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What’s your background?
After finishing high school, I pursued studies in humanities, later continuing with philosophy and, subsequently, Theory and History at the University of Chile.
I then spent over a decade working with diverse communities of artists and cultural practitioners in Valparaíso while completing my Master’s in History at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, my family and I moved to London for my wife’s studies. During this time, I applied for and was accepted into the MPhil/PhD programme in Information Studies at Department of Information Studies at UCL.
In 2023, I was awarded a scholarship from my home country, which included an English levelling programme, leading me to enrol in the Extended Pre-sessional English course at the UCL Centre for Languages & International Education (CLIE).
Why did you choose to study the Pre-sessional English course face-to-face?
The Pre-sessional English course came highly recommended. Everyone I spoke to described it as excellent and rigorous.
I chose the face-to-face format because my scholarship specifically funded in-person language remedial courses.
Additionally, the course’s focus on skill-building through one’s own research topic was particularly appealing, as it was highly valued by those who had taken it before me.
Which degree are you studying now, and what is it like?
With my academic and professional background, the MPhil/PhD in Information Studies appealed to me greatly.
The programme includes various research centres, such as the Centre for Digital Humanities, which integrates technological tools with methodologies rooted in the humanities, arts, and social sciences.
This has allowed me to refine research skills that deepen my work with historical and heritage sources, particularly concerning the history of my hometown, the Port of Valparaíso, Chile.
Upon completing this programme, I hope to contribute to research in my country, strengthening expertise in using new technologies in my field.
How has the Pre-sessional English course helped you in your degree?
The Pre-sessional English course has been invaluable for my research. Its emphasis on developing language skills while building your research foundation complements the seminar-style learning of my programme, where exchanging and critically presenting ideas is essential.
The course helped me adapt to the highly interactive and critical nature of academic discussions.
This was possible thanks to the excellent teaching quality and the instructors’ unwavering commitment to our improvement.
What was the biggest challenge you faced during the Pre-sessional English course, and how did you overcome it?
Initially, my biggest challenge was communicating with my colleagues.
I was uncertain if they understood me and if I was fully grasping what they were saying. I overcame this with patience, the guidance of the instructors, and the course’s methodology.
Outside the classroom, the supportive and emotionally open interactions with my peers also played a key role.
Together, we built a collegial environment that embraced diverse perspectives and mutual encouragement.
What began as a significant challenge turned into a profound learning experience, extending beyond academics into life skills.
What advice would you give to future face-to-face Pre-sessional English students?
My advice to future students is to be open to conversing, discussing, thinking, analysing and learning in English.
The most important thing is to have that openness to live the experience of knowing and understanding the different realities of your classmates in a very friendly and respectful environment, with a methodology of great intensity but focused on achieving the objectives, and teachers of a very high level, prepared to clearly transmit the contents.
Live the experience, it is absolutely worth it!
What is it like to live and study in London?
London is an ideal city for studying.
It has many museums, galleries, libraries, and parks, among other attractions, which allow you to complement the intensity of academic study during the week with weekend recreational outings.
This is my experience as a student and as a husband and father. The city is designed to make the intense academic life more bearable.
What is the most interesting thing you’ve done, seen, or got involved with at UCL so far?
The museums and art galleries are the most interesting things about London to date. I have been able to see collections of works that I only knew from catalogues when I studied in Chile.
London's parks are also wonderful and very large, always with spaces designed for children and family life.
I have also really liked the community that has formed in the place I live. It is a foundation that receives overseas students who come with their families to pursue their postgraduate degrees.
We have met many people from many places in the world, at the same time that it has allowed us to pay a lower price for the rental. That lightens the economic burden much.
How is the UK education system different to your home country?
The main difference is the way the courses are approached.
Here they deal a lot with the dynamics of discussion in seminars and independent study. In-person classes are important, without a doubt. But the development of knowledge focuses on the discussion of content in seminars after intense independent work.
In my experience as a student in my country, I did not have many spaces for discussion in the classroom, but rather receiving information from the teacher and then complementing it with the mandatory readings that were given to me.
Without a doubt, times have changed and perhaps education in my country is different now. Technology has modified the ways of approaching knowledge and I believe that UCL has worked intensely to put them at the service of the continuous improvement of students.
Where is your favourite place on campus, and why?
The place I like the most at UCL is the student centre. It is open 24/7 and has perfect computers, quiet areas, meeting rooms, and a large cafeteria, among other spaces. Indeed, it is an extraordinary place to do academic activities and converse with classmates.
On the other hand, I only recently discovered the Institute of Making. It is an extraordinary place to experiment and develop your technical skills. They teach you how to use many work tools, and you can develop your creative projects while supervised by a friendly professional team.