Newcastle University has always prided itself for having a multicultural student body with the beautiful amalgamation of different cultures, values and beliefs, both inside and outside its classrooms. The students not only bring their own diverse thinking into the learning experience but also expresses it through the various society activities and festivals organised throughout the year. This provides us a wonderful opportunity to learn about these cultural differences and experience them personally, even if we’ve never been to that specific country. Therefore, we can make use of Newcastle University’s diversity in the following ways.
The Business World
In the business world, globalisation has never been more prominent and having classmates from different parts of the world shall help you understand their culture and way of life. Talk to them about their culture and share your own. You will be pleasantly surprised to see how differently simple things are perceived in different cultures and learn to become more considerate of others in the process. And who knows, if you end up working in one of these countries in the future, you will thank your university friend who taught you some basic manners that helped you earn a nod of acknowledgement from your boss. The more you learn, you better you will be able to understand how things work differently at different parts of the world.
Student Groups
There are many clubs at Newcastle University that are dedicated to teaching you about different cultures. Join the Korean club, South Asian society or Hong Kong society. Not only will you be able to enjoy all the cultural festivals they host throughout the year but also get a closer look at their way of life. Not to forget that you can have friends from all over the world. Even if you don’t understand the festivals completely at the beginning, you will get a chance to enjoy their delicious food; some of which you may find not suited for your taste buds while some you will fall in love with. The parties from these clubs are always a visual treat as you will see students dressing up a certain way or cooking certain delicacies to celebrate the day.
Find out more about Societies here.
Learn a Language
Learn a language from the free classes offered by the Student’s Union, and check out the Language Resource Centre. This is a very lucrative skill that will help to make your CV stronger. In today’s world, almost all employers want a candidate who can think and speak globally to handle their international affairs. Therefore, as you meet new friends in these classes, you will be also preparing yourself to be globally aware. While you learn the language in the classes, you can always practice it with your native speaker friends, making the process much more enjoyable and applicable.
In this way, enjoy your time at Newcastle while learning valuable skills and knowledge about the rest of the world. Even if you are at the North East of England, you will feel we are at a place where every culture shines and colours us with their own hues.