Experiences of WISC students – Khadijah Eniafe

Khadijah

I have definitely grown academically from start to finish of my foundation course, all thanks to the wonderful staff at the Wales International Study Centre (WISC).  The conducive environment of the university and the friendly students boosted my confidence and my skills as a learner have soared.

My greatest help would be attending all my classes and completing assignments on time, I found out that whenever I did assignments and I came across them in exams, I always remembered what I wrote.

My words of wisdom for students hoping to, or studying at the WISC, are to always be confident and believe in your self. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and stay focused in your studies. Lastly, enjoy the city of Wales and have a wonderful and fruitful year at the centre, good luck!

Completing my foundation course at the WISC has projected me forward and prepared me for my future aspirations and present course, which is BA (Hons) Fashion Design. In addition, I was also given an opportunity, by the university to attend fashions shows in London during the duration of the foundation program.

International student wins four weeks English lessons at Wales International Study Centre

Essay winner Adel Shutova from Kazakhstan at WISC

Essay competition winner Adel Shutova, 17, returned to Kazakhstan this week after enjoying four weeks free English lessons courtesy of Wales International Study Centre (WISC) at the University of Newport.

The competition, run earlier this year, asked students to write an essay and personal statement on why they think Wales is a good place for study. Adel’s winning essay impressed the judges with the research she had undertaken into the education system and subjects offered.

Commenting on her time studying in the UK, Adel said “I’m very sad that today is my last day at WISC and the UK. I really enjoyed these four weeks at the Study Centre. These were the best days of my life!! I met here different students from all over the world and it was the best time to make friends and I really liked it. Also I improved my English language skills that would be useful in my future. I liked all the teachers at the study centre but my favourite teacher was Jane Park because I spent most of the time studying from her.”

Adel concluded “At the end I would say that I hope to come back again to the UK and study at WISC, my foundation course.”

New times at WISC

It’s the second week of January and I’m back in Newport.

The new students for our dear Wales international have already arrived and many more are still expected. We are now really a very diverse batch of students with people dropping in from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, China, Taiwan, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Korea, Japan etc. The centre that till today was a just family of few people is now suddenly been converted into a buzzing place which smells of professionalism. More new teachers have come and joined also there are a lot of new courses that are offered here to suite everyone’s liking and requirement. The VIP treatment as being one of the first batch of students to arrive at WISC has taken a back seat as there is a lot to do for everyone and the zeal to help each and every student is more than ever. Well with the new guys the centre has suddenly become very nice and fun.

International Students outside the Kegie Building

The centre is always busy also the interaction with everyone makes you feel as if the so called ‘borders’ of countries can be raised as a controversial issue. We live eat and sleep as a family, no one is different. Everyone is trying to fit in and are putting a lot of effort in. The parties have increased and are on an all-time high. The fun times have just started there will be more to come of my blog. We as seniors helped the teachers in welcoming our new mates and also took the responsibility to take them around the campus and introduce them to the life in campus and Newport. Well because of all the new students I have tasted food from every continent if not every country.

My life has taken a turn for the best I feel as I m enjoying myself more than ever.

Cya everyone!

Hold your breath for my next episode of life at WISC.

Happy New Year!

Hi friends I’m back.

Well the Christmas and New Year have passed us in a jiffy and there are not enough words to describe the amount of fun I had. The university holidays started of on 5^th December and at that time I had decided to stay back at the university. But soon I realized what a stupid idea this was as everyone I knew was leaving and then suddenly the campus life became boring as the University was deserted and there were just a few people on the campus. So I decided to leave my paradise and go on an excursion.

Well, the initial plan was London however my friend invited me to Birmingham to have the 31^st blast. So I decided to go to Birmingham. The trip from Newport to Birmingham was beautiful. I traveled by train as everyone had told me that the train journeys in UK are just too good. And I was surely not disappointed.

Well Newport is a small town and not really developed so has less people and is a quiet place. Well and Birmingham was really buzzing with people. The town centre is amazing and I was also amazed with the amount of railway stations. I was also amazed by the nice architecture that I could experience. The Birmingham town center is really a place to see as its one of the most well planned places I have ever seen. The trip was a great success.

Birmingham UK - by Steve Oliver

Me and my friend along with a few other people form my home town and had a blast for 1 whole week, fun unlimited. On the 31^st we went to a friends house watched movies, had lots of drinks and then were dancing to some Desi tunes.

On 2^nd January we went to Coventry a small place near Birmingham which is also nice. The Coventry Transport Museum the University of Coventry and the church is very very nice. Surely it’s worth a look.

A life changing event

A little formal introduction to begin with since this is my first post.

Hi everyone my name is Pratik Deshmukh and I am from India. I am doing a foundation course in science and engineering at the Wales International Study Centre (WISC) in Newport. I hope to become an architect one day and the WISC is helping me on my way there.

The WISC is a nice place to be. It’s one of the best decisions I have taken in my life. The centre is a blend of modern architecture and good teachers with futuristic outlook. Every teacher has a personal touch to all the students. It helps a lot because as international students we need to know whom to turn to when we have problems. As international students we need to blend into this atmosphere and the teachers at WISC leave no stones unturned to achieve this. I came here on 25th September 2008 and it has been an uphill task to learn the ways of education in UK. However the teachers have helped us so much that the task has been pretty much simple. They have shown us the way when we reached a dead end.

After reaching the centre I had fun going over to the town and doing some shopping. It took me some time to find the shop which sold the Indian spices but the place is nice and big. I ended up buying almost everything they had as I didn’t expect to find these things here.

The city of Newport

The city of Newport is very busy on weekends but the best part is student’s night out on Wednesdays. With cheap alcohol and reduced entry fees to pubs and bars, Wednesday nights are what everyone is waiting for to head to town and have fun. The atmosphere in the campus is not bad too. The students are friendly and with the percentage of international students being pretty meager to those of British students the learning time for international students to blend in is definitely reduced.

The town has everything from supermarkets to banks and small shops to shopping complexes. There is a free bus service from the university into town. The bus service however runs only on weekdays during term time. But the minute you walk out of the university there is a bus stop which makes traveling quite convenient.

What is it like here?

Well its been almost 2 and half moths since I have been here so there is lot to tell. The nearest town is Cardiff the capital city of Wales. The best place to go on weekends and whenever you have free time. One of my friends from India stays way over in Birmingham but he came to meet me in November and since till then I had not been to Cardiff so we decided to visit the city. We went to Cardiff castle and Cardiff bay and believe me when I say we had unbelievable fun. For those who don’t know the castle I m putting in few photos for you.

Cardiff Castle grounds

Inside Cardiff Castle

Cardiff Castle keep

Cardiff Castle wall

Well what about accommodation?

It’s amazing. I am staying in the en-suite rooms. The concept of having 4 flat mates and sharing a kitchen is quite interesting. I am lucky to have very good flat mates. They are fun and very friendly. Our flat is always very quiet though because everyone always heads out to other peoples places to have fun and parties. I cooked food for everyone once and everyone liked it. It was awesome as it was the first time we as a family had dinner together.

Well I will end by telling you that I hope to enjoy Christmas now as I have studied hard for my end-of-term exams which finished on December 3rd.