By Claire Parker

FINISHING week 10 out of 13 of my first semester of engineering at the University of Auckland is just as I have expected. I have enjoyed all my papers although some more than others and am learning something new every lecture. However it is also as busy and fast paced as I expected, finishing full topics in one to two lectures with tests almost every week, and a multitude of practise problems to complete. 

University of Auckland has multiple ways for Part 1 Engineering students to gain help and I have used these regularly. Tutorials are incredibly useful to get help and ask questions one on one especially if you are as lucky as me to have the lecturer as your tutor.

The resource I have found most useful is called Piazza. Piazza is an online forum where students and lecturers can ask questions and people can post their answers. This can provide help to answer questions if you get stuck, find out information about the test and assignments and see how other people attempt and answer questions. 

The lecturers I have had so far have been incredibly helpful and good at explaining concepts. They also understand that sometimes we need a break and so far this year I have experienced lecturers juggling, unicycling, joke telling and a showing us a lot of YouTube videos. Overall so far this semester I have enjoyed engineering and know I am in the right place with lots of support in every aspect of university life.