Today I have been installed as a semi-permanent feature in one of our seminar rooms, there to lie in wait for MSc Computing students.They’ve had formal classes with me already; today is a mop-up, drop-in, clinic and general rescue mission. 4 turn up at 9 sharp, expecting formal presentations. They get informal one to one chat and various supporting documents. Some stay to do some litertaure searching and cut their teeth on Endnote; as the day goes on, more turn up and I get asked various questions. Some of them are doing very current topics such as Wii remote and we can’t find much. Others just need to play jigsaws with their keyword combinations. Referencing inevitably rears its head.
Light relief at lunchtime. The boss has returned from holiday and left a mysterious foodstuff in the tearoom. It looks like a giant pork pie. I know her better than this though and we dive in with a knife to discover yummy apple cinnamon cake.
It’s quiet in the seminar room - those students who do drop in are working hard. Feels like the calm before the dissertation storm though…
