Arriving as a postgraduate student in a new university, city or country can be daunting – especially when you don’t know anyone in that city. Beya Ben Ayed, Master’s in Management postgraduate student shares her top tips for making friends, career connections and expanding your network.
Arriving as a postgraduate student in a new university, or even a new city or country for some, can be quite the daunting task, especially when you don’t know anyone in that city.
After I moved to London in September 2022, whenever friends or family members would check in on me, their first question was always, “Have you managed to make any friends?”.
My answer was always an enthusiastic “yes”, but I didn’t realise how challenging it was for some until I was asked this question so many times.
So, to all of you who are postgrads at LSE or about to start your master’s, here are my tips for making connections and enjoying your time in London!
Tip 1: Prepare your arrival
Once the stress of the application is over and you receive your long-awaited offer, you enter another frenetic phase. What with the accommodation hunt, visa formalities, and the many emails from LSE and your department, you can quickly find yourself overwhelmed.
At this stage, the main advice I would give you is to join all the relevant WhatsApp groups: LSE Postgrad, LSE Offer holders, LSE [Name of your department] … There are quite a number of them, but a lot of useful information is circulating there and can help you with registration, visa and stress.
Moreover, every year an Excel spreadsheet is created where postgrads can put their names, their master and their social media links. This is your opportunity to send a LinkedIn invitation to the people on this sheet who are doing the same master’s as you! It allows you to;
- get to know some people from your programme,
- to exchange with them before the master’s even starts,
- and why not go for a coffee before your first day at LSE.
Tip 2: Look elsewhere
Once you have started your programme, a certain cohesion will naturally settle in your cohort: LSE organises small intra-cohort networking events, you see the same people every day, you take the same courses. So, you will have to be creative to meet people elsewhere and sometimes your future friends are right under your nose, or should I say under your roof.
Most of you will live in student residences with students from many different master’s and universities. Use the common areas that are available to you and talk to people!
Bonus tip; if there is no WhatsApp group for your accommodation, talk to the administration about sending an email with a WhatsApp link or printing out a QR code and putting it up in the elevators.
Tip 3: Join Student Unions
Don’t miss out on LSE’s student life and don’t be put off by the high concentration of undergraduates or the name Freshers’ Fair, the associative world offers many opportunities for postgraduates too.
Go to the fair and talk to any Student Union you might be interested in. By joining the various WhatsApp groups, you will be kept up to date with all the events that these associations organise and you can make your own selection of panels, talks and networking events.
Besides, if you are interested in the work of a particular SU, you can always apply to join the committee and get more involved. I highly recommend the experience!
Tip 4: Join HalfPast
A group of MSc Management students had a brilliant idea to help postgrads socialise and network: a new society called Half Past. The principle is simple, once a week, you receive a message inviting you to a surprise event to meet other postgrads.
You just have to show up at the time and place indicated and be prepared to have a good time and meet new people!
The association is still in its early stages, but its founders have a great vision for it: bigger more frequent events, a phone app, collaborations with other London universities…
Stay tuned and join the HalfPast adventure by registering via this link.
Tip 5: Try fun activities
I know the workload at LSE can be quite heavy, but it is very important to keep time for stress-relief activities, which also turn out to be incredible bonding experiences. From different sports to more artistic activities, the list of activities offered is quite long. After a little investigation, here are my top 5 activities to try at LSE:
2) Yoga and Zumba (or any other activity from the Active Lifestyle programme)
4) Salsa and Bachata classes from the Latin American Society
5) Drop in Sport sessions
Learn more about the Master’s in Management programme
