My experience has been quite good. Punctuality and professionalism are two most important thing there. A work-life balance is encouraged to every student and employee. Courses and jobs are also designed in such manner. Flexible working hours facility is also offered for child-care. Overall, I have imbibed a lot of good work ethics and a lot of self-confidence in me.
Course Curriculum :
The course was very well-designed with proper inductions and trainings. The course lays importance in good lab practices and safety measures. Proper disposal of chemicals was as important as conducting an experiment. I was also given industrial exposure which helps us to realize that the experiment is actually being put out to the mankind.
Exams :
I first got a 'commonwealth split-site award' and after that I had to clear IELTS to get an unconditional offer letter from the university. My IELTS overall band score was 7.5 (listening 7.5, reading 7.5, writing 7.0, speaking 7.0). I searched for Prof. Russell (supervisor at Southampton) based on my field of research and interest. Then I e-mailed her directly, stating that I wish to apply for a scholarship and whether she would like to host me in her lab if I am granted the scholarship award. In the e-mail, I properly mentioned who I was, what my expertise were, with appropriate links to my Indian supervisor's research homepage and links to the scholarship program that I was speaking about so she could see other details. I also attached a 2-page 'Research proposal' or SOP on the work that I propose to do in her lab. She replied that she would like to host me and sent me a 'conditional offer letter'. Now that I got a host supervisor, I proceeded to apply for the scholarship. After I was notified about my selection for the scholarship award, I had to obtain an 'unconditional offer letter' for which I had to clear IELTS as the university requirement. I had to provide 3 letters of recommendations (LORs) in the process. I chose 3 such professors with whom I have worked with. Here I would like to mention a very important point that please get LORs only from academicians with whom you have actually worked with. A common culture is that students would approach 'big named professors' thinking that this will positively influence the application but it does not. LORs are only considered authentic when they come from people who actually know about your skills and capabilities. And about documents, I had to provide TRANSCRIPTS (not marksheets). Because the course names and structures and grading systems in India might not be familiar with the foreign university so it is always a better option to send transcripts than marksheets. Transcripts have a short description about the course and hence is easier for foreign nationals to understand. For me, there was no interview rounds but a university requirement was that I had to provide IELTS or GRE or TOEFL certificate to obtain the unconditional offer letter.
Placement :
For me, I had to come back to my home university to complete the rest part of my PhD. But all the students that I encountered were offered industrial jobs right after graduating.
Fees :
My course fee was 26,000 GBP which is roughly 26lakh in INR. This was fully covered by my scholarship.
Scholarship :
Yes, I obtained a 'commonwealth split-site scholarship' which is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO, London). This scholarship allows you to carry out a part of your doctoral research in a UK university as a vision to bridge infrastructural drawbacks in your home university. I got it for 12 months. There are different types of scholarships offered by FCDO, like for masters programme, full-term PhDs in UK, etc. For me, I had to first find a UK supervisor who is willing to host you in his/her lab if you are granted the scholarship. Once you have someone, you can proceed further for the application process. The application process is a lengthy one, comprising of questionnaires from different angles, mostly based on your research proposal in lay man's language as well as in scientific terms, and on your long-term goals, etc. It took me a month to fill up the whole form. You will need some basic documents to apply, like passport, transcipts, LoRs from home university, agreement letter from host supervisor and offer letter from the UK university. A very important factor that influences your application is your research proposal. The work that you propose to do has to be in the fore-front of the scientific community (like research on green energy, etc.) which is important for both the nations. The questionnaires should be answered such that the panel is convinced that the proposed topic is of universal importance and the facilities in the home country aren't adequate enough to to an in-depth study. At the same time, the host supervisor has to have expertise in the fields that you propose to do in his/her lab. The scholarship covered my flight expenses (to and fro), visa application fees, health insurances and tuition fees. The salary was GBP 1260 with warm cloth allowance of 400 GBP and a one-time conference visit expense of 600 GBP and an extra luggage allowance of 210 GBP in the return flight.
Faculty :
I was overwhelmed to find how civil everyone was. I would like to mention Prof. Andrea E. Russell, my UK supervisor. She is a lady of patience and real knowledge. She emphasizes on finding the science behind a finding and on the authenticity of obtained data. I would also like to mention about Connor Matthew Sherwin, my colleague. His zeal for his research made me realize that we are scientists and not just PhD students waiting for degrees. His passion for his work is one thing that always inspires me when I face any challenges in my research. I had a holistic development in my scientific temperament after my experience in Southampton Electrochemistry Group.
Campus Life :
There are clubs for different activities. I did not join any so I wont be able to comment much on it but the campus did have a very versatile centre for all sorts of extra-curricular activities. The student pub was fun. Karaoke nights with colleagues on Friday evenings led to fun-filled sessions.
Hostel :
First 6 month stay was in university halls (single room in 5-bed shared apartment) which was cheap and very good with all kinds of basic amenities free of cost. Second 6 months was in private accommodation which was comparatively costlier as this was an en-suite. Finding an accommodation is a real pain so I would suggest start finding accommodation when there is still 3 months to move in.
