The second term has just started in the beginning of January. The program consists of three terms in total. In the first term we had mainly lectures and I chose, for my optional module, to write a literature review. The second term entails lectures but we have also already started with our research project which will be the basis of the final dissertation. Therefore, I spend two days per week in the lecture hall and three days per week in the lab. In the end, I decided to choose a research project in the field of computational psychiatry and, to be honest, I am so excited about this project. Especially, because we can work on it for a total of eight months, starting part-time in the second term and full-time in the third term. This long period of time makes it possible to fully dive into the material which I think is an incredible opportunity to also gain some practical experiences.
Since most Master´s degrees in the UK are only for one year, I am now starting to consider different possibilities on what to do after finishing my MSc. Just a quick reminder for everyone considering continuing with a PhD straight away: most PhD deadlines are in March to June and, in particular, if you want to secure funding, the deadlines on scholarships are often before or in January. So, it is recommendable to have an eye on the different deadlines and start applying for a PhD in term one already. However, I decided to not continue with a PhD right away but to apply for research assistant positions after my MSc and to get some practical research experiences before going into a PhD. This way has many advantages. First of all, I have time to carefully evaluate where and in what area I would like to do my PhD in, I can completely focus on my MSc and take advantage of the amazing experiences a vibrating city like London has to offer.
But enough about my studies and career aspirations. Let´s talk about reading week and traveling.
In January is reading week which means having a week without classes that most students use to travel. However, since lab work has already started, I spend three days in lab and, therefore, could not travel somewhere for a whole week. But I used the remaining time off to explore further areas in London that I have not had the chance yet to visit. (And I already made plans to travel once classes and data analysis are over and I only have to write my dissertation because where you write it does not matter in the end).
In the beginning of reading week my uncle and my cousin came to visit me in London. So, I showed them around and we ended up going to Covent Garden and Leicester Square which I can highly recommend if you just want to see a really beautiful part of London. But there are many tourists there. So, be prepared. We also went to see the Phantom of the Opera Musical. So far, I have been to quite a lot of Musicals, but that stage set took my breath away. It was an absolute amazing experience. Some fellow students of mine and I used reading week to explore other parts of London that we have not seen before. Therefore, we visited the oldest bookstore of London "Hatchards". Obviously, I could not help myself and I had to buy a couple of books. But they literally offer books for every taste. We also went to Hampstead Heath which is a park that has many beautiful bridges and is ideal for a walk and if you are passionate runner this is the place to go. But there are some hills in that park so be prepared for a little bit of interval training. After that we went to Borough Market and had delicious food. If you are looking for a broad variety of food and dessert, I would suggest checking out Borough Market. In general, I am really looking forward to exploring even more parts of London. I almost get the feeling that being here for one year is not enough time to actually see every part of the city. But I will try my best.
February 2023 | Lioba Berndt
