0:09

Hello, everybody.

0:09

Welcome to our first special of

0:12

the

0:12

complete Welcome Week speech.

0:16

Now in this season, the concept

0:16

was that the guests were coming

0:19

back to Edinburgh to give this

0:19

welcome week speech. So what

0:22

I've done is compiled them all

0:22

for you. So you can listen all

0:26

at once you can get all your

0:26

advice in one go. Hopefully,

0:29

you'll have noticed that in the

0:29

episodes, I first asked them to

0:33

give them advice to first years

0:33

and then I asked them to give

0:36

advice to final years. And this

0:36

episode will include both. First

0:40

we have all of the first year

0:40

advice, and you'll hear from

0:43

each guest there, and then we'll

0:43

have the final year advice. So

0:46

you can hear both of them

0:46

separately. But before we do

0:49

that, I will remind you first

0:49

that Multi Story Edinburgh is

0:52

not the only way you can engage

0:52

with us. In our online meeting

0:56

place, platform one, you can

0:56

connect with members of our

0:58

Edinburgh community, including

0:58

students, alumni and staff. And

1:02

if you're a recent graduate,

1:02

watch out for our regular

1:05

digital newsletter, and head to

1:05

www.ed.ac.uk, forward slash

1:10

alumni for slash new graduates

1:10

with a hyphen in between new and

1:14

graduates, where you can catch

1:14

up on resources, opportunities,

1:18

and careers advice. Or you can

1:18

discover alumni networks and

1:21

clubs that you can join. I don't

1:21

think there's much more to say.

1:24

So I think we can just get on

1:24

with the episode. Enjoy Multi

1:27

the complete

1:27

Welcome Week speech.

1:31

So, you've gotten off the plane

1:31

from Singapore, and you are

1:37

arriving in Edinburgh to give your speech to the new first years. You've spoken already

1:38

about the importance of joining sports but what do you tell the

1:39

new crowd? What advice do you

1:43

give to them in regards to making the most out of uni?

1:44

Well, this is quite good

1:44

prep for me, because I think I

1:44

I think you've touched on two very important parts there. And something that I can relate to as well, because figuring out how you study best is extremely important to kind of making the most of your time. And you do have that freedom at university to choose. If you are somebody that doesn't work well in the morning, but does work well in the evenings, then do that. Don't force yourself to work in the morning. I work best with with a timetable, and making sure that I kind of do the same thing every week. The other thing that you mentioned there was not comparing yourself to other people, which is what I immediately did in first year, I came off of kind of being at school as someone who is pretty good at maths, I was more towards the top of the class and coming into uni, I was absolutely not that. But you've got to kind of be open and understand that what you're doing is good enough. And just because you're not getting that 100% that some people might be getting, it doesn't mean that you're doing bad because for a lot of degrees 70% is still that great line to have.

1:44

Yeah. And also noting that everyone comes into uni at a different point. And everyone comes from a different level experience or their school taught in a different way. Or, you know, and it doesn't, it doesn't matter where you start at uni. And you're you're going to be given the resources that you need to get to the point where you need to be, you have what you need to be here. And when you're here, you'll be given what you need to succeed. And you've got to kind of trust that.

1:45

It's quite a big thing

1:45

to trust, because you go from a

1:47

actually get to do that this

1:47

year. Oh, okay. A really

1:51

exciting part of the of the role

1:51

is that there's typically a

1:55

principals welcome to new

1:55

students in the McEwan hall, and

1:59

as sports president, you get to

1:59

come along and give a wee

2:03

welcome to the new students in

2:03

that space. So this is really

2:07

good prep for me. So I've, you

2:07

know, I've done my first... this

2:10

is going to be my first draft of

2:10

my, of my speech, I suppose.

2:15

I've had a wee think about some

2:15

of the sort of headline things

2:18

that I would that I would say,

2:18

when thinking about academics, I

2:23

would tell people, don't worry

2:23

about your grades too much. So

2:28

long as you stay focused, you

2:28

put in the work, you put in the

2:30

effort, you don't need to be

2:30

worried about the exact grade

2:34

that you're getting, you just

2:34

need to be more worried about

2:37

teacher guiding you through

2:37

school and every single subject,

2:37

about learning. And uni is...

2:37

it's less about the content, I

2:42

think, and it's more about

2:42

learning what your process is.

2:46

And also on the academic side,

2:46

don't worry about what other

2:49

people are doing around you and

2:49

how they're working. Find your

2:53

own rhythm, find your own pace,

2:53

and trust yourself on that don't

2:57

get too tied up in what everyone

2:57

else does. Because I think if

3:02

you try and act like everyone

3:02

else, you're just gonna get

3:05

stressed, tired, overworked. So

3:05

figure out what works best for

3:10

you. to a lecturer who will see you

3:35

for those two hours but unless

4:33

he's on open hours, he's

4:33

probably not as free to help you

5:27

I think one of the

5:27

biggest things I would have

5:31

wanted to know, in first year is

5:31

that you've got the probably one

5:38

of the largest in fact,

5:38

definitely one of the largest

5:40

institutions in the country,

5:40

with their name next to yours.

5:44

And you can use that you if you

5:44

decide that you want to do

5:46

something. There are people with

5:46

the skills, there are

5:49

departments with the facilities,

5:49

there are students with the time

5:52

and the interest. If you put the

5:52

effort into organizing

5:56

something, whether that's in the

5:56

creative team, whether that's

5:59

making tote bags, whether that's

5:59

starting a business, whether

6:03

it's I don't know becoming a new

6:03

all star, Ultimate Frisbee team

6:07

for Edinburgh Uni, you really

6:07

can achieve that, like here more

6:11

than anywhere else. And I think

6:11

that's just I mean, maybe people

6:14

know, in the back of their

6:14

minds, but the size of the

6:18

opportunity is not shoved down

6:18

people's throat enough, as I

6:21

think it probably could be. And

6:21

so you can do all of these

6:24

things you really, really want

6:24

to do and you've always dreamed

6:27

of doing. But it takes like a

6:27

level of personal dedication and

6:31

commitment and effort that I

6:31

don't know you can do but you

6:35

have to make yourself do it. I

6:35

don't know. That's maybe my

6:37

biggest point.

6:38

How did you manage to

6:38

balance going really headfirst

6:43

into that with still studying to

6:43

get degrees?

6:47

I think I've always

6:47

chased what I love. So the

6:51

reason I wanted to do music is

6:51

because I love music. And I was

6:53

like well I could do something

6:53

else: I thought about like

6:56

international relations,

6:56

politics, philosophy, these are

6:59

things that also interests me,

6:59

but like, I just loved music. I

7:02

was like if I'm going to do put

7:02

all my time and energy into this

7:06

even for just four years and see

7:06

what it's like I want it to be

7:08

music. And then the same with

7:08

The Edinburgh Collective, we put

7:11

on fun events, and we work with

7:11

people that we like and that

7:14

become our friends and we work

7:14

with venues and sound techs that

7:18

we like and we don't work with

7:18

people that aren't easy to work

7:21

with. Like, I think if you

7:21

really chase the fun with

7:24

restriction, you know, you got

7:24

to be careful and be sensible

7:27

and safe, obviously. But if you

7:27

chase the fun and if you really

7:30

pursue what you love, doesn't

7:30

feel like work. Like I never

7:33

wake up thinking, Oh, I've got

7:33

this song to write. And then

7:36

I've got to have this team

7:36

meeting with Cab Vol. What a

7:38

bore. It's like, oh, wow, what

7:38

an exciting day a random Multi

7:42

Story Edinburgh interview that I

7:42

didn't know about two weeks ago

7:45

pops up like that's, that's all

7:45

part of the fun. It's all part

7:48

of the lifestyle. So I think

7:48

that's maybe the secret to not

7:51

doing anything other than music

7:51

or Edinburgh collective ever.

7:55

Just do absolutely

7:55

everything.

7:57

There's something to be said for that. Don't burn yourself out, which I've done in

7:59

the past, probably a risk of in

8:03

the future, too. But yeah,

8:03

there's something to be said for

8:05

just saying yes to random

8:05

opportunities and chasing the

8:09

fun.

8:09

Yeah. Especially if

8:09

you're trying to market yourself

8:12

and get yourself out there.

8:12

There's a lot to be said about

8:15

just taking opportunities, even

8:15

if it's not exactly what you're

8:19

looking for. Everything is a...

8:19

a network and a jump to the next

8:24

stage.

8:24

Exactly. And you can you

8:24

can back out of things having

8:28

given them a good test, like I

8:28

used to teach piano and singing.

8:31

And I do, I did love it. And it

8:31

paid well, which is the main

8:34

reason I did it. But I found it

8:34

just it was so draining

8:37

physically and I guess musically

8:37

draining to so that at the end

8:40

of the day of teaching, I wouldn't want to go home and make music. The next day I

8:42

wouldn't want... I'd be so tired

8:45

and go into class and stuff. I

8:45

can't... I just like dipped out

8:47

of those jobs and found other

8:47

things that I found were less

8:51

draining and still paid.

8:52

You really found that

8:52

balance to make sure that you

8:55

could get everything done in an

8:55

efficient way.

8:58

Yeah, that, that

8:58

maintains your energy level. If

9:01

you don't want to do - you could

9:01

work really, really hard for a

9:03

week, but then have to take a

9:03

week off your better balancing

9:06

out and working really well

9:06

consistently.

9:15

So I think it's probably

9:15

everyone's advice, but

9:18

definitely join as many

9:18

societies in your first year and

9:21

keep going to them. So I joined

9:21

the wind band society when I was

9:27

in first year, because I did

9:27

some, yeah, I played the trumpet

9:30

since I was nine, I think so I

9:30

was in the school band in high

9:34

school. So I thought, you know,

9:34

I want to keep my trumpet skills

9:37

up. So I joined the wind band

9:37

society and it was really fun.

9:41

And you know, you have weekly

9:41

practice sessions, and then you

9:45

go for a pint in the pub. It was

9:45

all nice. But then COVID hit and

9:50

other, you know, rehearsals are

9:50

online. So it was really

9:53

awkward. You know, you have to

9:53

mute yourself and you're the

9:56

This is gonna surprise

9:56

you but I joined the wind band

9:56

No way.

9:56

But my first year was

9:56

COVID. So it was the, the online

9:56

That would be too comedic.

9:56

Yeah, I think there's a lot of societies, I believe on a Wednesday, is it? Yeah. So I guess advice to first years would be check which socieites you want to join on a Wednesday and then find ones for other days? only one playing. You know, I

9:57

can actually relate to that one.

9:59

in my first year. stuff. And I very quickly wasn't

10:00

able to really join because I'm

10:06

a percussionist. I think would

10:06

you would agree that standing

10:14

with you zoom call muted while

10:14

you're hitting a triangle is not

10:20

really what you want to do in the first year? Yeah, I couldn't get a

10:36

drum kit into my first year flat

10:40

because that would have caused a

10:40

bit of a riot I think.

10:43

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

10:43

Yeah. And yeah, trumpet as well

10:47

as like get too noisy at 8pm.

11:43

Yeah, joining societies

11:43

in first year was very much how

11:48

I got to meet people. Because

11:48

otherwise it was just my uni

11:52

accommodation. Are there any

11:52

societies you wish you had

11:56

joined in first year?

11:58

Yeah, I think Japan Society

11:58

just because I'm you know, I

12:02

come from Japan originally I'm

12:02

half Japanese and it's really

12:05

hard to find other Japanese

12:05

people in Scotland. So and I

12:10

thought that coming to uni

12:10

naturally, you know, I'll meet

12:13

more people who are like me, but

12:13

that was tricky. And also Japan

12:19

Society clashed with wind band

12:19

society in first year. Just

12:22

everything clashes that I want,

12:22

wanna go to so I couldn't go to

12:26

them. And then later on in my

12:26

course I actually met someone

12:30

who, who was the president of

12:30

Japan Society. And she was like,

12:34

oh, I should come to some more

12:34

events, but it always clashes

12:37

with something. So I think I

12:37

just had no luck.

12:47

Yeah, exactly. I heard that

12:47

a lot of sports societies, they

13:02

do their activities Wednesday

13:02

afternoon, because their

13:05

schedules are cleared or like

13:05

it's a university wide thing.

13:08

But Wednesdays were always the busiest for me.

13:10

Yeah, I heard that as

13:10

well, actually, that it was

13:13

meant to be that no one had

13:13

class on a Wednesday afternoon,

13:16

and I very much do. What it is,

13:16

and I know this from experience,

13:21

it is that there are fixtures on

13:21

a Wednesday afternoon. So that

13:26

might be where the rumour sort

13:26

of stems from. I do think a lot

13:30

of clubs do stuff on a Wednesday

13:30

because badminton club does. But

13:36

Pleasance is completely swept

13:36

with fixtures on a Wednesday

13:40

afternoon.

13:41

I think I would say,

13:41

as cliche as it is, like, you

13:45

kind of get out what you've put

13:45

into it. Like how you want your

13:50

uni experience to be, like, it's

13:50

completely just up to you. And

13:53

for me, like I was quite

13:53

proactive and kind of meeting

13:57

people and joining societies. I

13:57

was president of like Edinburgh

14:01

Taiwanese society, I also

14:01

Co-President of another like law

14:05

school society. And I was pretty

14:05

involved. I think, at least for

14:08

the first third years of my

14:08

degree. Fourth year, I was more

14:12

chilled out because I wanted to

14:12

focus on my dissertation. So I

14:15

think I would just say, put yourself out there, you know, like, don't... don't be shy. I

14:17

know, it's definitely easier

14:21

said than done, especially if

14:21

someone is like an introvert.

14:24

But everyone is in the same

14:24

boat. When you first start uni,

14:27

everybody would more likely than

14:27

not want to be friends and want

14:30

to make friends. So just put

14:30

yourself out there. Don't be

14:34

shy. Join the societies and run

14:34

for positions in committees.

14:40

Sometimes it feels like it's not

14:40

worth it. But it's good for the

14:44

CV and you definitely develop

14:44

like the soft skills that you

14:48

need. Yeah.

14:49

You mentioned there that

14:49

you were Co-President of a law

14:53

society, which one was that?

14:54

It was lawyers

14:54

without borders - the Edinburgh

14:57

student division. It was quite

14:57

fun. It's like a research based

15:01

society - there's events and

15:01

research. I was kind of more in

15:04

charge of the running events

15:04

part of it.

15:06

Yeah. It sounds like

15:06

quite a full on position to go

15:09

for. Did you go straight to

15:09

President or did you kind of,

15:13

you know, spend your time

15:13

somewhere else first before

15:15

going on to it?

15:16

Yeah, so for that

15:16

society, I was director of

15:20

marketing before in my second

15:20

year, and then I became co

15:24

president in third year, but for

15:24

the Taiwanese society, I went

15:28

straight to President in second

15:28

year, I believe.

15:32

Oh, wow. So you... you

15:32

were Taiwanese president in

15:34

second year, that's quite, it's

15:34

quite a big thing to do in

15:38

second year. Obviously, you have

15:38

a bit more time than third and

15:40

fourth year to do it but you

15:40

know, well done for getting

15:44

voted in as president in your

15:44

second year. That's quite a

15:46

tricky thing to do.

15:48

Yeah, it was, it was

15:48

an intense race. But I think I

15:53

won by like two votes.

15:57

I would say my biggest

15:57

advice is for the new students

16:03

who go out more, obviously, you

16:03

need to study hard, right?

16:07

That's the basis of everything.

16:07

That's how you can get a degree,

16:10

that's how you can get a first.

16:10

But in the meantime, you should

16:14

go out more, or you should go

16:14

and chat to people chat to

16:17

people, socialize with them, you

16:17

know, don't be afraid to say hi,

16:22

you know, because the other

16:22

person, the other side, the

16:26

receiving end of the message

16:26

would probably be something in

16:30

the same that they're

16:30

intimidated. I don't know what

16:33

to say. You know, it's normal.

16:33

And people are sort of the same

16:39

people want to know each other,

16:39

but maybe a wee bit shy to do

16:44

so. So I would say absolutely.

16:44

Go out and have fun. Enjoy your

16:50

Freshers Week, because that's

16:50

when will when you have the most

16:54

fun, but also go out during

16:54

like, the turn time and stuff.

17:00

And also you like it's not just

17:00

having fun new year, you're also

17:03

still learning about how to

17:03

network, you're learning about

17:08

how to communicate with people.

17:08

So those would be very nice

17:13

skills to have actually in, in

17:13

the end when you graduate and

17:17

get a job?

17:17

Where did you find it

17:17

easiest to meet people then in

17:21

your first year,

17:22

it's quite specific to me,

17:22

really. But I suppose for the

17:27

chemistry degree, I was able to

17:27

talk to the most people and get

17:30

to know them quite well in the

17:30

lab. Because how it works is

17:34

when we're working in a lab in

17:34

the first year, you basically

17:38

get paired up with someone else.

17:38

And during that process, you

17:42

will be working with them, you

17:42

will be working in a team

17:45

essentially, you will be

17:45

chatting to know about them. And

17:49

you know, those are things to

17:49

you. And you will just get to

17:53

know know them so much better.

17:53

For example, one of my first lab

17:58

partners in first year and my

17:58

daughter, she's one of my best

18:02

friends now. So we've kept in

18:02

touch over the past five years

18:07

of our degree. So it's really

18:07

nice. And you I feel like you

18:12

built the deepest connections

18:12

there in the lab. And obviously

18:17

you get to talk to people during

18:17

lectures to but it's a wee bit

18:21

less personal. It's more like

18:21

the there's just too many people

18:27

in the lecture theatre.

18:29

What about societies?

18:29

Did you join any of them in

18:32

first year and to meet people?

18:34

Yeah, I did. Actually

18:34

joined so many societies in my

18:38

first year. I can't even

18:38

remember some of them. But okay,

18:42

so I remember I joined the

18:42

English debating society,

18:47

Chinese debating society. And

18:47

then there's also Doctor Who

18:52

society rate choice and then at

18:52

the end is the French theatre

18:56

society. I think the French name

18:56

is Lee this concrete or

19:02

something along the lines of,

19:02

but I would say I spend the most

19:06

time the French theater theater

19:06

to theater society. Because we

19:10

had to do like one big play at

19:10

the time. And we had to go in

19:15

like each and every week to

19:15

rehearse for the piece. And I

19:19

was able to make quite a few

19:19

friends there, actually, as

19:24

well. Obviously not as good as

19:24

the friend they're made in

19:28

laboratories, but just be

19:28

honest.

19:37

What would you say to

19:37

people going into their final

19:40

year in terms of their

19:40

approaching graduation? It's not

19:45

really hit them yet. It's not

19:45

really hit me. I've got one year

19:49

left. It's not really happy that

19:49

I'm graduating in a year. What

19:52

kind of advice would you give to

19:52

people in that position?

19:55

I think the best thing

19:55

you can do because you're

19:57

struggling fourth year I would

19:57

say is you have these days

20:00

courses, whether it's

20:00

dissertation, a big project of a

20:03

composition portfolio, in my

20:03

case, to invite because I did

20:07

240 credit courses, and then and

20:07

then you have these other

20:10

smaller courses that you have to

20:10

do. You have other fun things

20:13

you're doing in life, you've got

20:13

your social life, blah, blah,

20:15

blah, that the only way you can

20:15

really achieve the bigger

20:18

projects and have them be something that when you're handing it in, you're like, Oh,

20:20

I back this. I've spent my time

20:23

on this. I finished early, I've

20:23

looked it over, I've done a

20:26

redraft. This is the best work

20:26

that I can do is if you start

20:30

like at the start or fourth

20:30

year, and just have a plan, have

20:33

a schedule. I know I'm doing

20:33

this this week. I know that I

20:35

need to start this early.

20:35

Because life gets in the way.

20:39

And if you don't get that plan

20:39

in before life takes over, you

20:43

just never made the plan. And

20:43

then it'll be like I was in the

20:45

start of second semester.

20:45

Fourth, you're thinking like,

20:48

wow, okay, it's time to do a

20:48

composition portfolio. And that

20:51

was fun, like working for months

20:51

on end, just like 40 minutes

20:54

music, but it is draining as

20:54

well. And I think if I had a

20:57

reflection, I'd have liked to

20:57

have planned timetables got into

21:00

a routine earlier. Because I

21:00

it's just so powerful, you can

21:03

achieve so much if you have a

21:03

clearer idea of what you should

21:06

be spending your time on.

21:07

Yeah, cuz I guess

21:07

dissertation on projects,

21:10

they're quite open, in terms of

21:10

you don't have a weekly lecture,

21:16

because it's so big and

21:16

interpretive, why and even

21:20

your weekly lectures

21:20

like you'll have to, if you're

21:23

lucky, that are on the thing

21:23

that your project is interested

21:26

in. And the rest will be like,

21:26

Oh, here's another random thing.

21:29

Oh, have you seen this? Have you

21:29

checked that the chances of you

21:32

getting regular lectures on the

21:32

exact thing you're doing your

21:35

project on, it's small. And then

21:35

you've got these other smaller

21:39

courses that are asking you to

21:39

do an essay in two weeks, a

21:41

group presentation of this, that

21:41

and there's Yeah, next to no

21:45

guidance in your dissertation

21:45

and a high workload for smaller

21:48

courses. Like it's all time

21:48

management, literally. So just

21:51

make

21:51

sure to get that

21:51

started. Soon, get that plan

21:55

ready, so that it doesn't become

21:55

too overwhelming later on in the

22:00

in the year.

22:01

Yeah, and you don't do

22:01

your best work. When you're

22:03

stressed. And you do your best

22:03

work. When you've got a time

22:06

period to do it. You can stick

22:06

it in a drawer for a week, take

22:08

a break, look over again and be

22:08

like, Oh, that entire chapter

22:12

actually isn't needed. Or wow, I

22:12

need to go into that more

22:15

because there's something good

22:15

there and delete the rest of it.

22:17

Now I remember submitting I did

22:17

some confirmation in first year

22:20

called Edinburgh, it was like an

22:20

orchestral piece. And then I

22:23

just got in contact with her

22:23

another orchestra who I said

22:26

it's in the piece too. And I listened through it. And I was like, wow, it took me 200 bars

22:28

to get to the melody that I know

22:32

want the piece to start with.

22:32

Wow, that's like all that all

22:35

those bars, and half of them got

22:35

deleted. But not all of those

22:38

bars, like were essential to

22:38

getting me to this point. And

22:41

now I've got it and it's a good

22:41

feeling. But you've got to do

22:44

the work before

22:45

don't like also, don't

22:45

be afraid to change things. And

22:50

if you're kind of objective sort

22:50

of changes a bit. That's not

22:53

necessarily a bad thing if

22:53

you're more passionate.

22:56

Yeah, I agree. If it

22:56

changes, it's probably because

22:58

it needed to change.

23:01

I think just be

23:01

organized. I think that's the

23:04

biggest thing, especially with

23:04

dissipation, if you're doing one

23:07

and just like it's like a whole

23:07

year long. So you don't want to

23:10

end up in a position where you

23:10

know, your deadlines in a month

23:13

or something and you haven't

23:13

really done enough to meet meet

23:18

that deadline. Like that's

23:18

really stressful. It's such a

23:20

big part of your grade. So I

23:20

think being organized is such an

23:24

important thing. And I think

23:24

also prioritizing your academic

23:30

career, and your future is more

23:30

important than social events in

23:33

fourth year. I think for me, I

23:33

definitely kind of put a pause,

23:39

or a semi pause on like social

23:39

events. So yeah, just focusing

23:44

on your grades and being

23:44

organized. This. My top tip,

23:49

very nice.

23:50

I think final year

23:50

definitely have less

23:53

extracurricular activities, I

23:53

think focus on your studies. I

23:57

mean, that's an obvious tip, I

23:57

suppose. But for me, I was

24:01

definitely going to you know,

24:01

just focus on my studies and

24:05

won't work and do maybe one

24:05

extracurricular by ended up

24:08

doing maybe to extracurriculars,

24:08

and like part time work. So I

24:12

ended up with like more things

24:12

than I was expecting. So that

24:16

was quite overwhelming. And I

24:16

think I went into four here. Not

24:20

fully prepared, I was still kind

24:20

of because I was quite busy

24:24

during the summer months working

24:24

for SACHA. So I never really had

24:29

a time to properly kind of relax

24:29

before going into fourth year.

24:33

And that definitely showed

24:33

because I think I was just

24:36

constantly trying to catch up

24:36

with things and trying to be

24:40

organized, but it was I just had

24:40

too much on my plate. So think I

24:45

wish I had the power to say no.

24:45

Yeah, I think that's the one

24:49

thing that I was still trying to

24:49

grapple with. Trying to say no.

24:53

And don't feel bad about it.

24:55

Yeah, I think I'd be the

24:55

same because I've spent you know

24:58

these first three years by

24:58

building up relationships with

25:01

all these societies, that is

25:01

going to be quite tricky to say

25:04

no.

25:04

But also, I think, because

25:04

I work too much in my fourth

25:07

year, I wish I made more time

25:07

for my friends. Because now like

25:11

everyone's left Edinburgh feels

25:11

really empty. You know, I don't

25:14

know when I'm going to see them

25:14

again. So, yeah, I think,

25:18

definitely, maybe, yeah, focus

25:18

on your studies and making time

25:22

for friends that you actually

25:22

care about? Yeah.

25:26

I will take that on

25:26

board, because it's gonna happen

25:28

to me. Yeah.

25:35

That's a really good

25:35

question. Actually, if I, if I

25:39

knew what I was going to, if I

25:39

heard, if I heard this, when I

25:44

first started fifth year, I

25:44

think I would be in a much

25:48

better place. Not to say that

25:48

I'm not in a good place, I would

25:53

be so much more successful, my

25:53

advice would be, again, this

25:57

year is going to be if you're

25:57

doing a project this year, or

26:02

placement this year, make the

26:02

most out of it, make mistakes,

26:06

learn from it. You know, don't

26:06

be afraid to ask questions, to

26:11

your colleagues, think really,

26:11

really hard about what you're

26:16

going to do next, after

26:16

graduation. You know, is it

26:20

going into academia, if you're

26:20

going to do to do a PhD,

26:24

afterwards, you know, if you're

26:24

if you are, then you should

26:28

think really hard about what

26:28

sort of specific topic that you

26:33

that really inspire you in the

26:33

area that you're in. Don't be

26:38

afraid to get in touch with

26:38

people, people are always very

26:42

helpful in anything really

26:42

people, get a LinkedIn and just

26:47

reach out to people. And don't

26:47

be afraid to get in a zoom chat

26:51

and talk to them about what you

26:51

want to want to do. You know,

26:56

ask them this, ask them how can

26:56

you fail? So that you know how

27:01

to what to avoid when you go

27:01

into that career? You know, how

27:06

do you get into that industry,

27:06

you know, then you will get an

27:10

idea about what what's it like

27:10

to work in that specific field.

27:15

So if that's if you're doing a

27:15

PhD, or continuing into

27:19

academia, but if you want to go

27:19

into industry, or, you know, for

27:24

example, quite a lot of my

27:24

colleagues actually are not

27:28

doing chemistry anymore, they

27:28

actually go into finance,

27:32

accounting, that, you know, so

27:32

many different pathways you can

27:37

take. So don't limit yourself

27:37

only on the subjects that you

27:42

study at uni. Because at the end

27:42

of the day, employers is going

27:47

to look at your CV and say, wow,

27:47

it's gonna straight out, ignore

27:52

the education bit, if I'm being

27:52

honest, and look at if you have

27:56

like relevant experiences. So

27:56

that's the sort of things that

28:01

employers really do look at,

28:01

when they are hiring people. And

28:06

remember this, it's really not.

28:06

So people often hire people that

28:11

are not necessarily best at

28:11

doing the job, but those who are

28:15

willing to learn and those who

28:15

are willing to make mistakes,

28:20

and those who are willing to go

28:20

and get the job. One other thing

28:25

that can really make you stand

28:25

out from 1000s of applicants is

28:30

actually to reach out to the

28:30

person, the hiring manager, or,

28:34

you know, the one of the people

28:34

that's working in the department

28:39

that you're hoping to work in

28:39

and say, express how much you

28:44

would love to work for them, and

28:44

why you want to, you know, do

28:48

your research, then you might

28:48

actually land a chance for an

28:53

interview and, you know, finding

28:53

the job.

28:56

That is some that is

28:56

some great advice. I'm very much

28:59

taking that on board because

28:59

going into my final year. Thank

29:02

you very much.

29:05

It's a wee bit late for me

29:05

to learn about these, like, at

29:08

the end of my I mean, literally

29:08

just learned them like a month

29:12

ago when I went to one of our

29:12

MSc programs that I went to

29:17

where I was basically networking

29:17

with like, big pharmaceutical

29:21

companies and chemical

29:21

companies. And yeah, it's just

29:26

someone inspire me when I when I

29:26

was there was great, but that

29:29

was a wee bit late. I wish I

29:29

knew a wee bit earlier.

29:33

So you mentioned

29:33

messaging people on LinkedIn and

29:37

stuff. I've tried that did not

29:37

go well. So do you have any

29:41

advice on kind of retaining

29:41

people people's interest on

29:47

LinkedIn because, you know, they

29:47

don't owe you anything. So it's

29:50

very easy for them to switch off.

29:51

Absolutely. I've got this

29:51

too. It's quite common. Like,

29:55

you know, for example, when you

29:55

message someone you wrote like a

29:58

paragraph of some thing, and

29:58

then they never reply to you.

30:05

It's quite common. But I would

30:05

say, I still get this, this till

30:11

the stage, you know, but what I

30:11

would say to that is for you to

30:17

look at their LinkedIn profile,

30:17

like what they've posted, you

30:21

know, if they don't post

30:21

anything, then maybe do a little

30:24

stalking and look at what

30:24

they've been up to, in their

30:29

business. And when you message

30:29

them put down in words, you

30:34

know, for example, you know,

30:34

congratulations on X, Y, Zed,

30:40

then they will be much more, you

30:40

know, willing to read on to what

30:45

you're actually going to say,

30:46

yeah, so try and tailor

30:46

it to the person don't just send

30:51

a general message

30:53

Tailor it to the person,

30:53

instead of sending like, yeah,

30:56

instead of like sending him

30:56

Millom sending a million people

31:00

the same message.

31:02

Even if people have the

31:02

same job, you can probably find

31:06

on their profile exactly what

31:06

they do. And what interests

31:11

them. Do you reckon that's quite

31:11

a good way to kind of start the

31:16

conversation as to mention that

31:16

stuff? Yeah, absolutely.

31:18

You know, if you look, look

31:18

into their LinkedIn, and then

31:22

they said, Well, I've done X, Y,

31:22

Zed to improve the businesses

31:28

turnover by 50%, or whatever,

31:28

you know, ask them. I've heard

31:34

that you've done such and such,

31:34

how did you do it? How did you

31:38

succeed? I would really love to

31:38

learn from you. What advice

31:43

would you give me, you know,

31:43

give yourself five years ago,

31:50

that kind of stuff. And then,

31:50

and then you listen in, and then

31:54

you'll say what you really want

31:54

from them?

32:00

Goodness, I don't know, I

32:00

think it's all too easy to

32:03

think, okay, it's my last year,

32:03

it's my biggest piece of work,

32:05

this is what's gonna give me my

32:05

degree classification. And yeah,

32:09

it's really important that you

32:09

put your best work in so that

32:12

you get the degree out which you

32:12

really want, and that you

32:16

deserve. And you need to make

32:16

sure that you're putting that

32:18

effort in, but it's all about

32:18

balance. And I think university

32:22

from the start of, of your

32:22

university career is all about

32:26

balance, it's probably easier to

32:26

find that in your first two,

32:29

three years than it is in your

32:29

last year. Because, you know,

32:33

maybe drop a couple grades in

32:33

your first year, it's not going

32:37

to matter in the long run.

32:37

Whereas there's a bit more high

32:40

stakes in your final year. But I

32:40

still think finding that balance

32:43

is actually going to improve

32:43

your outcome at the end of it

32:46

anyway. So, you know, become

32:46

obsessed with a sport or

32:49

society. And then you're finding

32:49

your stay obsessed with that and

32:53

stay connected and looped into

32:53

that community that you've got.

32:56

Because when you're busy and

32:56

stressed and worried that

33:01

community within that sport or

33:01

that society, that's going to be

33:05

the biggest support that you

33:05

could possibly have, as a

33:08

general guide, treat yourself

33:08

every once in a while going for

33:11

food with friends, or a drink or

33:11

a coffee or taking the morning

33:17

off to go for a walk or

33:17

something. You've got to do that

33:20

every once in a while. Because I

33:20

think too easily as students

33:23

like weekends don't exist is

33:23

quite common for students know

33:29

that doing nothing for a bit of

33:29

time, is actually going to help

33:33

you a huge amount the next day.

33:35

Yeah, I mean, resting is

33:35

such an important part of

33:39

studying, it's quite easy to

33:39

fall into that trap of just

33:42

being on it all the time.

33:42

Something that's helped me a lot

33:46

in my third year was making sure

33:46

that I do set out that time to

33:50

go and not study and having, as

33:50

you see a sports club is very

33:55

good for that. Because they give

33:55

you those set times that you

33:58

know you you have to stop

33:58

playing so otherwise, it's not

34:01

going to be happening. Yeah.

34:01

Well, I think you've given quite

34:09

a good speech there.

34:10

Well, I think I'm gonna

34:10

have to cut down because I got

34:13

rambled for about 1015 minutes

34:13

there. So I think I'm only gonna

34:16

get two or three. So I'll have

34:16

to cut it down.

34:19

Nah, you'll be fine. I

34:19

think you've you've covered the

34:23

main points and you just you cut

34:23

it down to that you'll be okay.

34:28

I hope that you have taken

34:28

something away from this

34:30

episode. I know I have going

34:30

into my final year, and you'll

34:34

have heard me say that to the

34:34

guests in their episodes, but I

34:37

hope that you have as well. A

34:37

lot of great advice was said in

34:41

that episode, and I hope you

34:41

enjoyed it. Thank you for

34:44

listening to multistory.

34:44

Edinburgh: the complete Welcome

34:47

Week speech. I'll see you next

34:47

time for another episode.