Industrial Design at Loughborough University, United Kingdom

If someone had told me I’d be shipping off to some quaint English town three hours away from London for an exchange, I would have looked at them as if they were insane. If you ask me about it now? Best decision so far.

Hiya! I am Siona, and I am currently studying industrial design at Loughborough University. Loughborough is ranked 7th in the UK overall and 1st for product design. Getting nominated here was a great opportunity as a second year at UTS, I had to study with 3rd years at Loughborough. I was first taken aback to see the university was in a market town in Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire. With the constant hype of London in the UK and moving here from Sydney, I wasn’t sure if I would be enjoying this at all. Don’t let the town fool you; it has cute cafes, has literally every shop you would need, and campus buses every 10 minutes. Don’t even get me started on how cheap the groceries are.

I live on campus in Telford accommodation. I have got great flat mates who have now become my found family. From daily cooking sessions to random trips, life here couldn’t be more delightful. The local students here were super sweet and welcoming. They have taught me so much in workshops; the way final years present, and their experience has been insightful. Renowned as the UK’s leading university for sport, Loughborough has produced countless Olympic and Paralympic athletes, so there are multiple sports matches and tryouts which were new and fun to me. I mean UV volleyball? Sign me up! Since this is a student town, we ended up meeting other exchange students from other accommodations and let’s say our weekends are mostly unforgettably forgettable clubbing times in 1 degree.

The subjects at Loughborough are interesting and the workload is more laid-back compared to UTS, which is giving me enough time to experiment baking and having tea the British way with my flat mates. We currently have at least 8 different types of teas on our shelves. We have been spending most days working late at night at the library after dinner, having tea and scones, Tesco runs, eating British breakfast (beans are not it), and laughing till we can’t breathe.

So, here’s the scoop: if you’re thinking about an exchange, stop thinking and start applying! Dive headfirst into the unknown, try sports you’ve never even heard of, join societies, hop on that flight/bus, chat with strangers, and for the love of all things delicious, raid the free food stash at uni!

Trust me, you won’t regret it. Just do it, mate!

Siona Dutta
Bachelor of Design in Industrial Design
Loughborough University
United Kingdom

For more information about the UTS Global Exchange program please visit: www.uts.edu.au/thinkglobal