When I registered as an undergraduate student at Warwick in 1982, queuing became an unexpected feature of life. I queued for my library card, for my accommodation, to sign onto my course and most importantly of all, to receive my grant cheque. I rapidly became an expert at queuing and how to avoid it. How to avoid queues is, of course, a life skill almost as useful as anything you learn on a Computer Science degree.
Yesterday, I received an email from Leicester University inviting me to register as a distance learner for my occupational psychology masters. As I’m currently abroad it was a huge relief, as well as a reminder about how rapidly IT has developed over the last 30 years, to be able to complete the whole process online in just a few minutes. A day later, I’m sat thousands of miles away with access to a university email account, the online library and the Blackboard virtual learning environment.
The queues of 31 years ago are a distant memory as, sadly, are grant cheques. But the passion I have for learning is still there. I’m proud to be a Leicester student and I’m looking forward to picking up some new life skills.