Something I have picked up on since the start of my degree is that many first-year students start LSE unaware that we have to do a course called LSE100, a compulsory study for all first-year students across the school, stated within the course information on the LSE website.

So what is LSE100?

Known as LSE’s flagship interdisciplinary course, LSE100 targets different matters and topics within society every year. In 2021/22 it was based around artificial intelligence and its use within different aspects of society, more specifically the topic “how can we control AI?”. Just like your chosen courses and modules, you got readings and videos every week which helped further your understanding of the topic at hand.

In Michaelmas term, you attended a 1.5-hour class every other week where you learned and discussed the fundamental basics of the year’s topic in order to help you develop an understanding in preparation for your Lent term project. In 2021/22 these classes were held over zoom due to COVID-19 measures. However, this has now changed as there are no longer restrictions. Personally, I found that by having a mix of videos alongside readings I was able to gain a better and deeper understanding of the topics (especially as much of the content was new information to me), plus I found it to be more engaging as it meant I wasn’t just sitting down tackling multiple readings – it made a good change to other academic learning. Important skills were also developed on this part of the course such as critical thinking and argument structure which aided learning in other courses as well as the second half of the course.

In Lent term, you took part in a group research project where you worked with other members of your class to investigate a certain topic related to the course. There was a wide range of topics to choose from, and in my case, I was allowed to organise them in terms of preference so I would be allocated to one which I would be interested in. The group work enabled you to mix with people you may not normally talk to as your classes contain students from all of the first-year courses in your cohort. I found this to be beneficial as it was an opportunity to branch out and make new acquaintances and friends.

On this side of the term, your group work consisted of a report and a presentation which contributed to 50% of your final grade, with the other half being based on the Michaelmas term submission. The classes here therefore prepared you and helped you to formulate a plan in your group. Attendance was expected but you met fortnightly, so it was not a heavy pressure on your workload. In order to get the most from your project, it is recommended you work outside of class hours, but again as class is not weekly it is more than possible to do this.

How I have found studying the LSE100

I believe that LSE100 benefited me as a first-year student, not only academically but socially. This is because it took a different direction to my chosen course and gave me another focus for the academic year. For example, my course didn’t place too much pressure or focus on group-based projects, so LSE100 allowed me to develop group working skills as such. Furthermore, as the people in my group all came from different subjects I was given the opportunity to combine my knowledge with theirs – creating new ideas and perspectives for me to look upon.

LSE100 is an extremely unique yet diverse course held at  LSE, the subject matter students focus on changes every year, so it is a contemporary course focusing on contemporary matters. This means that it will never get old because as society evolves, so does the course. For example, I believe the reason why we are learning about artificial intelligence is that LSE believes that this subject will only grow in importance as technology continues to develop and this then gives us an advantage as we have the foundational knowledge of such modern issues.

Overall, LSE100 benefited my skills and learning by helping me to develop new skills. It definitely widened my understanding of such an important topic, making it a fundamental part of first-year undergraduate study.