Member from Sudan

MSc Information Systems Security

‘When I joined Sheffield Hallam I decided I was going to manage my time carefully to balance between my course study and my extracurricular activities. I believed that the value of my UK experience will be much more than the degree. Since I arrived I’ve taken part of any available opportunity to develop skills such as leadership and communication. When I joined Conversation Club my goal was to enhance my confidence and abilities of meeting new people and making new friends. Conversation Club created the fun ice-breaking atmosphere in which I could make new friends, learn more about British culture and develop skills I never had the chance to develop in such fun activities before. It’s much more than just a networking event.

‘Studying an MSc degree in the computing field can be very stressful and I realised that if I don’t reset my brain engaging in fun activities, my academic performance would degrade. Firstly when I joined Conversation Club, being a new student, I wanted to make friends. I did indeed make friends in the activity; however, this activity did provide me with more than friends. It is one of those unique opportunities where I got to make new friends, have a great time while developing my soft skills such as teamwork, and learn about different cultures while meeting people from all over the world.

‘I highly recommend that all new students, especially those who come from abroad, join Conversation Club as soon as they arrive if they want to feel home. The organisers of Conversation Club are among the nicest and funniest people I have met – not only in Sheffield but in my life – and I’m sure Conversation Club will be one of the main moments I’m going to miss if I leave Sheffield.

‘I also joined the great Culture Connect scheme as a mentor. The strong relationship I developed with my mentee from China made this experience mutually rewarding. I used my experience to guide her and make her feel at home at Sheffield Hallam while I got the chance to learn from her experiences. And we benefited from the fact that we both come from amazingly different backgrounds. This opportunity helped me develop my communication skills and social confidence and awareness while making new great friends, learning about different cultures and having an unforgettable time.

‘I’m looking to become an IT entrepreneur in the near future. The extracurricular activities will shed some light in areas that the academic courses won’t address. I’ll meet people from different backgrounds and learn their experiences, adopt their problem solving skills and I’ll develop the soft skills required to tackle real-life challenges.

‘Conversation Club is much more than just a regular networking event. For me it is so important that I added it to my coursework schedule. It is a great opportunity through which I could have a great time, meet new great friends from all over the world, and learn about different cultures while developing necessary skills such as communication and teamwork. I can release the stress by taking some time away from studying, so I can return to it with more energy.’

The next Conversation Club is on Thursday 26 March at 5pm-7pm in Room D105, Collegiate Crescent.

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On Sunday 8 March we celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD). Observed since 1909 it was a global celebration of respect, appreciation and recognition of women, while continuing to call for greater equality.

Thousands of events occurred to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women and Sheffield Hallam University was an active participant.

Students and staff were nominated by colleagues shared their inspirational stories.

Watch Culture Connect mentee Hala Alnaji’s  inspirational video below:

Students and staff had their photos taken with the blue stocking

The term ‘bluestocking’ has been associated with intellectual thinkers throughout Europe for around 500 years. It can be traced back to the 15th century when intellectuals met in Venice and deliberately wore blue-coloured stockings.

In the 20th century the bluestocking was claimed by the Blue stockings Society and gained significance as a symbol of equality for women in higher education.

Following in the footsteps of the women’s rights movement, we wish to claim the bluestocking in celebration of our diversity, including our female, LGBT and black and minority ethnic staff and students.