Temitope Tosin Abiola

Analytical Science and Instrumentation 2018-2019

What were you doing before you started your studies at Warwick?

I had my first degree in Nigeria, that’s back in Africa, and ever since I finished my first degree, I always wanted to study something that has to do with instruments. Looking onto the Internet, I tried out institutions and I found out Warwick. And another major determinant factor is that I got the funding here for it and it was nice to move for that.

What were your first impressions of Warwick?

I think my first impression about Warwick when I came was the inclusive environment and very, very exciting environment and coming into the department, I think a lot of kind and very welcoming staff in the department, some of which I actually find helpful in terms of settling into the department. And I feel when you have colleagues that naturally welcome you in a way beyond your expectation is very, very interesting. So, my first impression about Warwick when I came in is probably- this is one of those settings where we probably allowed to fully maximize your potential and to express yourself- which is very, very exciting. I think anyone coming to Warwick to study chemistry, it is going to be exciting and very welcoming environment.

What were your favourite memories of studying at Warwick?

I think one of my favourite memories is the induction [welcome} week, coming back from Africa and into a new system with new culture and everything seems strange, but then I think the induction week was quite fun, I had the opportunity to meet a lot of student, new students from diverse backgrounds as well. And that sort of builds this confidence, like, ok, probably this is a very inclusive environment where I can actually express myself. And another program that I actually enjoyed is the African community that I find on campus, organized a lot of programs during my studies, which actually very, very exciting and interesting as well.

What was your favourite module?

Well, so looking back at the course, I think one of my most favourite course is the frontier techniques in analytical science. Like I explained before, I wanted to study a lot of analytical science instruments, before actually choosing where to major, to understand where and what this instrument entails. And I think frontier techniques in analytical science does exactly that because I have the opportunity to study and learn about diverse instruments, the application on their theories and backgrounds.

What have you done since graduating?

At the moment, I'm still at work doing my PhD. My master's degree was an add-on to the undergraduate degree that I had back in Nigeria. So, during my master's degree, I did my project in one of the research groups here at Warwick, it’s the Stavros Group, where I studied the ultrafast application in UV filters. So, I find it exciting and then decided to go ahead and do a PhD in this field.

What advice would you give to a prospective student?

If anyone is coming from Africa or probably from Nigeria, to be precise, I would encourage such individuals to probably/properly prepare their minds to actually go through the first few weeks, which will be very, very intense in terms of deadlines, which is something that is new compared to the system we had back in Nigeria. Another thing, I will advise those individuals, is to be open minded and to try and make as many as possible network here at Warwick because there are a lot of opportunities and a lot of programs that I actually still want to go here on campus. So, I think it is a very, very interesting course that I did and a very, very exciting environment, which gives the students the opportunity to actually try. So, it's going to be a kind advice for anyone coming to Warwick, to actually be prepared to maximize every opportunity on campus.