Last time I told you how I recreated Photoshop in C++ for my bachelor thesis. One of the major things that kept me going, coding 14 hours a day, was my ongoing application to Oxford University. I had to finish my thesis in time for the final paperwork submission deadline. But that’s not the whole story. At the beginning, I didn’t even know I’d be able to apply. But I was determined to find a way. So let me tell you about that time I engineered my way into Oxford University.
Everything started early 2006. At the end of my penultimate year of undergrad at the Warsaw University of Technology (WUT), I noticed a leaflet of Tokyo University exchange program. I was an avid anime fan and manga reader back then (otaku!), so you can see the appeal. I looked into it but in the end I learned the program was short and it would be impossible for me to qualify. But the idea of studying abroad started to grow on me.
I began researching various programs in Europe and the US. After some time my research narrowed to Oxford and Cambridge. The problem was, as often, money. Multi-year programs were prohibitively expensive for me. However, I found a very appealing, albeit intense, one-year masters program at Oxford University Computing Laboratory. The price was fair, the curriculum was attractive (neural networks!). I decided this is the one for me, so I prepared all the forms and cover letters, and I applied.
In about a week I received a rejection 😅 Apparently, all my application documents were fine and suitable, except my soon-to-receive bachelor in engineering degree from WUT. The admission secretary said it didn’t qualify, and all I could do is start back from an undergrad program at Oxford.
Than can’t be right, I thought 🙂 I didn’t have the money to spend on a three-year undergraduate program. When researching the requirements I remembered Oxford admissions mentioned something about a difference between an engineering degree and a licentiate (both are at the same level in Poland). So I started googling more. And asking more questions.
This email above pointed me towards NARIC. I researched their website, docs and regulations extensively. After a few days I stumbled upon my gem!
I found a seemingly unbelievable thing that nobody knew about, and probably not many know today: European Federation of National Engineering Associations (FEANI, now Engineers Europe). This organisation connects all engineering bodies across Europe.
Moreover, it connects major engineering universities too, including Oxford. And back then, only two unis from Poland were members: one was mine Warsaw University of Technology, and the other was Wroclaw University of Technology (I think, my memory is fuzzy).
And the bombshell? FEANI member universities honor the degrees among each other at the same level! Suddenly, my BSc in engineering from WUT was equivalent to a BSc from Oxford. When I discovered that, I quickly sent out an well-versed email to the admission secretary. They replied shortly, surprised, but promised to investigate the matter. A few weeks later I received a confirmation that my application is valid and can proceed further!
This news gave me even more motivation to quickly finish my thesis, obtain the necessary references and degree transcripts, and send out the final documents before the Oxford admission deadline.
Long story short, everything went fine and in September 2007, I was starting my masters program at Oxford University Computing Laboratory. And thanks to my discovery of FEANI, two of my friends from WUT decided to apply to Oxford the following year as well. It’s good to be an engineer, after all! 😁
