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Residential University Study Skills 2001 - Report |
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Day 1
When I was initially told of the Study Skills course I was somewhat sceptical of what could be gained from such a course and I must admit, very pessimistic. I personally failed to see why I would need to learn anything about “preparing” for university, after all wasn’t the first year all about endless partying, relaxing and socialising? Why would I need to be told what to expect or how to react to the surroundings and trappings of a university lifestyle.
Upon arrival at the Stanmore Husseiniya I was somewhat worried by the fact that I was the only boy there, though I was assured by my “sisters” that there would be more “brothers” upon arrival at Birmingham. Although this was somewhat reassuring it still meant that I would have to endure 3 hours of listening to girls gossip, though what I can only describe as lucky, I was in for a pleasant surprise, as we had a number of fruitful discussions and debates, ranging from refuting wahabbi doctrine, to which city people should choose a spouse from (!). This proved to be the grounding for the numerous debates that took place over the four days, including many fruitful religious discussions coming from the boys room, which explained why so many were deprived of sleep!
Upon arriving at Birmingham, we were introduced to the other members of our group as well as various local Khoja dignitaries and then shown our lodgings, which admittedly looked impressive – a large kitchenette area on the ground floor, fully equipped with kettle, toaster and various snacks (an early reminder perhaps of how we were to live in university – sharing everything). Adjacent to the kitchen/eating area was a large sports hall where we were later made to play various sports in in lieu of sleep! In typical style, the girls got the first choice and thus had the best mattresses and blankets leaving the rest of us to choose what was left. We were given a large number of rooms to choose from, and for reasons still unknown we chose one of the smallest!
After being given a few minutes in which to unpack, we were rushed into a large room which would function as our classroom for the duration of the course. There we were each given various goodies, including special mugs and folders for the mounds of notes were to be given (all of which I still have). We also had our first lecture, which for some (especially myself) proved to be an eye opener, as the comfortable university life picture I had in my head had popped, and I realised I was actually supposed to work!
After the initial lecture we rushed back to our rooms, only to be told we were to make our way to the sports hall below, where were given a briefing by Akbar Ali, nicknamed by most as “Mr Motivator” due to his never ending supply of energy and constant cheerfulness. Here we learnt that the course itself was an all round one, in the sense that it would not only focus on the academic but rather on physical, social and academic, thus providing us with total and complete university preparation.
After this we were taken to the first of many restaurants, allowing us to taste local Birmingham delicacies, thus naturally the first place to go to would be KFC (that is Karachi and not Kentucky, as I initially feared), here we all sat down together and enjoyed our first group meal (I still wonder why most people decided to eat Doner Kebabs in a chicken restaurant, but oh well c’est la vie!).
As one would imagine after a days travelling, lectures and a big meal, the most natural course of events would be to go to sleep. Well, not quite. Ali Akbar Uncle decided that we ought to burn off all the fat, by holding the first sports tournament that night (or should I say early morning?), so whilst all drowsy (some even in pyjamas), the group made their way to the sports hall. After the tournament finally ended, it was about 1 or 2 am, thus most saw little point in sleeping before subh salat, though some of us managed to get a few hours of much needed sleep (!).
Day 2
The next morning, we made our way down excitedly for our first breakfast, which was fully prepared, eggs (for those that dared brave them), Indian tea, and the usual continental items. Feeling full and content we made our way up for the first of many mini-lectures ranging from how to take notes adequately to how to memorise key facts for exams. We also had mini quizzes along the way, and I am proud to say that on the first day I had the highest score, but sadly I slacked just a tad after that and well…kind of ended up near the bottom of the league table (the winners incidentally were to receive their total score in cash!).
The evening proved enjoyable as always with a wide range of food to choose from, both at lunch and dinner after which we would always play a little sport, before going to pray and then coming back for more sociable activities and discussions after which we progressed with our tournaments. Now in these tournaments the group had been divided into four sub-groups, each consisting of roughly three people. In typical style I (being the worst at sport) was placed with 2 girls, meaning we were doomed from the very beginning, but oh well – it pays to be optimistic. Over the three evenings we played a different sport, starting with football, then table tennis and finally badminton.
Day 3
The next day proved to be the most interesting as well as memorable. We were fortunate enough to have someone famous coming in (Lady Mary Tovey) teaching us mind mapping skills, better known as Buzan skills. As always, most people tend to underrate skills such as mind mapping (myself included) however, after being lectured by her for a couple of hours I was all in favour of its application when revising for exams or simply trying to remember key words or facts – it was an absolute doddle. She also went on to show us the best way of getting information from a book and the best way to approach a piece of work.
We were all thoroughly impressed with what we had learnt and thought the day couldn’t get any better…until it was announced that after a hard days work we were going to go out! So we made our way excitedly to the star centre to go bowling and to Nandos, a Mexican restaurant that used halal meat. Girls, being girls refused to eat a full adult meal, so instead they chose the little kiddies varieties, which consisted of miniscule sizes of food. However our initial pessimism soon turned into optimism when we realised they were also given a bowl of frozen yoghurt (glorified ice cream in my opinion), which could be topped up constantly. Perhaps the most memorable event of all was sharing that never-ending bowl (which soon became glasses too) between the entire group! Because it was refillable everyone began eating it, though because there was only one spoon, others had to make to with other items of cutlery, including knives, forks and some even went to the extent of using straws. Thus for almost half an hour the entire group sat eating refillable frozen yoghurt with anything BUT spoons! What a site it must have been!
Sadly the bowling alley was full, so once again after an enormous meal and tiring day the group was made to burn off all that fat in the sports tournament, which oddly enough we were rather beginning to enjoy (except for our team, who by now were losing very badly!).
Day 4
The next day, oddly enough consisted of lectures as always, this time we were learning the best way to make notes and the easiest way to take them down as well as trying to extract the most relevant information from a lecture, which proved to be invaluable for me as a law student.
After some self-assessments, we were able to catch up on the bowling we had missed, which pleased everyone (especially myself – I got the joint highest score, but then lost on the tie-breaker question, in which I had to guess Mahmood Uncle’s age – which I overestimated by about eight years – sorry!). After bowling we made our way to one of the only halal Chinese restaurants in the UK (by now we were beginning to realise that almost everything in Birmingham was halal and either owned or managed by Muslims – alhamdulillah). However, a few of us “traditionalists” decided that we would eat the Indian dishes on offer, and not brave little bits of fried vegetable mixed with meat in a weird sauce (my definition of Chinese food in a nutshell).
Day 5
The last full day was one of those days that nobody can ever forget (unless they happen to lose their memory of course). The morning started off normally, breakfast for those who made it up in time (the religious debates in the boys room had tired many of the group who were by now beginning to oversleep) and then up to the classroom for the concluding lectures. We were taught the best way in which to research projects and meet important deadlines (do the work on time, oddly enough).
In the afternoon we were told of the presentation ceremonies that would take place in the evening, so we all hurriedly went back to the room to prepare speeches, which we hoped would sound intelligent yet funny at the same time (which is never easy when writing under pressure). We also prepared one of the nicer rooms downstairs for everyone to sit down and listen to all the speeches and watch the prizes being distributed. We all also had little comments which had been provided about us by the other group members, which although slightly embarrassing were fun to listen to (obviously when it was about someone else).
We braved our way through the speeches, which were presided over by a panel of dignitaries and Sister Zahra Jagani, after which we were all presented with a group photograph and certificate, and cash gifts to those who were lucky enough to score the highest in the quiz and the best sports team (which still hadn’t officially ended, though it was obvious who was going to win – I still say we should have been awarded a hundred bonus points for the most effort put in).
After that the fifty or so people present all crammed into cars and minibuses and made our way down to the last restaurant of the week – and where better to eat than an Indian restaurant, where we could all indulge in traditional and spicy food, of which there seemed a never ending supply at the restaurant (obviously!). Although it had been a long day, the restaurant experience was both enjoyable and interesting as it gave us all a chance to interact with people aside from the group.
When we returned to the “base” as the Birmingham jamaat was beginning to be known as, we were given a little rest before playing the concluding sports event – badminton, which I am proud to admit that my group actually scored some points in, even beating another team for a change!
Day 6
When it finally ended we went up for an hours sleep after which we were all ordered awake again to tidy the entire place up (not easy when you’re tired). After this we said our goodbyes (which in typical Khoja style never take less than half an hour), said more goodbyes, even more and finally promises of a reunion after Eid. Those of us travelling from London got into the minibus and we made our way home (or civilisation as some of us preferred to call it!).
Overall Feedback
Looking back over the course, I realise how truly beneficial it has been to each and every one of us. Returning to my pessimism and nervousness when we first sat in the classroom in Birmingham, I remember looking over the contents of the course notes and wondering why on earth we would need even half of the information provided, after all as I had initially mentioned, as far as we were concerned the first year of university was not about lectures, work or exam prep, but rather a year spent settling in, being lazy, having non stop fun and going out every night.
It was therefore with much shock to learn how vitally important it was to be clearly focused from the very beginning and not to lose focus of the very reason we were going to university – that being to study (for anyone who disagrees, I checked the definition of the word “university” in the dictionary – an institution of higher EDUCATION)!
The course proved to be extremely useful to all of us, as it brought light to what was our self imposed darkness, as there was just so much we were both ignorant and unaware of and soooo much we would have taken for granted had we not attended.
The lectures, expert tips and advice from both Mahmood uncle and Ali Akbar uncle were not only excellent but also inspiring. They taught us that studying was not only about taking notes from lecturers, but rather and more importantly how to maintain a balance between an academic, social and Islamic lifestyle and the most appropriate way in which to conduct ourselves whilst in university.
Therefore, in conclusion to my much awaited report, the course was not only a source of guidance and inspiration, it left us with an all round education of how to cope with, survive and more importantly prosper in both university and our adult lives.
Asger Van Lier - University of Hull - Ramadan 1422 (December 2001)
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