Meet a student ambassador – Fridah

Meet the Department Student experience 19 February 2019

Meet Fridah A Masake Bowker, one of our 3^rd year student ambassadors studying MEng. Electrical and Electronic Engineering and hear about her experiences of Manchester and being an ambassador. Fridah is originally from Kenya but currently lives in Halifax with her family.

What are some of your favourite areas to study? 

There is a lot about this course that is very attractive and makes you want to learn even more. For me, it’s the practical lab experiences. When I joined the University in 2016, I had no prior experience in programming and coding or any lab work and I felt I was way behind! But the best bit is I was nurtured and directed into learning the codes and even used my new-found knowledge to build a winning buggy in a team of 5 members in my second year! What can beat that?!

What do you like to do outside of your studying?

Lots…I love theatre, you can watch plays in the Lowry in Salford, Royal Exchange Theatre and Palace Theatres in the city, there is so much choice! On Saturday last week I went to see a play called ‘The Bouncers’ (this was at the Wakefield Royal Theatre), it was very captivating. I watched ‘my fair lady’ at the Royal Exchange last year. For anyone who enjoys theatre, everything is available here.

Volunteering is another way to help people, make friends and have new experiences. Different, but worth it! Last year I took part in the Peak District Challenge where myself and 3 friends were stationed at the checkpoint (Carbar Gap car park) and we were in charge of giving out food and drinks to participants, I had so much fun there, it was a whole weekend event. I also got involved with fundraising for a breast cancer charity, an on-campus event that was set out by Manchester RAG society. Lots of people took part and it’s a way of making friends and socialising for a good course. RAG has a number of volunteering activities and anyone can join though the Students Union.

If you are a football fun, attending a match is the best thing you can do, there’s plenty of that here in Manchester…although I support Liverpool…so can’t put this photo here!

Attending EEEsoc, our school’s student ran society, events such the Spring Ball and Halloween is a good way of making friends on the course and we get together to dance, party and have a good time.

If you love travelling, you can join international society where every weekend they have trips to various places in the UK- is the best way to experience what UK has to offer and it’s affordable for students and it is safer to travel in a group rather than alone. The travels are normally scheduled for weekends and cover all types of trips from cities to countryside walks.

My favourite thing about Manchester is that people are happy, friendly and willing to help! This is another reason I chose this University.

What does your role as a Student Ambassador involve?

• Receiving a briefing from the admissions team
• Familiarise with the day’s schedule
• Meet prospective students and their parents and get to know a bit more about them
• Be in charge of my group together with my colleagues – know when and where my group need to be for their next session
• Take my group to their laboratory activities and demonstrations
• Show off my campus to them (lecture theatres, labs, common room, library and other essential places for students)

Why did you get involved with being a student ambassador?

On my UCAS open day the Student Ambassadors I met were very enthusiastic with their work and how they shared their experiences with me, that day sold it for me. I felt that I’d like to get involved in this work if I got the opportunity to be a student here.

What are the most common questions you get asked by applicants and what advice do you give?

What is a normal timetable like? My typical week has 3 labs and 6 lectures which are normally well scheduled and works well for everyone.

Are the lecturers approachable?Most lecturers are very approachable and can easily be reached by email. Before you decide to visit their office try to email first..this saves time and it’s an easier and quicker way to get response.

Do the labs fit all the students? Not all students at once but we are grouped into a reasonable lab group sizes that can easily fit in a given lab.

What is the typical number of students in first year? In my first year there are about 220 students in the school so the number ranges around that.

What percentage of girls are on the course? Around 10 percent perhaps a little less…hopefully the numbers will go up and we’ll see more girls join this beautiful Uni and do what they love.

How did you decide to study at Manchester? 

I did a lot of research mostly online and since I was at Leeds University for a foundation year, I asked some of my lecturers all they knew about this particular university and I am glad because they had such a good understanding of this place. So that really helped me in choosing this Uni to be my firm choice.

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