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“I’m coming to the end of my first semester at UWA now and I’m getting on pretty well. The biggest change from the UK is the weather, which is so good here. No more gloomy weather, hardly any rain! If the sunlight is the first thing you see in the morning it brings you energy. Every single day I just get up and I have lots of positive energy. I’m really loving the city now.

“I lived in Bristol before here; I did my Bachelors degree at the University of Bristol. Compared to that city Perth seems huge [Bristol has a population of 500,000; Perth has around 2 million people].Public transport is really good during the day, but if you want to go out at night it’s not great – less buses and so on. But I’ve been fortunate enough to make friends who have drivers licenses so have been able to explore a bit. The natural views here are amazing, all the beaches and the mountains. It’s very beautiful.

“Why did I want to do my postgrad in Australia? Partly it was due to money. Australia seemed to have more opportunities to get scholarships, and I was able to get a scholarship from UWA, whereas back in Bristol and in the UK more generally that felt challenging. But also the academic atmosphere here is really good. I joined a lab recently, a genetic engineering lab, and I feel that the academics here are more friendly, more open to different cultures when it comes to training.

“Perth is known for its laidback culture and people here really value their free time. They are not just into work so the work-life balance here I think is better. That was a real consideration for me.

“The teaching here is high quality and the support is good – tutors are quick to get back to you if you ask a question, even if that’s via email or online. For my degree there are a lot of good professors and labs here, and they are open to accepting new students. I needed to join a lab for my dissertation, the research I’ll be carrying out throughout my
Masters.

“The lab have been helping me a lot and their training is really good. I had to work to find this opportunity though, and I think it is important to know that that’s what is needed here. Networking is important, you need to get in touch with people – do not be scared – instead of waiting. This applies to every major, every degree. If you want to take up opportunities – internships, jobs, placements etc – just contact the people, don’t wait for them to come to you with adverts and so on. Be proactive; put yourself forward for things.

“That’s a real difference from being in the UK. There I found people always worry about being too pushy or offending someone, but in Australia things are more direct. People here are fine with you approaching them and being direct in your communication – if they want to take you on they say yes, if they don’t they’ll just say no. Don’t wait to be asked to do things – in Australia you can go out and make things happen for yourself.

“There are lots of things to do here but I’m focusing mainly on football. I play twice a week, I also picked up working as a referee at uni at social soccer twice a week. That’s pretty much how I spend my weekdays – lab, uni, play football, work as a ref – then suddenly it’s the weekend. At the weekend I volunteer as a coach with an under 5 football team, and just go out and explore. I go to the beach.

“When I first got here I did feel lonely. It’s hard to move countries – I didn’t know anyone in Australia when I arrived. So I took all these things on to deliberately keep myself busy and it’s turned out really well – intellectually stimulating, physically stimulating. It’s been really good; I’ve been having a good time here.”