Who here is a product of the Polytechnics?

[Fab Foodie]

I'm a big fan of the Polytechnic, they should be re-instated with immediate effect offering with purely technical/ vocational courses and no tuition fees. 2 years hard labour 9 to 5 study, modular and project work.

For my own sins (failed A-levels almost twice) I went to South Bank Polytechnic and did an HND in Food Technology. Never looked back, served me well.

So who else went to Polytechnic, where, doing what and how did it work for you?
How should a modern Polytechnic operate?

 

[stephec]

HND in electrical/electronic engineering at Lancashire Polytechnic, now a university I think.

 

[cosmicbike]

HND in electrical/electronic engineering at Lancashire Polytechnic, now a university I think.

Same for me, though I did mine at TVU Slough, pretty sure it was Uni already not Poly...

 

[Crackle]

Liverpool Poly, degree in mechanical and manufacturing engineering. It became Littlewoods university just before I finished and they introduced modular courses which were easier and fun. I came to that via an engineering conversion course rejecting my place at Lpool uni to do Geography.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Two of my friends went to Hatfield Poly so we used to go and meet them to get drunk as their scummy 'townie' mates. I never went to Poly/Uni, I just work for one.

 

[thecube]

HND in Applied Sciences at Huddersfield Poly, although it "upgraded" to Uni in my 2nd year. Then got the degree for just 1 extra year. Unfortunately that was not the end of my academic career!

 

[jugglingphil]

I started my HND at Trent Polytechnic, but by the time I finished it had changed to Nottingham Trent University.

 

[Arjimlad]

I went to Bristol Poly and was a bit disgusted when it turned into a "Uni" whilst I was away in France for a year ...

 

[Globalti]

BA (Hons) Modern Languages at Wolverhampton Poly, graduated 1979.

I went to London University's Westfield College for an interview for Modern Languages and they offered me a place but I left with a feeling of dread - the course was three years exploring fascinating subjects like Spanish Literature of the Golden Age and other gems; when I asked about actual language learning they said "Oh you might be able to go to France or Spain for a month". Gawd!

Then I went to Wolverhampton Poly for an interview and come home with the dreadful feeling of gloom lifted: they offered a four-year course with year three spent abroad; language lab, a smattering of European and Latin-American political history and economics, a science and technology module, some computing, a third language for one year and phonetics. Oh, and almost no literature. I enjoyed the course, went to Granada for two months followed by three in Huelva as English Assistant in an Opus Dei college, then five months at Grenoble Uni supposedly doing Sciences Politiques but actually doing very little. (The first lecture we attended was two hours on "La théorie et le concept du fétischism selon Freud et Marx" so we didn't go to many more lectures after that, especially as we had no exams to do.)

After that experience I was ready for anything and it seems to have shaped my life because eventually I drifted into a job in export sales where I worked for a while in Paris and now do use my French and my job consists of convincing customers that my company is trustworthy, in an environment where everybody is accustomed to being cheated and ripped off. I love the internationality of my job and relish the communication challenges.

I also agree strongly that for the Polys to want to become Universities was the biggest cop-out ever.

 

[Markymark]

Nottingham University.....back in the day when the word 'university' meant something

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Started off at Lancashire Poly which became the University of Central Lancashire whilst I was there, so not entirely sure I qualify, but I went to it because it was a poly (mostly to annoy the hell out of my (now ex) step-father)!

 

[LarryDuff]

My wife started at a Poly but graduated from a university.

 

[wormo]

Accountancy at Manchester Poly

 

[Cubist]

Sheffield City Polytechnic (now Sheffield Hallam University)

I originally applied as it was the only place I could find that did European Business Studies specialising in German. They promised me that I wouldn't struggle with the maths, but it became clear after a couple of terms that I was on the wrong course altogether. I successfully applied to swap onto a BA Modern Languages with Political Studies, and had a fantastic time. A semester at L'Universita Di Pisa studying Scienze Politica meant a six month jolly in the seaside resort of Tirrenia, then a long summer break followed by a winter semester at Marburger Universitaet on the Davidson Exchange programme meant an even jollier time studying Germanistik und Politik.

I then checked the careers history of the previous five years' graduates and found a whole raft of not a lot of good employment ( this was 1985, Thatcher's glory years) and so decided I would follow my boyhood ambition of joining the Police. Graduated in 1987 with a solid rugby playing, rag committee roistering, beer swilling Desmond. We were told that in the history of the course only two people had ever achieved a first. Given that we had to submit a Dissertation in Italian on Italian Current Affairs, a German Dissertation on a political theme of our choice, and then a further dissertation on Moderm European History followed 27 hours of final exams, it came as no surprise that a 2.2 was as good as most of us were going to get!

 

[BigonaBianchi]

did a years architecthure degree at poly of north london...then left to do an HND business studiies at ealing....im not at all convinced either of those had any benefits for me in life....except i got to play in a few rock bands during that time...