International Engineering Ambassadors
Insight into the life & course of international students.

Saturday 3 March 2018

Meet our IEA - Sanchari


Hi, my name is Sanchari and I am from India. I come from a city named Kolkata and I’ve lived there my whole life until I came to Sheffield; which is possibly the best decision I ever made. I am currently studying Materials Science and Engineering. I have always wanted to study in a highly respected  global institution, especially one which is in the top 100. Coming from a middle-class family, the thought of studying overseas was just a dream to me, until it became a reality last year.
I chose to study Materials Science and Engineering because I basically wanted to know more about how the universe works. However, I didn’t want to just study Physics because I love Chemistry as well and I wanted to study something that is application based. This course provided me with everything I have been looking for. Materials Science has Physics, Chemistry and Engineering too, which was the perfect combination for me.
I have a myriad of reasons, why I chose to study at The University of Sheffield. Firstly, my department is closely integrated with leading industries and I thought that would really be helpful for me. It would give me an insight into real world applications and how everything actually works in industry. Secondly, the staff student ratio is 1:2 which meant there would be more interaction with professors and I would be able to get more help. Thirdly, when I checked the statistics I saw that there was 100% employment of the graduates from my department last year which was a great incentive for me. Lastly, the city itself. Sheffield is such a friendly, green, safe and cheap city. Being an international student, the cost really mattered to me and the fact that Sheffield was cheaper than any other cities in UK motivated me more to choose this University.
After I came here, I did not regret my decision at all, it was everything I had hoped it would be, even exceeding my expectations. The Diamond building needs a special mention here because it is truly a most fascinating building. Most of my labs take place in the Diamond which is pretty exciting because I have access to use all the latest equipment that is used in the real world. We have such interesting labs too. My favourite has to be the one where I made a minion through sand casting of aluminium. In addition to this there are numerous facilities provided by the University such as a great Student Advice centre, SSiD, the Student JobShop and the Students’ Union which is like a one-stop solution to all your problems. There are also huge libraries (Western Bank, Information Commons and the Diamond) which are a great help to any student here.
What I like most about my department is that I have a personal tutor. We meet weekly and for someone who can’t voice their problems loudly in the lecture theatres, it is really helpful to have an opportunity for a one to one, with an opportunity to ask questions. We also had a Skills Week where I got the chance to visit Guardian Glass which is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of some glass products. I was awestruck seeing all the procedures and the magnitude of the processing. I learnt a lot from it and it inspired me to do further research on glass.
If you think coming here would only restrict you to a life of studying, then you would be wrong. The University of Sheffield not only provides you with great academic facilities but it also provides students with lots of opportunities to develop a variety of skills, even to pursue your passions. There are so many varied extracurricular activities available with over 300 societies to choose from. All in all, Sheffield actually helps your personal growth and development on so many levels, academically, culturally and socially.

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