My letter to future Cranfield University Students…

Welcome to Cranfield University, you are about to join a wonderful university and start your amazing year here, I am sure you are going to love it!! 

Looking back at the past 10 months at Cranfield, the best memories I had were the time I spent with my friends, both in class and during our spare time. Courses at Cranfield start with the induction week and the taught modules. Many activities are organised during the induction week, which is a great opportunity to meet and get to know the other students in the School of Water, Energy, and Environment. Although some of the activities during the induction week are not mandatory, I highly recommend that you take part in the activities, they are very interesting and can help you get familiar with your future classmates!  

A taught module at Cranfield usually includes lectures, field trips and small projects to finish within the two weeks attributed to the module. Personally, the best part of the taught modules were the field trips, because visiting the sites in person is a great way to visualise the abstract knowledge learnt on the courses. We had the opportunity to visit two waste recovery sites near Milton Keynes, which helped us better understand the concepts taught on the lectures.  

Of course, apart from studying, we also need time to relax! I highly recommend that you join the bus trips organised by Cranfield Students Association (CSA), which are both convenient and not expensive. I joined the trip to Windsor Castle and had a very good time. However, do not forget to book early because places are limited! Speaking of relaxing, I would also like to recommend the Campbell Park at Milton Keynes (MK). It is a perfect place for picnics, jogging, and watching sunrise and sunset. I once woke up at 5 am to watch the sunrise at Campbell Park with my friends, it was beautiful… Willen Lake at MK is also a beautiful place for taking a walk with your family and friends on weekends.    

One thing I wish I had done earlier was joining a society at Cranfield. Although I am not really an outdoorsy person, I do like to take a long walk from time to time. I missed the opportunity to join the walking society during induction week and missed many of their activities. One of my friends who was in the walking society told me about their midnight “Halloween Walk”, it was such a shame that I missed it! So if there is any society or sports club you are interested in, get involved and join in during the induction week.    

Another thing to keep in mind is to make good use of the resources provided by the university. For example, the Careers Team organises regular presentations or lectures to help students find jobs or plans for future development; the IT team sometimes organises software training sessions, etc. These sessions are very useful to make the best of these opportunities.   

In conclusion, Cranfield University offers a wide range of activities for both your academic development and your leisure time. Deciding to come to Cranfield for my postgraduate study was the best choice I made, I hope you can feel the same way after finishing your study here.