UniPod: The PodCast for University Seekers!
Welcome to Unipod, a podcast aimed at high school students across the UAE who are considering their Higher Education options. The series is the initiative of Josie Campbell, University Counsellor at Jumeirah English Speaking School, and Buket Ayaz, the University Counsellor at Uptown School.
The podcast is also in partnership with BridgeU, the online university and careers platform for global schools, Unipod offers tip-top tips to help you bridge the gap between school and higher education.
In each of the weekly episodes, the podcasts discuss, debate and deliberate the range of post-18 options available to sixth form students (and aspiring sixth form students) all over the UAE.
Beginning with the basics of choosing and shortlisting universities, Unipod features information, advice and interviews with careers professionals, teachers, parents and students.
The series is for students beginning the journey towards post-18 education. And what a journey. So many decisions to make, decisions that could set the course for your entire adult life.
The aim? To make it easier for all students to make those all-important decisions about your higher education future, whether it’s about narrowing down course choice, life on campus, nailing your personal statement or writing your US college essays.
In our first episode, we get an insight into super-curricular activities (distinct from extra-curricular activities), learn how to do wider reading, and find out what your first step should be in researching potential universities.
Have a question? Just ask! Our resident experts are here to help!
Listen to the podcast here:
After you’ve listened, why not try these follow-up activities:
Visit the super-curricular websites mentioned:
- Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com
- Online courses: ClassCentral (Buket’s favorite), UDEMY, Coursera, EDX
- Further Reading Options: https://www.univ.ox.ac.uk/applying-to-univ/staircase12/; https://www.myheplus.com; https://oxplore.org
- Online research with US professors: https://pioneeracademics.com
- Online debate clubs such as MUN Online: https://www.onlinemodelunitednations.org, http://munimpact.org
- Online Career Exploration Days and Summer Pre-College Program Options: https://investin.org/collections/all, https://www.oxford-virtual-summer.com, https://www.summersteminstitute.org
- High IQ Society: https://www.mensa.org
- Purchase an exercise book – or open a folder on your computer – and start reflecting on your reading.
- Read Bridge-U’s advice on researching universities here: https://bridge-u.com/blog/researching-universities-15-questions/.
- UCAS have tips for narrowing down your choices from over 50,000 UK courses on offer here: https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/what-and-where-study/choosing-course/choosing-undergraduate-course, with https://www.commonapp.org offering a similar service for the USA: https://www.commonapp.org.
This podcast has been brought to you by...
Josie Campbell
Josie currently works as a University Counsellor at JESS Dubai. Before moving back to Dubai, she was Head of Careers at Ampleforth College, where she also taught English and Drama. Josie also works professionally in theatre, film, radio and voice-over.
Buket Ayaz
Buket is a University Counsellor at Uptown School in Dubai, with over 10 years of experience working in international schools. It is her lifelong passion to help students find the right ‘fit’ university and get them prepped for the world of work.
