I'm curious about how digital technologies can interact with society and what that means for the study of the humanities.

Why did you decide to study your programme?

It's hard for me to ignore the role digital technology plays in contemporary society. Although I specialised in literary studies as an undergraduate, I am equally interested in the changes taking place in this "real" society. I'm curious about how digital technologies can interact with society and what that means for the study of the humanities. So things like combining digital technology and humanities research excite me. Through the study of digital humanities, I can use computers to aid my understanding of society.

What do you enjoy most about your course and the subject you are studying?

Firstly, this programme is for beginners so I was not overwhelmed. I was able to learn a lot of basic concepts from the different courses. These basic concepts facilitated me to do further learning after the course. In particular, I developed an interesting PhD proposal based on what I learnt in this programme, combined with my own research interests and approved by supervisors at different universities. I therefore believe that the knowledge provided by this programme is valuable. Secondly, the staff are very supportive, both for this course and for my subsequent PhD application. They provided me with helpful advice on my PhD application, as well as references. 

What skills and experience have you gained during your course which will help you to reach your goals after graduation?

To summarise, how to use digital humanities methods for humanities research. It's hard for me to make specific examples as they include a range of skills from Python to GIS and corpus linguistics. I learnt these skills in different situations and made them part of my PhD research. If I will carry out work in industry, I think they would come into play as well.

What made you want to study in the UK and specifically the University of Sheffield?

I came to the University of Sheffield by chance. I didn't know much about the UK or the University of Sheffield before I came here. However, I had an impressive time here and decided to continue my studies in the UK.

Has the university been supportive during your transition to life in the UK? 

As an international student, I can feel the attempts made by the university to support international students. Examples include language support and academic skills tutorials.

What do you like most about living in Sheffield?

Sheffield is a safe city with low living expenses. I'm particularly interested in its history as an industrial city, due to my childhood in a Chinese national factory community. Exploring the city's history, architecture and heritage is fun and showed me a snapshot of the UK's industrial history and de-industrialisation.

In fact, the history of Sheffield inspired me a lot when I was studying a module on digital cultural heritage and eventually led me to develop a digital humanities project about its industrial heritage.

What is the postgraduate community like? 

I am the academic representative for our programme. I try to gather students' opinions and give them back to the staff. This is one part of building a community that can serve the students. A focus on sustainability, equality, diversity and justice is what I endeavour to do.