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Enter details into the form below to register your account for Jumpstart 2010. Please make sure you use your ECS ID in the form below. We need to keep track of who contributes on the website.

Andy Baker

First weeks at University were fun. The best aspect is the sight of a large group of people all starting from the same point in the same boat: very few solid connections to the people around you and not the greatest grasp of the events to come. The pace is quite quick. First up, the move into halls. I recall being given a lift with all my gear to Bencraft Court and I was greeted by the sight of a lot of people unloading cars which were rammed to the brim, the sight of boxes and bags being taken and unloaded from their cars and respective rooms, people holding doors or dodging in and out each others way. The late september day itself was unseasonably warm, although the heating system timer and thermostat didn't seem to respect that as it was cranked up to the max. Therefore this involved breaking more of a sweat than was necessary. Anyhow no chance to pause once the unloading had finished, a quick check that anything perishable had made it to spot in the kitchen fridge and I'd called shotgun on the cupboards required in said kitchen. In amongst all this chaos, there was the form-filling to state my arrival and the introductions to the people who'd just arrived. It seem became a well-rehearsed speech. Getting hold of a fresher's t-shirt at this stage would seem to have been a better plan here: thoughtfully the designers had put a form on where you could fill in 'name', 'originates from' and 'studying'.

Following the move in at the weekend, JumpStart began for ECS students. This week meant we got chance to get to know members of our tutor group and an idea of how the school functioned before being thrown into lectures. It was memorable for me as I had recently managed to injure my ankle. Didn't think this was going to be a problem. This would have been fine, but JumpStart that year in ECS involved on a random march around Southampton. Yeah, my ankle was giving me grief for the duration. This niggle aside, the whole thing was a fun experience. The task at hand - locate places and people around the city with the photos to prove it - was a good opportunity to get to know my tutor group. There were some fairly bemused looks for members of the public as this group of students descended on them requesting photos; especially some of the elderly people who were being asked for their age and whether they had any ID to prove it. Most people were up for it, including a female police officer and an employee of Ocean Village to whom were presented a (fairy) cake. Turns out we did so well at the given task, winning a foot long tube of Jaffa Cakes for having found the most people and places.

Chris Heys

I was excited to be going to uni, but I obviously had the usual doubts and worries that plague most people before a big change like leaving home and going to uni. Things like "What if I don't like it there?" or "What if everyone hates me?" etc. (the latter being a perfectly understandable question to those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting me already). Luckily, there was no need to worry. When I arrived at uni, everyone was in friend-making mode so it was easy to get to know new people. Remember - most people you meet in Freshers' Week are in the same situation as you! Just make sure you have some good answers to the classic ice-breaking questions like "What are you studying?", "What A-Levels did you do?", "What's your favourite colour?" etc. etc.

As for Freshers' Week itself, I spent most of it with my flatmates, getting to know people and consuming beverages of an alcoholic nature (in moderation, of course, in case my mum's reading this). There was JumpStart as well, which was a great way to meet fellow ECS students (especially on the socials!), although the early morning presentations were absolute torture after tiring nights out.

It didn't take me long to get settled in to uni life, and I'm still having an amazing time at Southampton, 2 years on. I hope it stays that way!

James Leedham

I joined ECS in October '07 having finished college with A-levels in Maths, Computing, Graphic Design and Photography. I originally came to study for a BSc in Computer Science with Image and Multimedia, though before the end of my second year I changed to do an MEng in pure Computer Science. Fortunately the first two years of all Computer Science degrees are the same, so the school are generally happy to allow changes such as this.

During my first year I remember attending several of the Space Cadets sessions (extra curricular advanced programming classes) and quickly realising that there were others in my year who had far greater programming knowledge than myself. In truth, I couldn't really keep up with them but at the same time I gained little new knowledge from the Ground Controllers sessions (extra curricular introductory programming classes), so I resolved to simply follow the default difficulty level of the course.

With regard to the other modules of the first year, I remember finding the lectures on logic and search algorithms quite tricky, but the stuff on engineering mathematics was relatively simple and a great way to pick up some high marks.

Looking back, I now wish I'd spent more time making friends in the undergraduate labs. As it was, I had a purely work-oriented outlook on university life and didn't even stay in halls (I rent a private property not far from the uni) and thus didn't make many social connections beyond my tutor group. With that said, I consider those within my tutor group among my best friends and keep in contact with them on a daily basis.

By the time I entered my second year I'd realised my mistake and actively spent more time in the UG lab, increasing my social circle considerably, though arguably my presence in the lab would have increased anyway as the second year contains quite a lot more coursework than the first. However, I found all the subjects interesting and the large group project was especially good fun, not to mention great for the CV.

I think the most valuable piece of knowledge I gained from my second year is how beneficial it can be to collaborate with friends, both on coursework and in revising for exams. It really does help, especially on those exams that seem to cover an immeasurable amount of content. I remember entire days spent in Zepler working through past papers whist ordering in pizza and chatting with friends and honestly it never felt as difficult as revising alone.

To me the third year felt much the same as the second, despite having a very different format (fewer modules, greater choice and the Third Year Project), simply because there was always plenty of work to do. In truth I probably neglected my TYP too much during the first semester (as I took some other coursework-heavy modules) and paid for it in the second, when I would put in 30-40 hours a week. I wouldn't recommend any student follow my example. The best advice I can give is to choose your modules wisely. Definitely read the opinions of past students that are on the wiki and don't forget that you can change your module choices up to 2 weeks into the semester. With that knowledge I used to just go along to every module class for the first week or so and then let my first impressions finalise my choices.

And that more or less brings us up to now. At the moment, while I wait to begin my fourth year, I'm completing a 12 week paid internship within the Learning Societies Lab (one of the school's many research groups) and am researching and developing tools for emerging social networking technologies.

Jenny Lantair

When I found out I had been accepted to Southampton University I was quite relaxed about it all, I had previously attended another university and thought I had everything worked out and was thus looking forward to a few quite terms of nothing to learn. I guess a few people will also feel like they know the subject well enough to ignore lecturers for a while. I know a few people who took extra A-levels, have previously worked in the computing industry or have even done another degree before, believe me this is a lot different to anything you've done before. The best thing is be prepared to do work and listen to the lecturers, this course at Southampton can be hard work, but it's great fun at the same time and the more you throw yourself into and be prepared to fail and even answer questions in class the more you'll get back out of it.

The people here, especially during Jumpstart will be really friendly to you and if you're ever stuck with something don't be scared to ask the students around you, even when in the computer labs. Most people will be flattered that you asked for their help and if they can't help you they will know some who will.

Getting to know people in your tutor group will set you in good stead for when you start mingling with the larger student body on social and lectures, since by then you will have three of four really great friends to enter those large parties/classes with and from your little group you'll be able to go out meet more people.

The best thing to remember though is to ask yourself "what's the worst that can happen?". At no point will anyone kill you, run away screaming or anything else weird if you try and make friends with them or are just asking them for a bit of help.

Raluca 'Pinkye' Laic

First year at university is an experience for everyone. Maybe it's the first time away from home, first time in a different country, first time living with a group of strangers, first time going out that much (hihihi), it's THE place for firsts.

My year started off with jumpstart and I strongly recommend you do the same! You'll meet a lot of people that you will probably hang out for the rest of the year. But most importantly, you'll meet MEE there - I'm the blonde haired girl (if that doesn't change till then), wearing pink clothes ^_^ Oh, and other jumpstart helpers :P most of them are nice!

Do go out to your hall events and parties! Your flatmates will be there with you and you'll have a nice ride home after :P Don't be scared or shy, everyone's nice and eager to meet you! And after you overcome the shock of seeing the guys from the first floor wearing pink tights or the girl next door donning fairy wings, you'll have a blast and probably join them! Whaaat, I was "adapting" to the firsts :P

Oooh, do pack a lot of warm clothes! I was feeling sooo cold for the first term, I was always layering! And that's fashionable this year again so no worries :P apparently camel coats are a "must" this season so pack one with you! Hihihi, just kiiidding ^_^

Oh oh oh, do go to the bunfight! First time I went there it was craaaaazy! Lots of people and every one of them is trying to get you to join their society! I'm still registered for archery and never went there :)) And for the people reading this from archery society, please UNSUBSCRIBE ME! I keep getting a ton of emails from them! But I did register for some good societies, like judo, and it's always fun to try out new things! Maybe you have a hidden talent or something you've never tried, there's a society for almost everything! And if it's not, you can make it :P.

Don't be afraid to ask questions! Whenever in doubt, ask your flatmates, people on the street, people in the lab, everyone's willing to help you! I always forget where the next lecture is so I always ask someone to let me know so I won't get lost :D Plus it's nicer than looking it up online :P.

Finally, HAVE FUUUUN! I know I did so you should to! See you at jumpstart!

Sam Lewis

After living in a rural village with a population of 8 for 18 years of my life, I knew going to uni would be a vastly different experience for me. Like 99.9% of people starting uni I was very nervous to start with, wondering about the kind of people I was going to meet and what it would be like living close to people of my age for once!

The great thing about going to uni is that you find that everyone is in the same position as you, so it becomes very easy to talk to total strangers and build up friendships. My best piece of advice to any fresher would be speak to as many people as you can. From my experience almost everyone down here is super friendly, and if you speak to as many people as you can who'll soon find the right group of friends to settle into!

During my freshers week I spent most of the time hanging out with my flatmates. I think that most people will probably spent the majority of their first days with their flatmates. Always nice to have someone to ride back in the taxi with! But as time went on, I found out I had lots more in common with my course mates and started hanging out with them!

Ooo, One other piece of advice. Go to the bunfight, find a society you're interested in. Easiest way to find people in common and make friends and you'll see us lovely lot on the ECSS stand too!