I joined the University of Birmingham faculty of engineering in September 2020 a year full of doubts and uncertainties. Birmingham is a leading global university, a founding member of the Russell Group and Universitas 21. One of the good things about engineering at Birmingham is the flexibility. As I was not sure which line in engineering to peruse at the beginning, year one has a combined engineering offering which presented me with the chance to undergo all disciplines simultaneously. Having had a small taste of each, this helped in my decision-making process which was assuring. I finished semester one and I am now ready to undertake civil engineering with great confidence. This flexibility made a huge difference for me. I was very enthusiastic about studying at Birmingham and skeptical at the same time, especially when I knew that I was going to study online. Of course, after Covid19 everything around us has tremendously changed and we were expected to cope with these changes. Coping is not an issue for me but the real challenge was mastering the process, which I profoundly did. Despite the uncertainties, I was open to new experiences and for that I found the online to be convenient in some ways. As I had full control over my time and lectures and could also attend some as many times as I chose to. This worked really well for me especially as a first-year student. I surprisingly enjoined most of all the online laboratories as I was fascinated and curious that it was even possible! My greatest challenge is not losing sight and keeping my focus all the time; for that reason I managed my time effectively and took sufficient breaks to keep me focused. I really can’t believe that I am now approaching the end of semester two, time does fly! I remember being at IFG as if it were yesterday. I did really well in semester one and I am working even harder to achieve the results I aspire going forward. I know I can do it, because I was fortunate to have had a solid foundation to help me accomplish that!
