August Events in Sheffield

Posted: 15.08.2016
Author: Yunpeng Zhu

Many people may feel walking around the university area and the town centre of Sheffield has become a little bit different than before. If you are an NCUK graduate this year reading this blog, do watch out when you arrive Sheffield.

This year, 58 elephant sculptures and 72 elephant calves are now being displayed in Sheffield until 5th October 2016. This is a public art event in Sheffield, called ‘Herd of Sheffield‘. It aims to give the city a bit of fresh feeling and as you can probably see the hashtags (#sheffchildrens) in the pictures below  – to fundraise for the Children’s Hospital Charity.

The elephant sculptures are spread across the city. You can get a map for 50p from the local book shops or download a dedicated elephant-search app. I think this is a reality-version of PokemonGo but has limited time.

Don’t worry at all if you are not here until October or you will miss it. Sheffield has plenty of public events. Inside the Sheffield University, the Student Union organises day trips to other cities for very little ticket. For international students, there will also be many communities inviting you to their events such as One World Cafe. Check out your university e-mail box while you are here as there will be lots of events not to be missed.

Another thing I would recommend to prospective Sheffield University students is the mentoring scheme. In the pre-registration process you will be contacted by the university whether you would like to enrol in this scheme. If you do then the university will find a senior year student from your course, most likely whose background matches yours, to be your mentor. S/He will help to answer your questions – either life- or study-related – although please do not expect them to help with homework. I feel it is helpful for new-comers to Sheffield for whom the transition to university life, in particular, in a different country can be challenging. Usually a mentee becomes a mentor one year later, and in return helps the newcomers to Sheffield in the following year. This is a successful and proud scheme that Sheffield has been running for years.