Last fall, fourth-year students Sarah and Rawan Morshed traded Halifax for Oxford, England and their daily coffee for tea during an academic adventure they won鈥檛 soon forget.听
鈥淭here is an indisputable allure to Oxford 鈥� the City of Dreaming Spires,鈥� says Rawan. 鈥淭he foggy days, old books, and candlelit libraries, the whole dark academia atmosphere embodied by Oxford.鈥澨�
The sisters became the first Faculty of Computer Science students to study abroad at the , completing an eight-week term at the famed school鈥檚 Trinity College 鈥� one final voyage together before graduation.
Sarah and Rawan were drawn to Oxford鈥檚 prestigious reputation and unique tutorial system where students can learn one-on-one with their professors. Sarah studied design and analysis of algorithms and data structures, principles of programming languages, and software engineering, while Rawan studied cybersecurity and machine learning.
Driven by curiosity
Despite being in a new country and studying within a different educational structure, both sisters excelled. Dr. Andreas Galanis, Sarah鈥檚 primary tutor, expressed his admiration for her hard work and dedication in what he describes as 鈥渙ne of the hardest courses in the Oxford Computer Science curriculum.鈥�
Rawan discovered Oxford鈥檚 tutorial setup and unique term length helped drive her passion for cybersecurity. She studied with Dr. Kubilay Ahmet Ku虉莽u虉k and Dr. Andrey Kravchenko for her primary and secondary tutorials, deepening her love for technology.听
鈥淭he tutorial format allowed me to engage deeply with the topics I care about most, and the conversations [I had with Dr. Ahmet Ku虉莽u虉k] were genuinely exciting and challenging,鈥� Rawan says. 鈥淭he chance to learn in a way that is focused, personal, and driven by curiosity made my time at Oxford profoundly impactful.鈥�
Community minded
Outside of coursework, Rawan and Sarah became active members of Oxford鈥檚 community, meeting new people and getting the chance to network with different companies.
The sisters joined the OxWoCS () and OxWEST () societies. In addition to meeting colleagues and mentors, the societies gave the sisters even more opportunities to upskill and network.
Through OxWoCS and OxWEST, Sarah and Rawan were selected to attend Meta鈥檚 Minds on AI event at Meta鈥檚 office in London, representing both Oxford and 麻豆传媒.听
Rawan says showing up to the two group鈥檚 events and connecting with their executive members allowed the sisters to 鈥渂uild bridges for future collaborations and knowledge exchange across the Atlantic.鈥�
It was a live intellectual theatre where we learned how to blend wit, intellect, and tradition
Other highlights included connecting with Trinity College鈥檚 first female president, Dame Hilary Boulding, who offered valuable advice on becoming an impactful female leader. They also listened to talks from SpongeBob鈥檚 writer and voice actor Doug Lawrence and former British Prime Ministers at the Oxford Union Society. The sisters were engaged in the society鈥檚 student debates, which focus on contemporary issues, and were particularly inspired by them.听
鈥淚t was a live intellectual theatre where we learned how to blend wit, intellect, and tradition,鈥� Sarah says.
A magical setting in which to study
Despite their already packed schedules, Rawan and Sarah still made time to enjoy the English countryside and Oxford鈥檚 many traditions.
鈥淲e loved how magical the English countryside felt,鈥� says Rawan, remembering how she and Sarah spent an evening horseback riding against a golden-hour sky as they trotted along lakes, fields, trees, and sheep.听
Although they typically drink coffee, they lived out their childhood fantasy of drinking tea from dainty bone china cups and eating small sandwiches and scones with clotted cream at high tea. 鈥淲e used to have pretend tea parties as kids so getting to do that for real in England is a memory we will always cherish,鈥� Rawan continues.
However magical and quaint the English traditions, it was Oxford itself that the sisters fell the most in love with.
During their final week in England, Sarah and Rawan climbed the thirteenth-century university church鈥檚 tower, the oldest part of the
鈥淎s I was admiring its beauty, it was a bittersweet moment where I got lost in my thoughts reflecting on the many inspiring people I met there,鈥� Rawan remembers. 鈥淭he new experiences, the achievements, and finally fulfilling my dream. It didn鈥檛 feel real, and yet, it was.鈥�
All these incredible achievements and memories would not have been possible without 麻豆传媒鈥檚 powerful support for us
The sisters don鈥檛 know what the future holds or if they will return to Oxford, but they are thankful for the opportunity to study at such a magical place.
鈥淎ll these incredible achievements and memories would not have been possible without 麻豆传媒鈥檚 powerful support for us,鈥� says Sarah. 鈥淲e are grateful and honoured to be members of our prestigious university. We wore our Dal sweaters to Oxford with pride.鈥�