Finding your place at LSE Summer School

 Venturing down a new path can be exciting, but it can also be terrifying! "Will I meet people who look like me? Will I get along with people I meet ?" These are legitimate questions, but LSE Summer School has the answer for you: yes, there's such a diversity of profiles, interests and ideas that you'll find your place!

Diversity of people

Walking down Houghton Street on LSE’s campus during Summer School, you'll hear at least 4 languages spoken, and over 20 accents. It's this diversity of nationalities that brings with it a diversity of cultures, ways of learning and traditions! The 3 intensive weeks of Summer School are an opportunity to meet people from all over the world in London. It's a unique opportunity to learn and share, in new cultures and ideas in an open and welcoming environment.

A personal anecdote to prove this - at the end of a class, a friend asked me what time it was, to which I replied "17:30". She looked at me with big eyes, then jokingly asked me to repeat myself. Me and my Danish friend were puzzled, until we realized that our American friends would say "5:30pm"- as Americans use the 12-hour clock for denoting the time, while Europeans prefer a 24-hour clock.

Diversity of thoughts

At Summer School. there are so many different profiles, so many different ideas and beliefs! Within 4 days at LSE Summer School, you'll have learnt so many new approaches to life, learning and socialising, and your perspective will be widened by those around you.

For example, I discovered during a seminar that my vision of international relations was very European-centric. Confronting it with a more Sino-centred vision gave me a new perspective on the state of international relations.

Diversity of interests

You may have heard people say LSE is a university concentrated in political science and economics, and may have thought that everyone there will share that focus. Contrary to popular belief, LSE Summer School's range of academic subjects is much broader than just political science – with topics ranging from history to computer science, law and artificial intelligence!

The Spark professional skills workshops, organised by the LSE Summer School team, are another opportunity to discover people with different interests- interests that you might not have even have thought of.

In conclusion, my first piece of advice among many would be to take advantage of the cultural openness that the diversity of the LSE Summer School offers. It's invaluable, and you won't find it anywhere else.

 

This blog was written by one of our 2023 Student Ambassadors, who are here to share their stories and help you understand the summer school experience at LSE.