The truth about being a Chinese student at the University of Huddersfield

What is it like being a Chinese student at the University of Huddersfield?

To be honest, many students from outside Huddersfield often ask me what is it like being a Chinese student at the University of Huddersfield? The answer is it's great and in this article I will explain why.

Why did I choose Huddersfield? My reason is very simple; because the University of Huddersfield looked like a fun place to study. Also my Chinese university, I studied at happened to have an exchange programme with the University of Huddersfield. Having done some research of my own, I was confident that Huddersfield would broaden my horizons and insights, as I looked to obtain more professional and practical experiences. Because of this, I naturally chose to study at the University of Huddersfield.

Chinese Student Societies

During my time at the University of Huddersfield, I joined the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) and the British Chinese Exchange Society. These two societies are also student societies under the international office. 

Everyone in CSSA helps each other out. There are regular gatherings throughout the year such as the 'New Students Welcome Party' ‘Chinese Evening Gala’ and 'Spring Festival Evening', you can meet many Chinese students from different schools and from different years at these events.

The British Chinese Exchange Society often organises small events, such as nights out around town and they will book booths for larger university events such as the International Week. This is a good opportunity to increase communication with local students, practice English, and even integrate into British culture.

In addition to international societies, the Students' Union has many other academic societies and sports societies. Each school will also have its own dedicated academic societies. Freshers (first years) who decide to come to Huddersfield can check out the Students' Union online, I'd encourage you to actively participate in Freshers Week and find out more about student societies at the University of Huddersfield.

Huddersfield is a friendly town

In my three years of being a Chinese student at the University of Huddersfield, I can confidently say that Huddersfield is a very friendly town. For example, I once attended a Christmas holiday trip, I came back to Huddersfield in the middle of the night. Because it was Christmas there wern't any taxi's available at the train station, a local lady saw me alone, carrying heavy luggage and she came to help me and drove me back to my accommodation. 

Huddersfield has great transport links

Huddersfield is a very convenient town, with a well-connected train station. It only takes 3 hours to get to London, 30 minutes to Manchester, and 20 minutes to Leeds. You can also be at Leeds/Bradford or Manchester airport in under an hour, these are both large international airports. For those who love to travel, pay close attention to low-cost airline tickets. Sometimes the flight tickets are very cheap. Once me and my friend just popped to Paris and went to Disneyland for the weekend to celebrate our birthday's. We just applied for a Schengen Visa at the end of January, booked the flight tickets, booked a hotel, packed some luggage, and next week we were in Paris. The flight from Manchester to Paris took just over an hour.

Lots of parks for students to relax

Huddersfield has many places to chill out, such as Beaumont Park, Greenhead Park and Castle Hill, I especially like to go to the park with fellow students and friends at the weekend, often with a with a picnic.

Also, I love to go to the cinema in Huddersfield, there is a big Odeon located near the football and rugby stadium (Kirklees Stadium).

The University's International Instagram page recently shared a great post about things to do in Huddersfield.

Surprisingly good food

Being a Chinese student at the University of Huddersfield you are so far away from home, you may fear that you will miss out on your Chinese food comforts, this can be daunting at first but, don't worry there is a good food culture in Huddersfield.

Many Asian students who arrive in the UK are worried that they will not adapt to the British food culture. As was explained in the recent blog 7 tips for international students moving to the UK  by Onalie from Sri Lanka. Both Onalie and I found that this is not a big problem. Huddersfield has many excellent Asian restaurants, including Chinese, Thai, Indian, Japanese and so on. My favourite small restaurant is Thai food in the Queensgate Market. When I have an hour gap between lectures, I often go here for lunch. As the University is in the town centre there are lots of good restaurants close by.

Huddersfield is cheaper than most other town and cities for students

Many Chinese students ask me how much money I'll need to live and study at Huddersfield. I personally think that the cost of living depends more on personal expenses, but compared to cities like London, the cost of accommodation in Huddersfield will be much cheaper. The price of a shared house starts at £50 per person, per calendar week (pcw). If you want to live in a student dormitory or studio, the price will be slightly higher than a house. I have lived in Castings which is only a short walk away from the University, my room has an ensuite and the building has a variety of study and social spaces, including a gym, cinema and games room, I've lived here for my whole 3 years that I've studied at the University of Huddersfield. The price is around £110 pcw. So, if you don’t shop wildly and you are willing to cook at home, the money spent in the supermarket every week will not be too high. For me, Huddersfield is a comfortable and affordable place. 

Opportunities for International students

The events management course I studied gave me lots of practical opportunities. We worked for the International Food and Culture Festival; we even went to the theatre to see a conference on lighting. In addition, during the second and third years, I had the opportunity to host my own events which allowed us to experience the real exhibition in advance, I gained a deeper understanding of what I learned in class. 

This was really cool. We worked for this activity for almost 5 months and the results were excellent.

My classmates and tutors were very friendly and helpful. When I first entered as a fresher, I was always very confused about the British group work. My classmates would always wait patiently for me. I will always remember our class at the library working overnight to prepare the presentation for the next day, these are extremely good memories. Of course, as an international student, in order to better adapt to start learning in the UK, I recommend that you contact your tutors in advance and get some course details and ask about future learning.

In September this year, I am about to embark on a new journey. I’m going to Bristol to continue studying for a Master's. I'd like to say thank you very much to the University of Huddersfield for my 3 years here. You have helped me broaden my horizons and experience different cultures. At the same time, I have also made many new friends, it can be said that the memories that Huddersfield brought to me will always be the highlight of my life.

What other Chinese students say about being an international student at the University of Huddersfield

Melissa is a visiting scholar from Tianjin University of Commerce in China and she says 'I bet you will like this place' as she talks about exploring our campus as well as our town and other British cities. She also discusses British culture and explaines how she discovered more about her own field of expertise.