MY FIRST YEAR - by Alex

Hey! If you're reading this then you're probably feeling a bit daunted by the prospect of going to big lectures and tutorials where you won't know many people. But you'll probably start to recognise some familiar faces in your classes. I was in the same situation last year when I didn't know anyone from school that did engo (I come from a far away place called Parramatta). The first thing you should do is go to first year camp, you'll have an awesome time and find some other first years to hang around (although I might stay away from the Super Gay Cowboys if they happened to find their way there).

Other than that, I found the best thing about first year was going to all the engo society events like SUEUA's First Year Camp, Beer n Bangers, Harbour Crooz and other engo societies' regular barbeques. Since you're spending so much time at uni, its worthwhile going to these things during your breaks to hang around some mates and have a good time (unlike your friends who do farts or commerce that probably have 3 or 4 day weekends and hate going to uni). It could also give you some time to 'collaborate' on difficult assignments or just help each other about that quiz that just happened to come up tomorrow.

My last bit of advice would be just to have fun at uni. Just going to most tutes,lectures and doing the work, you should find first year a breeze after you've gotten used to how uni works. Also, if you have some suss 8am maths on your timetable, the best way to fix that and sleep in is to go to the 11o'clock one if you don't have anything on then. Oh and one more thing, make sure you join SUWIE - women in engo- and get a mentor. It's awesome.

Coming out of high school, I had quite a vague idea about Engineering and thus difficulty in choosing the stream that would be best for me. Flexible First Year was a good option as it meant that I was able to both develop a rounded view about Engineering in general and eventually could decide on a particular Engineering stream at the end of the year- based on my first year at Uni.

FFY Engineering was divided into two streams, A and B. Stream A was based on the fields of Engineering: Chemical, Civil, Mechanical, Mechanical Biomedical and Aeronautical; whilst Stream B was based on Electrical, Computer/Information, Telecommunications, Mechatronics and Space engineering.

Each stream had a subject which introduced the students to their disciplines. This subject had a great emphasis on problem solving and teamwork and other such themes important in the Engineering profession. It gave students a more ‘hands-on’ approach with relevant activities and research projects.

I’m glad that I did Flexible First Year instead of rushing into a stream which I would perhaps not have been happy with. It gave me the chance to have more knowledge regarding Engineering so that I can safely go into my stream with the confidence that I will enjoy it.

 Tash Mehta

Studying engineering doesn't have to be all hard work. There are ways to have fun in (almost)every subject.

In chem pracs, burn everything. Freeze stuff with liquid nitrogen.
“Accidentally” spill things on the table and watch them react.
Have water fights, ice fights, universal indicator fights...just don't let the demonstrators catch you. See if you can get away with aviators instead of safety glasses.

Matlab tutes provide great facebooking time and youtube opportunities.
Share music via usb, have a game of computer-chair soccer, or simply sit back and check out the black scum on the ceiling. But take a jumper, the link lab is freezing. To enjoy matlab lectures, don't attend them.

Maths is the hardest to have fun in but lectures are packed so there's a great audience for gags. If you have a female lecturer, get in early, draw a dick on the board, hide it behind anther board, and wait for her to come across it halfway through an explanation. Guarenteed reaction. And if  you're braver than we ever were, take popcorn and a whoopee cushion, blow detergent bubbles everywhere, and heckle; or if you're not planning to attend a lecture, lob a few stink bombs through the doors and find a safe place to watch the peoples' faces.
In maths tutes, watch out for the Crazy Russian tutor with white gloves that leave no fingerprints when he murders you.

And ultimately, try to pass everything too, cos there’s nothing much fun about failing!

Adam Orford and Jaqui Cooke