Undergraduate Summer Opportunties
There are several avenues of opportunity for undergraduate students at Nottingham to gain experience of different aspects of plant and crop science during the vacation at the end of their first or second years, or during one of their semesters. These opportunities allow students to gain research experience in plant and crop science at Nottingham or elsewhere in the UK or abroad.
Studying in Malaysia
Nottingham was the first UK university to open a branch campus abroad. Students taking degrees at Nottingham can spend a semester at the University of Nottingham's campus in Malaysia taking modules which will form part of their degree. This is a very exciting opportunity to see biology from a different perspective. in another country There are several other schemes which enable undergraduate students to study abroad. More information on studying in Malaysia.
Lorna Trimnell, an undergraduate student in Plant Science, spent a semester studying in Malaysia. She writes:-
Five Months in Paradise – A Semester at the University of Nottingham’s Malaysia Campus
One of the main reasons I came to the University of Nottingham was because my Plant Science degree allowed me to spend one semester at its Malaysia campus. So you can imagine my excitement in September 2008 when the time came for me to actually go! After a tiring 19 hours of travelling, including a stop over, I arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport where I was greeted and taken to campus. Here I was shown to my accommodation and provided with bedding before going to see Miss Hanini in the International Office for a brief orientation.
During the first week I got to know loads of people from many different nationalities and cultures, and also got a good insight into life in Malaysia with trips to Kajang, TTS, Semenyih and of course Kuala Lumpur (KL). For me, it wasn’t hard to get used to the culture, the food was amazing, the people friendly and helpful, and the weather absolutely wonderful!
Lectures began and, although (or perhaps because) the class size was small (only 11 of us), the teaching quality was good and all the lecturers were very willing to provide help and advice or even just have a chat. Life on campus turned out to be deceptively lively after my initial impression that it was very quiet, and there was always something to do whatever hour of the day or night. Student facilities are really good, with a free outdoor swimming pool, gym, two TV rooms, dance studio and the main area of the Student Association building, which has pool tables, table football and lots of seating. There are also seating areas outside at both the front and the back of the building and three different eating areas, with more being completed in 2009.
Kajang, the nearest big town was a 20-30 minute shuttle bus ride away and hosted two shopping malls, Starbucks, MacDonalds, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, KFC, Baskin Robbins, Sushi King …………….! It also has the local KTM (train) station for getting into KL, which was only 40 minutes away and cost the princely sum of RM2.80, about 50p. Highlights in KL include Central Markets (especially for presents, authentic Malay goods and cheap fish foot spas), Bukit Bintang (capital of the capital and home to several shopping malls including Pavilion and Sungei Wang) and KLCC (home to Petronas Towers, shopping mall and park). Other must go’s are Luna and Sky Bars, which are bars located at the top of skyscraper hotels in central KL offering spectacular views.
The local town of Semenyih at the bottom of the road up to campus has a couple of supermarkets, and some good restaurants too to fend of hunger should you get bored of campus food.
I took the opportunity to do quite a bit of travelling in Malaysia itself and in neighbouring countries. In Malaysia, I visited Langkawi, Tioman and Penang, all islands which were stunning each in their own way. Food lovers should definitely visit Penang as it is the food capital of Malaysia, whilst Tioman is an idyllic tropical paradise with virtually no commercialisation. More long distance trips included Phuket in Thailand thanks to AirAsia’s bargain prices and then to Singapore by coach.
Overall, my time in Malaysia was an amazing experience which I will never forget. I have made friends from all over the world who I look forward to visiting again. Hopefully, with AirAsia flying to KL from London now, I will be able to go back to Malaysia soon to visit them. The trip also gave me a whole new perspective on the World and made me a more responsible and mature person. It is definitely an adventure I will never regret and would give anything to be able to do it all again.
The Malaysian Campus of the University of Nottingham at night
Gatsby Summer School and Studentship Scheme
The Gatsby Charitable foundation runs several schemes to promote career interest in the plant and crop sciences for undergraduate students. It runs an annual summer school in July for students at the end of their first year to inspire students in the ways of plants and to enrich their career development in the subject. This is a very popular event and enthuses students greatly.
Gatsby also supports undergraduate students in the summer at the end of their second year by providing studentships that can be used to work in a research lab in the UK or abroad or to facilitate a plant-related activity in the summer.
Students interested in these schemes should contact the University of Nottingham's Gatsby mentor, Dr. Kevin Pyke.
More details about these schemes are available at the Gatsby Plants website
Nuffield Summer Studentship scheme
The Nuffield Foundation provides bursaries for students to study a defined research project in the summer during the middle years of their degrees. More Information on the Nuffield Summer Studentship Scheme.
British Society for Plant Pathology
The British Society for Plant Pathology offers summer vacation bursaries for undergraduate students to work in a research lab on a plant pathology related project. More information on Plant Pathology Summer Vacation Bursaries.