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Why did you choose to study at Imperial?
I chose to study at Imperial because I was really interested in learning about the intersection between mathematics and computer science. Imperial offers the Joint Maths and Computing (JMC) course, which allows students to study both subjects in detail for the first two years, after which you can choose to specialise in mathematics or computer science if you wish. Imperial’s course also offered a huge number and variety of courses in both mathematics and computer science in the later years of the degree, which I was first told about on my interview day. Not all universities offer courses that are structured in this flexible way, so this is one of the main reasons I decided to study at Imperial. Aside from the academic side, I also thought the idea of living in London seemed pretty exciting :)
Tell us about your time at Imperial
I really enjoyed my time at Imperial overall :) I met some wonderful people and was able to study a
wide variety of interesting subjects throughout my degree. I was also really grateful to get the
opportunity to learn from academics who are world leaders in their fields. Living in London was also
incredible, and although my move there was a bit difficult at the beginning, I made friends pretty
quickly (thanks to living in student halls and seeing the same people from my course in the computer
labs every day) and have great memories of my time there.
Can you tell us what you’ve done since Graduation?
I started a PhD in programming languages at the University of Cambridge in October 2022, a couple
of months after finishing my MEng degree at Imperial. Specifically, I’m working on improving the
reliability of low-level systems code via testing and formal verification techniques. I’ve been at
Cambridge for around 6 months now and am really enjoying it!
How has what you learn't at Imperial helped you in your career so far?
My degree from Imperial has helped me a huge amount so far in my PhD. The practical programming
and software engineering skills I learn't during my time at Imperial help me every day with my work.
What is equally valuable is the base knowledge I gained on fundamental topics in programming
languages from the mandatory and elective courses I took – from the more basic courses in the first
year like Reasoning About Programs to the really interesting Master’s-level courses I took, like
Scalable Software Verification and Software Reliability.
What would be your advice for current students?
Hang in there! The degrees in DoC can be intense, so try to keep a support group of friends around
who can help motivate you and make you feel better when things are hard. Also, I think that early on
in the degree, it is easy to feel some form of impostor syndrome, and that everyone else knows
more than you. The first year of my degree definitely felt like being thrown into the deep end! But
trust in your own abilities and try not to get too caught up with where others are doing internships,
or who’s on Dean’s List and who isn’t. It’s much healthier (and more beneficial, in my experience) to
focus on yourself :)
