Yero Samuel Ndiaye

Even by the middle of my bachelor´s degree, it was clear to me that I definitely wanted to study statistics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). The LSE has excellent connections and is a leader in teaching and research in the field of the social sciences. Its impressive list of student alumni includes the former president of Columbia and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Juan Manuel Santas, the investor George Soros, the banker David Rockefeller and the former Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau. Another point that excited me about LSE was how international it is. Students at LSE come from 148 nations and speak over 100 different languages. Around 70% of them come from outside the EU and around 85% from outside the UK, which makes it one of the most international universities in the world.

I was also fascinated by the opportunity to make the most of the cultural and culinary diversity of a global metropolis and boxing capital, to develop new interests and to continue competitive kickboxing.

After my applications for a place at the LSE and for a scholarship were successful, I wanted to move to London in September. The housing market in London is very competitive, which made it more difficult to find somewhere to live. It also confirmed my fears that rent would eat up the majority of my scholarship funding.

After a long search I opted for one of the LSE’s halls of residence, Sidney Web House (SWH), located in Southwark south of the Thames, around 30 minutes by foot from Westminster.

As the year went on I became ever happier with my choice. 400 students in Sidney Webb meant I was always able to get to know new and interesting people throughout the year. Many parties, games and film nights took place in the communal area, which was equipped with a film room, a Playstation 3, sports equipment, table tennis tables and sofas. It also played host to nights of endless discussions that enriched me.

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With flatmates in Mercato Metropolitano

I lived in an eight-person flat in SWH with flatmates from Paraguay, Norway, Iran, India, China and the UK. We were studying a colourful mix of everything from human rights and social policy through to economics and finance. So it was that while we were cooking and eating together in the kitchen, we would share interesting stories or discuss the politics of the day or wider political and philosophical questions.

I had two weeks to settle into life in London before classes started at LSE. Despite many warnings about London traffic, I bought a bike to get me there so as to avoid the congestion on the Tube or the bus in the morning and evening. This turned out to be a lucky decision, as my daily ride up to LSA in Holborn close to the heart of London took me through attractive residential districts and across Waterloo Bridge with views of the London Eye, Big Ben and the financial district.

During the first week, LSE laid on interesting events for us to get to know each other, including an evening on a boat on the Thames. In contrast to my studies at the University of Cologne, the manageable size of the course and the Department of Statistics meant I had time to talk to almost all my classmates. Despite the relatively small number of students, the Department of Statistics is representative of LSE's diversity.

I was also impressed by my classmates’ C.V.s. I soon found a group of close friends with whom I experienced a lot over the course of the year. We had many tough days studying together in the library, but we also had many lovely evenings when we celebrated Halloween, the Winter Ball or went to a salsa bar.

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With friends from the statistics course at the Winter Ball of the LSE

In the first week we were also given general information about the structure of the course. In the UK the academic year is divided into three trimesters. With the exception of the foundation course, all subjects are examined in the third trimester, including those that were taught in the first trimester. This presented me with the new challenge of spreading out my revision and essay preparation over a longer period of time.

Alongside my foundation course (Statistical Inference: Principles, Methods and Estimation), I took other courses that included engaging with machine learning, longitudinal studies and analysing social networks. With weekly essays, that in some cases accounted for half of the final grade, the workload was high. In addition, there were individual or group projects in most subjects that had to be submitted towards the end of the respective trimester. These meant it was hardly possible to get a little peace throughout the year.

Alongside the high levels of productivity, the individual support and small groups at LSE were a huge advantage. Tutorials were used to apply methods we had been studying to real datasets. These were highly personalised and challenging, and this made them highly informative. In this environment I was able to keep achieving huge increases in my knowledge and I can say that my year at LSE was, by some distance, the most informative year of my life so far.

In addition to this, LSE has over 220 student-led societies, from beekeeping to opera and venture capital. I joined the boxing society, which not only offered me a pleasant environment to train in, but also allowed me to make friends with people from other study programmes and bachelor´s degree students in particular.

I also joined Islington Boxing Club, a successful amateur boxing club in North London. The club's location ensured that I saw a lot of North London every day and also got to know more ‘ordinary’ Londoners in its members. The high level of the athletes and trainers at the club made it possible for me to prepare well and win the Irish Open Kickboxing World Cup in Dublin in March 2020.

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Quarterfinal fight at the Irish Open Kickboxing World Cup at the City West Hotel in Dublin, Ireland

When Covid-19 broke out, LSE had to close and it moved all its teaching online from 23 March 2020 onwards. In the light of these circumstances I decided, following discussions with the responsible people at the DAAD Stiftung and DAAD e.V., to return to Germany at the end of March and to take part in online lessons from Cologne. The university managed to organise the transition to online teaching without a hitch. In April I started preparing for the online exams ahead and for completing my projects. The experience of studying in isolation was often very challenging for me, but through regular phone calls with my classmates it was still easy to manage.

Looking back on it, my not-quite-a-year at the LSA was one of the most exciting experiences of my life, even if it was cut short by Covid-19. I got to make friends with interesting, clever and kind people from all over the world. Through my boxing training I was able to continue to pursue my second passion and get to know parts of London that otherwise remain hidden to many other students in the city. LSE made me push my boundaries, not just intellectually but also in terms of the volume of my work. This meant I was able to learn a huge amount in just one year.

For me it was especially important that I had the opportunity to gain an academic and intercultural experience of this kind in the UK. I would like to say a huge thank you to the DAAD Stiftung and Herr Piermont, my sponsor, for this amazing opportunity and the excellent support that made these experiences possible for me. I would also like to say a special thank you for a personal conversation with Herr Piermont, which helped me clarify my career plans after completing my master's degree.