Bye Bye, Sheffield :(

LAST DAY IN SHEFFIELD 

Time flies ! It is just like a blink of eyes and now, we are leaving Sheffield already :(
I would say that this is a great place ! great people out there and great weather !

I am so afraid of the HOT weather back in Malaysia already. I think I am going to melt when I am in Malaysia. haha *joking*

Had pillow talk with Li Sin the night before she left yesterday. We even squeeze in a single bed and talked until 5am ? then we fell asleep ! lol

I could remember she asked me to go back my room and sleep because she was leaving soon ! 

Then when I woke up, she was not there already !
Leaving an empty bedroom with some of my things on her table. Then she left a postcard for me :D

It was so sad to see an empty bedroom, 

I know that it is time to say goodbye and move on...... 

but it is so hard to say goodbye :(

Then, I sent off yu en, Jack, Eric, Tae and Jason... 

They are going to meet Li Sin and go for backpacking... 

Me and some of my friends are going to join a travel agent... leaving tonight...

This means that we are not going to tour Europe together.. how sad :(

Li Sin left some of the stuffs on her table for me !
With the nail polish that she used to help me to do menicure !
Thanks :)
I am gonna miss u !

Her empty bedroom

Everyone proceed to their next journey...
I know that it is time for me to start packing too !
My feeling is complicated ! 
I miss everyone ! I am so reluctant to leave this place !
However, I miss my family back in Malaysia too ! 
This is life ~ 

Messy bedroom :(

I am starting to miss my flatmates and others already !
I miss all of them ! 
Hope that we can meet up more often when we go back to Malaysia !!! 

See you all during the graduation ceremony ! :)

*Time to continue to pack my stuff*

Last 2 1/2 days in Sheffield

LAST EXAM PAPER & THIS IS THE END OF THE FANTASTIC SUMMER COURSE IN SHU

CF exam - done !
CR - done :)

Bye bye to the exams and hello holidays !!!

However, I am going to say goodbye to Sheffield in another two and a half day :(

I am so gonna miss the place, the weather and the people here !

Time flies, 3 months is a very short period...

It was like when we are getting familiar with the place but it is also the time to say goodbye already! 

This is a great experience for me ... Being an international student, discover the new places and meet new friends !

No regret for coming here, for those who are coming here next year.... don't worry, it is gonna be great ! You are gonna miss this place when you leave, just like me :(

Oh ya, I received a lot of postcards from K, flatmates and friends !
It is just so awesome to receive the postcards :)

All the memories there !

I even sent the postcards  back to Malaysia, and sent to V&J as well :)
Samsung was having some program in conjunction with the paralympic, we get to send a real custom-made postcards for free to our friends :)

Thank you Samsung !

This was just the 5 postcards out of don't know how many :)
hehe

Hard working !
Having discussion in the kitchen !

After the exam, we went to have lunch in "The Graduate" , opposite Owen Building !
Jason said, " We must go to have lunch at The Graduate because we just graduated ! :) "
hahaha... hope that all of us pass the subjects the graduate together !! :)

And and and.........

I am so gonna miss my awesome flatmates ! ♥

We used to have dinner together, then Li Sin will prepare the supper for us !

That's why we are so fat now ! Because of her !! hahaha

Really love them !

NOT TO FORGET !
I am the 1st Prize Winner of SHU Blogging Contest in 2012 ~~!!!
Wooohooo~~~~ ♥♥♥ 
I won a HP Mini from SHU :) *Happy face*
Thank you so much ! Thank you for whoever choosing me as the winner !
The blogging contest help me to find back my passion in blogging :)
Thanks !
*Hope you all enjoy reading and hope the information regarding to my summer course in SHU helps* :D

Me with leng zai Andrew :)
And the prize !!! :)

Being an Overseas Student ♥

OVERVIEW OF AN ACCOUNTING STUDENT'S LIFE IN SHU

It was my first time to go overseas study !
Excited ! Looking forward and I couldn't wait to explore the new environment as soon as possible !

Thank you my family for giving me the opportunity to take the summer degree top up course in SHU.

There are two main universities located in Sheffield.

• Sheffield Hallam University (SHU)
• University of Sheffield

Of course, there are differences between studying in TARC/local universities and SHU, Sheffield !

Discovering the differences is FUN :)

Let me tell you what are the differences !

♥ University's Facilities ♥

There are around 10 buildings at City's centre, including the university's library - Adsetts Centre. They are scattered around the heart of the city but within the walking distance :)

Unlike TARC, where every buildings are built within a compound...

Owen Building

Owen Building main entrance

Stoddart Building
The business school :)

There are lecture theatres and seminar rooms in each building.
We usually have our lecture at Owen Building/Stoddart and seminar at Stoddart.

Compared to TARC, the lecture theatres here are far comfortable and well equipped with comfortable and cushioned seats, spacious legrooms, carpeted floor, huge wall screen, automated document camera, pc etc.

Furthermore, the toilets are CLEAN !
Much more cleaner than TARC ! 

Lecture theatre in Owen Building

 The seminar rooms where we attend our seminar are well equipped too !
With the similar facilities provided in the lecture theatres !

We usually have group discussion during our seminar, especially PASBD seminar where we will have role play, meeting and all. Very fun ! 
The lecturers here are anticipating questions from everyone of us and are trying their best to interact with us.
Don't worry about the slang, you will understand what the lecturer say :)

Lecture theatre in Stoddart

Discussion during seminar

The building below is HUBs where I bought my day trip tickets from !
Hallam Union Building of Sheffield ! One of the Sheffield's most iconic building !


The students' union is the heartbeat of life as a student.
HUBs houses :

• student advice centre
• volunteering, sports and societies
• a stylish coffee bar and shop
• Bar phoenix - shows a major sporting events on a massive 20 foot screen ( I watched the Euro Cup 2012 there )

HUBs 

Talking about the Adsetts Centre, the university very own library, the facilities here are superb !!
Booking of the university's facilities can be done online, simple and convenient for students !

There are self study area and group discussion area which can satisfy different needs from the students ! 
I enjoy having discussion in Adsetts Centre, not only that, be it self study moment, internet surfing, etc.

The internet connection there is superb ! Not only in Adsetts Centre, the free WIFI around the university is SUPERB too, with great speed and stable connection.
Unlike the free WIFI back in TARC.
I enjoy the stable and fast internet using my smartphone here !
Really love the internet connection !! ♥

Besides that, printing machines can be found in every floor of the library and this makes our life easier too when we want to print our assignments/notes.

Furthermore, food is ALLOWABLE in the library !
There is chef hallam in Adsetts Centre. You can bring your own lunch box there too !
Enjoy your lunch/tea while studying, this give you extra enery and keep you going !
But make sure you clean up everything and don't leave any rubbish there :)

In the university, there is a wide varieties of sport facilities in Club Hallam for the students to work out. 
There is badminton/table tennis too !

Student health centre functioned like a clinic. 
The medical team there offers a range of medical services including health checks, repeat medication, diabetes management, vaccinations and minor surgery. 

So, if we have allergies or feel ill, we can always consult the GP in the student health centre for FREE, but we need to buy the prescribed medicines in local pharmacies.

There are way more facilities provided by SHU.
Read more about SHU here





♥ Weather in Sheffield ♥

You have to get used to the weather here !
The weather in UK can be unpredictable sometime.
A moment ago, the sky still bright and shine... but a moment later, it may starts to drizzle or even rain (Umbrella is an essential tool when you go out here)
Hence, BBC weather forecast is very useful during your stay here !

The SUMMER in UK

Still remember that the first day we arrived, it was just 10 degree celcius !
10 degree celcius during summer ! haha ! Very very cold and we were shivering while moving our luggage !
However, it turns to be a REAL SUMMER during mid of July till August. 
It is hot and there is no fan in our room :( quite stuffy
A walk around the compound may help :)

The sky will be bright early in the morning like 430am and only get dark at 9pm or 10pm during summer. You may not used to it as the sky still bright while you are having your dinner already. 
The summer here doesn't mean that you get sunshine and warmth for the whole day, you will feel cold when the wind blows !

The AUTUMN in UK

The weather now starting to get colder.. Just like the first day we arrived !
It can be 7 degree celcius at night !!! Wow !! 
Enjoy the cold before you go back to Malaysia :)
Extra layers of clothing may be required to keep yourself warm !

The sky starts to turn dark around 730pm.


So good to be here. 
You get to experience 2 seasons out of 4 seasons :)






♥ Things to bring/not to bring from Malaysia ♥

As a student, we only have 40kg bag allowance.
Hence, be wise in choosing what you are going to bring here ! :)


Things not to bring / not to bring so much of it :

• Rice (Available at Aldi/Asda for £0.40 per kg)
• Electrical appliances (Provided by student accommodation)
• Biscuits/Chocolates/Butter/Bread (Selling at an affordable price. You can get 3 packs of Bueno for  £1 here)
• Shampoo/Shower Cream (They are selling at affordable prices i.e Loreal Paris Conditioner for  £1.50 during sale... *Unless you are used to your very own brand of shampoo/shower cream which is very hard to find in other countries*)
• Chili sauce, Ketchup, Pasta Sauce (Priced around  £1 -  £1.50)
• Tooth paste (Colgate toothpaste priced at  £1 -  £1.50)

*Not to bring too many clothes here :)*


Things to bring :

• MILO/COFFEE/NESTUM (The taste and flavours maybe different from Malaysia)
• Garlic (So expensive here ! 3 or 4 garlics for  £1)
• Contact lens solution (Bring more to last for 3++ months as it is quite expensive here)
• Skin Care/Cosmetics (Although there are quite a lot of cosmetics brand here but they might not suit our Asian's skin)
• Pens/Liquid paper/Highlighter (Bring some from Malaysia as the stationeries here may not be the one you are familiar with)
• Papers/A4 papers (Can be expensive here compared to Malaysia)
• Instant Noodles (May be expensive and I couldn't accept the taste of the local instant noodles. Still prefer Maggie Mee, Shin Ramen, etc)
• Seasonings such as Bak Kut Teh, Curry Paste, Tom Yam Paste, Chinese Herbal Soup Packet (Hard to find here. You are gonna miss the taste !)
• Enough cash in Pounds Sterling (You are gonna wait for 1-2 weeks to get your bank account ready)

So glad that I am given the chance to study here, to experience the difference in cultures, foods, perspective, learning approaches !
This is the time where I learnt how to be independent !
Walk/cycle to school, cook own lunch and dinner, wash clothes and many more !
It is once in a lifetime experience !

You have to experience it yourself !!

No regrets for coming here (SHU) to pursue my degree !
I love SHU and I love Charlotte Court !
I love everything here ♥

I know I am gonna miss Sheffield :)

Student Accommodations

SUMMER PROGRAM STUDENT ACCOMMODATIONS

Students from TARC who successfully enrolled into Sheffield Hallam University's Summer Degree Program will be allocated to these few accommodations upon arrivals.
The student accommodations allocation is based on the courses we take.

Andrew & Yat Tang told us before our arrival so once we reached Manchester Airport, we could follow the right bus and reached our hostel :)

You are going to stay in Sheffield for 3 months !
Thus, student accommodation, your very own room with ensuit bathroom, your flatmates play a significant roles in your daily live in Sheffield !
Enjoy your stay !
*You might be able to choose your own flatmates but it depends on the rooms available in each flat*

To be honest, I enjoyed my stay in Charlotte Court ! With my beloved flatmates :)

The accommodation fees we paid was £1226 for 3 months...
The student accommodation provided are :

• Charlotte Court (my hostel)
• Bramall 
• Opal 1
• The Forge 
• Trigon
• Pinnacles 

Every student accommodations listed above are within walking distance to the university's city campus !

There is a common room in each student accommodation for us to hang out with friends, enjoy the wifi, watch tv, held discussion, etc

Each room is furnished with a single bed, wardrobe, a desk or worktop and a chair.

All rooms provided have en-suite bathroom, means everyone has their personal bathroom :) 

Bedsheets, pillowsheet and comforter are provided to each student too.

Each flat has 6 rooms. 

There is a living area (with sofas, coffee table and maybe a Plasma TV) and a kitchen.

In the kitchen, there are electrical appliances (varies according to different accommodation) such as oven, microwave, stoves, freezer, refrigerator, etc.
Besides that, there is vacuum cleaner, iron & iron board in each flat (varies according to different accommodation)

For TARC Summer School students, we are very lucky as each of us will be provided a mug, plate, cutlery, pot and frying pan.

Hence, don't need to bring these from Malaysia or even buy from here :)

Sometimes, the student accommodations' management team may run a spot check randomly to students' flats to ensure hygiene and cleanliness of the kitchen and living area.

Sometimes, they will also help us to clean up the kitchen, living area and personal bathroom too.

However, we do need to keep everything clean. If not, we will received a warning letter!

CHARLOTTE COURT
My hostel :)

BRAMALL

OPAL 1

THE FORGE

TRIGON

PINNACLES 

Banking in UK

BANKING IN UK (INFORMATION FOR SHEFFIELD SUMMER PROGRAM STUDENTS)

There are few major banks in the UK :

• Barclays ( I'm using )
• Natwest
• Santander
• HSBC
• Lloyds TSB
• and many more ......

We will received a bank letter from the university after the induction.

Then, we have to use the bank letter together with the bank draft we brought here to open an account in the bank of your choice :)

We were lucky that Barclays' person in charge came to university and helped us make appointment.

As for the other bank, you will need to get your accommodation senior resident to make an appointment with the bank for you !

We need to wait for 1-2 weeks in order to get our bank account ready and debit card activated. Debit card and card reader will be sent to your accommodation.

Hence, it is very important for you to exchange some UK sterling pounds in cash before you arrive here, let say £200-£300.

For your information, Barclays and Natwest are located nearest to the uni. However, Santander and Lloyds TSB also located in the city centre :)

You can withdraw your money from any free cash withdrawal ATM here.

There are few in Owen Building and also one ATM opposite Stoddart Building. 

Not forget to mention the CARD READER provided FREE OF CHARGE by the bank for extra security !

How wonderful is that ! :)

Its function is similar to the TAC code in Malaysia. When we need to transfer money, we need to key in TAC code which is sent to our phone.

In UK, we just need to follow the steps shown in the card reader and bank website to get the code :) 

This is an extra security steps provided by the bank !

Card reader

You will also receive a saving card and debit card
Furthermore, debit card is important too when it comes to buying things in UK.
You can purchase anything by using debit card here...grocery shopping, online shopping and many more...
It is safer as there is no need to carry so much cash !

SHU Course Structure

SHU COURSE STRUCTURE (BA HON ACCOUNTING & FINANCE)

I am taking Accounting & Finance course in SHU.

We are required to attend 2 hours lecture and 2 hours seminar for each subject in a week.

As an accounting student, we are required to choose 3 subjects out of 4 subjects.

• Strategic Management Accounting (SMA)
  (Compulsory for AFA students)
• Corporate Reporting (CR)
  (Compulsory for AMA students)
• Corporate Finance (CF)
• Professional Accountant Skills for Business Decision (PASBD)
  (Compulsory for all accounting students - 100% course work based subject)

I was from AMA, so I can only choose either SMA or CF as CR and PASBD are already the compulsory subjects to me !

Then I chose CF :)

Syllabus :

• SMA
  It covers a number of topics from the subjects we studied before in TARC namely Management Accounting, Performance Management, Strategic Management
• CF
  It covers syllabus similar to paper F3 - Financial Strategy (CIMA) / paper F9 - Financial Management (ACCA)
• CRIt covers UK accounting standards, etc. More towards theory !
  It is almost the same as the Financial Reporting and Corporate Reporting we learnt in TARC before. 

The above 3 subjects assessment is :

- 70% (Final Exam)
- 30% (Course Work : Assignments/Phase Tests)

My CR lecturer/tutor : Dr. Prabhu Udawatte
He is good :) 

My CF tutor : Mr Moshfique Uddin !
He is good as well !

• PASBD (100% Coursework)

It is something similar with FDM (Financial Decision Management) that we learnt in TARC. 

I found that PASBD is very useful to me in preparing me for my future career !

This is the module where I learnt Communication Skill, Soft Skill, Presentation Skills !!

I could remember what our lecturer (John Joyce) told us : "Walk the walk, not talk the talk !"

It means we should experience the things ourselves, not just talk !

This module help us to walk the walk !
This is because we will be constantly assigned with different teammates by our lecturer to work for different case studies and presentations EVERY WEEK !

We cannot choose our teammates ! This is because we can't choose our teammates when we are working in the future too ...

I know that how important is the teamwork from this module ... 

Hence, I knew a lot of friends through this module too ! haha

During our weekly PASBD sessions, your works will be openly criticized by the evaluators. 

Of course, some of the students including me will be frightened and stressed at the first time. I could remember how the evaluators criticized and advice us ! 

We will receive a constructive feedback that help us to improve and improve again for our next week task.

Most of the students here may find it hard to adapt to PASBD requirements during the first few weeks here, including me as we are under consistent stress.

Eventually, we get better :)

In short, I must say that I enjoyed PASBD. 

We learn the things through watch video in the lecture !

Our super creative BATMAN lecturer - John  !!
How cool is that !
TARC lecturers might try this out in the future ? hehe

My first cycle teammates !
From left to right : Christ, William, Su Ping and me

We went Chinos after presentation ! hehe

Second cycle teammates
From left to right : Yu En, me, Bee Sian, Yee Mong

Third cycle teammate
From left to right : Me, Emily, Huang, Xingyi

Forth cycle teammates
From left to right : Winter & Susan

Me & Padma

Shopping in Sheffield

SHOPPING SHOPPING & SHOPPING ♥ 

Shopping is F-U-N !
I know I have been shop quite a lot :)

UK is considered as a shopping heaven where you can get apparels, bags, footwear from various brands such as Primark, H&M, Next, Republic, River Island and many more at reasonable price !!
I could say that it is very affordable for students like us !
Sounds exciting right?

The designs of the clothes of most of the brands change every fortnight and they are extremely cheap during summer sales !
You can get a dress or tops from H&M, Primark at a price as low as £3 !!!!!

Furthermore, you can shop online here !
It is so easy to go online shopping in UK..
What you need is internet connection and debit card :)
The goods are in good condition and same as what it described in the website !

♥ City Centre's Shopping District/Meadowhall ♥ 

In Sheffield, we normally do our shopping at either city centre's shopping district (5-10mins walk from university city campus) or Meadowhall Shopping Complex which is located about 5km from the city centre (accessible by train or tram)
The train ticket to Meadowhall and back to Sheffield cost £2.50 during off peak season.

Meadowhall is one of the largest stand alone shopping malls in Europe, with over 280 stores which includes H&M, Primark, Clark, FCUK, Republic, River Island and many more !!!
It is much bigger than Pavilion, One Utama or Midvalley in KL !

Train to Meadowhall

Helicopter view of the HUGE Meadowhall Shopping Complex

Happy Shopping :)
Waiting for the train !

♥ Sports Apparels/Goods ♥ 

The above brand names are the sports retail shops !
Selling good, cheap and affordable sports related goods !
For example: jersey, sport shoes, sports apparels, balls, etc

My friends got themselves few jerseys from these retail shops !
Oh ya, we bought a volleyball from Sports Direct too :)

Price for sports goods from brands such as Nike, Adidas, Umbro, Puma are quite affordable here !
In fact, they are overpriced in Malaysia.
You can get :
Man Utd jersey for £28-£45 here
Sport shoes costs between £15-£40 depending on the designs & brands

Pair of Fred Perry shoes can be priced at £20 during summer sales !!!

So, don't miss out the Summer Sales :D


♥ Pharmacy & Beauty Stores ♥

The major pharmacies in Malaysia are Guardian & Watson.
In UK, Boots & Superdrug are the major pharmacies !
You can find Boots in the City Centre of Sheffield :)

The pharmacies here sell various daily goods here, such as shampoo, body lotion, cosmetics, beauty products, sanitary pads, contact lens solutions, etc

There are pharmacists in most of the stores too in order to provide assistance to you !

♥ Designer Outlets ♥

Read :

Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet

Bicester Village

Doncaster Lakeside Village



♥ Grocery Shopping ♥

Read : 

Grocery Shopping






Remember, remember and remember......
Don't bring too many clothes from Malaysia if you want to enjoy the shopping here !!!
I brought quite a few and now I regret :(
So please spare some luggage space for your newly bought shopping loots here :)