Going to University is already a huge milestone that you achieve in your life, especially when you choose to move thousand of miles away from your home.

Coming to a different country, it’s understandable to feel overwhelmed. From making new friends to adjusting to the weather and the cultures. While at the same time, we also want to achieve something aside from just getting a degree. As an international student, I want to make the most of my Uni Life, especially when studying abroad. So, I will be making a to-do list to help you achieve that!

• Join Clubs & Societies

SUBU has tons of clubs & societies that you can join. If you’re new at uni, don’t miss out on the chance to go to Fresher’s Fair and just sign up to 10 societies if you want to! And if you decide to properly stick to one or two societies after one year, perhaps you can also run to be a committee member on the executive board. Be the president, if you want! I was involved with SUBU as their part-time liberation campaign officer for the Asian, Arab and Ethnic Minority Campaign from 2019 to 2021. It was a great experience and opportunity for me!

• Volunteering

Poole Museum

There are also a lot of volunteering opportunities around Bournemouth and you don’t have to go through all the hustle of finding it as everything is on the SUBU website. I had volunteering with the BCP council which landed me a summer internship opportunity with Poole Museum & it has been a great experience working with them!

• Global Cafe & other social events

Global Cafe is a weekly get-together activity held on Wednesday, 5 pm at Fusion Building. I get to make some dearest friends from this event and hopefully, you will too! There are also tons of other social events that you can join where you can meet new people and have fun! Keep up to date on the SUBU website; What’s On or sign up for their weekly newsletter or keep up to date on the BU website: Events.

• Global Talent Programme (GTP) Award

The GTP Award is an award-winning extracurricular offer, open to all undergraduates and postgraduate students. I have shared about my experience and the process throughout getting the GTP Award and it’s definitely something you shouldn’t miss out on!

• Scholarships

BU is partnering with Santander Bank/Santander UK Universities to provide some scholarships for students. Be sure to keep updated with the updates on Bournemouth University Facebook page. I was able to get myself a scholarship for Santander Student Online Self-Development Programme in partnership with Sporting Edge.

Santander scholarship webpage

But of course, the perk of studying abroad is to be able to travel around the country and nearby as well.

• Trips around Bournemouth

Bournemouth has a lot to offer and I have made several blog posts and vlogs showing how much I enjoyed my time here & exploring around – Fun places to go around Bournemouth with your friends, 5 places to go around Bournemouth during the Summer holiday, 10 coffee spots & eatery in Bournemouth, and lastly, 5 amazing places to visit near Bournemouth.

• Join the trips & tours by SUBU

If you’re unfamiliar with the new place, it’s worth just joining the trips arranged by SUBU. Less headache to plan the trip, the fees are very affordable and just enjoy the trips! Find out more trips & tours here.

Trip to Bath

I hope you’ll find these tips to be useful and enjoy your time at Bournemouth! If you ever need any help – you can reach out to AskBU and SUBU Advice. Take care! x

– Ayra H.