London school, but they also leave you out and stick to their cliques. Not only do you feel left out but also quite belittled when it comes to academics for example, in seminars I’ve had multiple occasions where my point and voice has been belittled and I’ve been treated as if I’m stupid before I’ve even displayed my knowledge in the subject because I said I was from Birmingham. Lecturers/Seminar tutors have said ‘be respectful because you’re meeting loads of people from different demographics’ but this isn’t true, they all have the same upbringing, in the same areas, from the exact same school. The very small demographic outside of this makes up 3 members of the seminar group usually, and we’re not treated the same by our peers. Not only does it affect academics but also societies, I was thinking about running for freshers rep and to be in the executive board for the African and Caribbean society. However, I gave up on this as those who are running for freshers reps have a line of people ready to vote for them because they all know each other from their London schools. How is anyone who hasn’t come from London with a bunch of their old classmates/peers supposed to win society elections like this? You cannot amass the same amount of voters in 4 weeks as these people have in 14 years of their education? Or at minimum, the last 2 years at their sixth form. It puts anyone outside of this London bubble at a disadvantage and has entirely discouraged me to give up before even trying. I think the University should accept a much wider demographic in terms of income and location within the UK, as the social aspect of the university for us non-Londoners is tainted with this outsider feeling, this inadequate and belittling feeling and this excluded feeling. In conclusion, as I said the physical and practical aspects of the university are wonderful, but the social aspect for anyone outside the London bubble is significantly less enjoyable and I’d go as far to say uncomfortable.