You are about to embark on a priceless learning journey at the University of Warwick. I’m sure you have attended the pre-departure briefing in Malaysia and are in the final stages of preparations.
Congratulations on all that you have done in order to get this far. Let me tell you that you are about to begin the most exciting journey in your lifetime. You will be out of your comfort zone in Malaysia but destined to be here, at one of the top universities in the UK.
I was just like you during this period last year. I left Kuala Lumpur on 23 Sept 2013 and arrived at Heathrow Airport on 24 Sept 2013. I had signed up for the International Students Orientation 2013/14, thus I was picked up at Heathrow Airport by helpers from the Orientation team. I did not have to worry about how to get to the university as all the students who arrived at Heathrow boarded a coach and arrived at the university in the afternoon. Everything was smooth sailing for me. I managed to get the keys to my accommodation and took the shuttle bus to my halls of residence. In fact, I would have to say that experience helped me to settle in rather quickly.
I would like to share some tips via this post with you which I hope will be timely and useful while you are in the midst of final preparations before heading here.
Local Area
The University of Warwick’s campus is situated in Coventry. It is about an hour away from London by train. It is the 10th largest city in England and the 2nd largest city in the West Midlands. You can easily get to the nearer towns such as Kenilworth, Leamington Spa and Stratford-Upon-Avon by bus. I usually save money by getting a day saver ticket and go to 2 towns from campus, heading to Coventry and then after to Leamington Spa and back to the campus. So, it only costs me £3.80 for a whole day’s transport costs. Birmingham is just about 20 minutes away by train and the fare is between £2-£4 pounds, depending on the peak or off peak times.
Banks & Post Office
You will find it very easy to do banking as two banks have branches on campus, Barclays and Santander. There are also other banks in Coventry city centre such as Lloyds and HSBC etc. I found it convenient to continue using my account with Barclays because I already had an account with Barclays when I did my undergraduate degree in the UK previously. Nevertheless, I strongly urge you to open a HSBC account in Malaysia if you plan to transfer money from your bank account in Malaysia to your bank account in the UK. It would be an easier option. Initially, I had difficulty transferring money from a local Malaysian bank to my bank account in the UK. I only found out after arriving here that it did not offer such services. Finally, I used my HSBC bank account in Malaysia to do a telegraphic transfer (TT) and that worked well.
Do not worry about going to the post office. There is a post office on campus and it is located inside Costcutter, in central campus. You can mail letters and even packages here. Alternatively, you can send bigger parcels to Malaysia through FedEx Express and it only takes 2-3 days for the parcel to reach Kuala Lumpur.
Currency
When I left Malaysia, the exchange rate for the pound to ringgit was £1.00 to RM5.00. It has gone up and as of today (22 July 2014), the current exchange rate is £1.00 to RM5.42. Please bring some cash in pounds for your first few days, apart from a bank draft or travellers cheques. The cash would come in really handy especially when you want to buy small items as you arrive at the airport or on campus such as a bottle of mineral water. It would be even better to have small change such as £5 notes and the exact change if you plan to take bus from Heathrow to the university.
Medicine & Vitamins
It is quite easy to find most types of medicines that we get in Malaysia here, either at the local pharmacy on campus, at Boots or Superdrug. I brought a box of Panadol from Malaysia to start off, just in case I feel unwell. You may want to bring a bottle of the famous ‘Minyak kapak’ or ‘Axe brand oil’ as I haven’t found it here. You’ll be surprised that I found ‘Tiger Balm’ for sale in Superdrug. I couldn’t believe it!
You can also find all types of vitamins at Boots or Holland & Barrett, so you need not bring lots of vitamins. A good tip I would like to share is to take your vitamins daily even before you get here, especially Cod Liver Oil. It will boost your immune system and build your resistance and prepare you for the cold weather. In fact, I’m very surprised that I haven’t gotten flu or fever in the last 10 months despite the cold winter months. All thanks goes taking vitamins daily, through the seasons.
Weather & Clothing
The UK weather is truly unpredictable and it could change in a matter of hours in a day. There will be sunshine and probably rain as well. You will be able to get a suitable raincoat and umbrella here very easily. There is no need to bring bulky clothing from Malaysia. I only brought one hoodie with me during my 1st week and I managed to buy a raincoat and other outer wear at a Car Boot sale for only £2-£3 pounds. Clothing is also sold at an affordable price at Primark in Coventry city centre. The only items I bought in Malaysia were some HeatTech innerwear items from Uniqlo. They came in very handy in my first few weeks here. It is advisable to dress in layers depending on the weather.
Skincare & Cosmetics
The UK is a shopping haven for cosmetics as you can find all the leading brands here. In fact, I recently went to Bicester Village and found a shop that sells excess stock of leading skincare brands such as Estee Lauder, Clinique, Origins etc and make-up brands such as MAC and Bobbi Brown for the fraction of the prices on the high street. You can also find other skincare and cosmetics very easily at Boots, Superdrug and the Body Shop, as they usually have sales and offers such as buy 3 for the price of 2. Nevertheless, please stock up from Malaysia if you are currently using any skincare which is a ‘Whitening’ range as all the brands in the UK do not sell or carry the ‘Whitening’ range. For example, the Derma white range of skincare and cosmetics by Clinique is not available in the UK. The same goes for the Body Shop’s Moisture White Shiso Collection products, which are only available in Asia.
Different type of learning
I am still in the 1st year of my PhD studies, yet I have been exposed to various forms of learning in the last 10 months. I have attended classes for two research modules that are part of the PhD programme at my department. We have discussion groups during class and we also form informal group discussions on our own to support each other. Apart from that, I attend as many seminars as I can under the Academic Writing Programme and the Research Students Skills Programme (RSSP) organised by the Students Careers and Skills at the university. I also attend weekly seminars held at my department as well as conferences at the university and other universities. I have found it enriching to engage in discussions with other PhD students from other fields and research areas as well. Although our projects are varied, we share ideas, recommend books on methodology and support each other as fellow research students.
Relevant associations or groups
I also learn new skills from joining societies and networking with other students. Prior to embarking on my studies at Warwick, I was a member at two Toastmasters clubs in Kuala Lumpur. I was very glad when I knew there is an affiliated club to Toastmasters International at the university, which is Warwick Speakers. I have joint the society and I am also a member of the Warwick Malaysian Students Association (WMSA). There are more than 240 societies at the University of Warwick. Trust me, you will be spoilt for choice when deciding which societies you would like to join.
In conclusion, I would like to say that your experience will be enriched with a supportive and friendly environment at the University of Warwick. You will also have new formed friendships with other students from all parts of the world. It would allow you to develop self-expansion and growth in more ways than you can imagine.
Here’s wishing you the very best of luck before you get here and I’m looking forward to meeting all of you in September. Please do not hesitate to ask me any questions and I’ll try my best to assist you. I will be one of the helpers for the International Students Orientation 2014/15, so I’ll see you very soon.
Take care folks.
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