Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge

I attended Emmanuel College from October 2000 to June 2003, reading for a degree in Computer Science.

I graduated on June 27th, 2003, the ceremony is every bit as 'grand' as Bob Salmon describes.

First Year

You can't do more than 50% Computer Science in your first year, so I did 50% Computer Science, 25% Physics, and 25% Maths for Natural Sciences. Whilst the Computer Science department is loving and kind with its lecture timetable, Natural Sciences, well, isn't. Yes folks, that's 9am lectures Monday-Saturday. The Physics exam was on a Saturday afternoon. Almost everything was in town, only the joyous Monday afternoon Physics practicals requiring a trek out to West Cambridge.

I lived in L2.4 in South Court, the obligatory 1960s accommodation that every college would love to get rid of, but that got listed, or that they need to keep students in. :) Every Wednesday night the floor would vibrate (which doesn't really do it justice, it's a bit like saying 8 on the Richter Scale vibrates) to the sounds of "Funk da Bar" ... which is all very well if you're into dance and house music, and don't have a Physics assignment to do...

The picture is of Chapman's Garden, which is outside South Court.

I attended StAG in my first week, and stuck there, getting more and more involved over the three years. The CICCU mission that year was Revelation, which was an amazing experience. (It was one of the major missions they do every three years.)

Second Year

In the second year it's 100% Computer Science or none, so, unsurprisingly, I did 100%.

When you've picked a college that's five minutes walk from the Computer Science department it's a bit unfair when they go and move it two miles away. Don't do Computer Science at Cambridge without a bike. The picture on the right shows the new laboratory. It's an interesting building. I wonder if they've finished getting the building problems fixed yet, the list was, er, quite long. The comedy moment was provided by the downstairs disabled bathroom. It's designed for wheelchairs, of course, so has a nice wide door. Except, the corridor that it's on was only open at one end, and had a normal width door that you can't get a wheelchair through. Oops.

The lectures were more interesting this year. We also had to do a group project, ours involved producing a networked shared whiteboard system in Java. The hardware practicals were also great, culminating in using Verilog and ARM assembly code to produce a PS/2 mouse interface.

I came 3rd from bottom on the room ballot (before you mock, Emmanuel College doesn't do the ballot ordering according to results, it's completely random) so ended up living in a bus shelter in North Court. Well, OK, not quite, but it was right outside the window. Opening the window during the day would have been suicide. It still beat living outside of college though... mmm, fast Internet access. You also can't complain when outside your front door is somewhere like the picture on the left. :)

It was this year that I started getting more involved in CICCU's work. Having done the sound desk at StAG a few times, it was suggested I become a CICCU "tape secretary", so I did. This basically involved recording talks, then spending hours in a dark cupboard copying them. Fortunately, somebody had the sense to stop the tapes and move to CDs, so we could sit in our rooms drinking coffee and copying things instead. Of course, a forty year tape archive doesn't end up in digital format overnight...

It was also this year that I joined the SRCF sysadmin team.

Finally, this year was the first time I attended Spring Harvest. We booked a little later than sensible, and ended up in a caravan. Which was cold. Even for us hardened northerners. But, it was a fantastic experience. Great company, great teaching, and great worship.

Third Year

They reverse the room ballot from the 2nd year to the 3rd, so, I lived in a palace in New Court known as P6. Or, at least, a set with a huge living room, a bedroom, an ensuite bathroom, and a cupboard kitchen. It even had an entrance hall. Madness. The picture on the right was the view from my back window, the picture on the left the view from my front window. Yes, front and back windows. Madness.

It was during my third year that we got all the snow, that you'll see on many of the pictures scattered about the place. (I like snow.)

In many ways the third year was a continuation of the second year. (You don't say.) Academically, it was 100% Computer Science. I continued doing lots with CICCU and StAG, continued on the SRCF sysadmin team, and continued drinking coffee. Though we had proper accommodation at Spring Harvest this year, with heating, and getting 25 people into a lounge designed for six is a lot of fun. :) Oh, and they upgraded the network to 100Mbps... mmm, 100Mbps Internet access.

Eventually, after a dissertation and three three hour exams, they decided I could have a degree, and I graduated in June 2003.

2003 also saw the first May Ball at Emmanuel College for a few years, which I was fortunate enough to attend. With entertainment provided by Timmy Mallett. Most people love him with a reminiscent fondness, or hate him with a vengeance, but the non-British students were just confused I think. :)