The Warwick Summer School (WSS) is a three-week experience for university students and professionals from around the world to discover (or rediscover!) the magic of Warwick, through a full academic and exciting social and cultural programme. With participants joining from more than 62 different nationalities, one of the main highlights for attendees is having the opportunity to learn and share insights with people from across the globe, as well as creating lifelong friendships with like-minded people.

One such friendship is between Yuya from Japan and Chris from China. They connected on the first day of the 2023 Warwick Summer School and have seen their friendship thrive as they continued their study on their Warwick postgraduate degrees.

Yuya: “Warwick Summer School provided many opportunities to connect with excellent peers and academics. Chris and I came from different countries and choose different courses, yet we met at the welcome event by chance and discovered we were both moving on to complete a postgraduate degree at Warwick after the summer school! The chance meeting with him helped expand my circle of friendships in and out of the social events of WSS.”

Chris remembers meeting Yuya on the campus tour and pushing himself out of his comfort zone to introduce himself.

Chris: “I am not a socially active person, but inspired by the friendly vibe, I went to Yuya and started the conversation. From the moment I heard Yuya would also be completing his postgraduate degree here in Warwick, I was thrilled! I had the feeling that we could be very good friends, and now we are! During the three weeks of Warwick Summer School, we met a lot of interesting people, and together attended great social events, like a trip to Birmingham to watch stand-up comedy.”

After connecting on the Warwick Summer School in August, both Chris and Yuya started their Postgraduate degrees at Warwick in September. Their friendship helped them settle into studying in the UK and contributed to them feeling a part of the Warwick community.

Yuya: “Apart from the summer school, my postgraduate LLM was the first time I have stayed long-term outside of Japan. Chris and I kept in touch after WSS and exchanged advice about preparing for the new life, such as moving, student visa application, and accommodation. That helped me kick-start the new life in Warwick smoothly.”

“As WSS was my first time studying abroad, I felt tremendous insecurity about how well I could catch up with the lectures and socialise with my peers. But it was no more than an absurd fear; friendship with Chris and the experience of enjoying the lectures made me confident about becoming a part of the Warwick community.”

Chris echoes Yuya’s statements and despite studying different postgraduate degrees and living in different locations they still make time to see each other and have supported each other through their study abroad journey.

Chris: “We regularly meet and have fun! Although we are in different schools (Yuya is studying in the Law School I am in WBS) and stay in different places (Yuya stays on-campus and me off-campus), we still usually meet once a week, either to make food together or take short trips to explore the local area. Moreover, we expanded our network by introducing our new friends to each other from time to time, and now we have quite a few friends in common!”

“Yuya has been a great help to me. To be honest, there was a period when things weren't going smoothly, but spending time with Yuya lifted my spirits. I am lucky to have gained this friend during the summer, which gave me a sense of belonging amidst my study abroad journey.”

To finish Chris and Yuya reminisced on their time at Warwick, what skills they have gained and how their friendship has enhanced their time here.

Yuya: “One of my favourite memories from the Warwick Summer School was the Farewell Party. I clearly remember the sense of accomplishment for completing the course and a pinch of sadness for leaving the campus full of friends. I promised future reunions with friends, and I now feel happy seeing peers' social media posts and reminiscing about our good days at Warwick Summer School.”

Chris: “I’m much more extroverted and dare to speak to everyone now. In the past, I was highly unconfident about my spoken English. But after chatting a lot with amazing people from all over the world, not only could I speak much more fluent English, but I also found that language will never be a barrier as long as I genuinely communicate and connect with others.”

This year’s Warwick Summer School will take place Sunday 14 July - Saturday 3 August, if you would like to find out more click here.