Site Visit #1: Deloitte

Today was our first site visit for the summer and we started off with a great experience at Deloitte.

Dr. VP and I met the students outside their apartments at 9:30am. Everyone was on time and dressed ready to represent NC State University well!

With so many students this year, we have to be prepared to move smartly on and off the tube and across the street. We debriefed everyone to get to Blackfriars station if we got separated.  By 9:30, much of the commuter traffic has died down, but it was still pretty crowded. The students moved like experts through the tube station--even remembering to stand to the right on the escalator!


After a brief moment of confusion about which direction to walk, we were on our way!



We were greeted by Lydia and Fabrizio from Deloitte and they showed us the Greenhouse space. The Greenhouse is a collaborative environment where companies/groups meet to work through complex problems and develop solutions. For more information about the Greenhouse: http://www2.deloitte.com/kr/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/deloitte-greenhouse-overview.html

After a brief presentation, the students asked lots of excellent questions. Again, this group really makes NC State look good! Questions were thoughtful and relevant. We enjoyed a lively and sometimes humorous discussion with Fabrizio.

Some of the most important take-aways:

• Deloitte looks for new hires who 
• are creative and have good grades
• have an opinion
• demonstrate leadership qualities during a group interview process
• ask questions / engage
• have passion
• have communication skills
• can work in teams
• use Excel and PPT
• can be "authentically you"
• have a diversity in skill set
• show a positive attitude

Best quotes relating to ENG 331:

• "Communication is the most important thing we do."
• "Managing stakeholders is about avoiding (negative) situations."
• Communication "distinguishes real professionals from those churning it out."
• "Thinking about your environment/situation and adapting is important."

After the tour, we had a break for lunch and then met at Asa Briggs hall for class in the afternoon--ISE first, then ENG. Busy, but good day!

Wimbledon

On June 29, 2015, I attended the Wimbledon Tennis Championships 2015 in Southwest London. The process of entering involved about five hours of queuing in line, but the long wait was worth it as I was able to witness a match and be in the presence of several athletes who I have only seen on television. As an industrial engineering student, queuing is a procedure that can be broken down into several components such as input type, service mechanics, and system capacity and has an immediate connection to the way we stood in line that day.
The Wimbledon is one of the rare athletic events in the world where people may still stand and buy tickets for the most premium courts on the same day of play; it was an experience I will never forget. We entered the queue from the side of the court entrance and were directed forward toward an endless lawn. Thousands of people were lined up neatly in rows that snaked right and left on the field. Towards the beginning, we were able to enjoy pleasant weather and sit down, but after an hour the sun came out, showing no mercy. We used newspapers as mats to sit on and chatted, hoping the queue would move quickly. Anticipation grew as we finally passed through the security gates and trekked through the maze of lines within the Wimbledon courts. We made it to a match finally in the afternoon, and I knew that the moment I spent on the court had been well earned.

Thinking back on my queuing experience, industrial engineering queuing applications explain some components of our wait to the Wimbledon gates. We were the inputs who could be represented as random variables since people came at different times of the day, often in groups at certain time intervals. Service times depended on the rate at which a person left, which dictated the successive entrance of a person in the queue. The capacity was limited by the demand of tickets for the day.
At a reasonable cost of 25 pound expense, I am proud to have survived the queue and satisfied a dream of mine since I was a child. Next time, I plan on camping overnight to get access to the Show Courts and maybe using a queuing strategy to better plan my visit! -Anjali

On June 29^th, I went with a group to queue for tickets to Wimbledon. This was a once in a lifetime experience and one of the few premier sporting events that allows for queuing for day of tickets. I wasn’t sure at first if I should go because I don’t know that much about tennis, but I’m so glad that I went. When we first got there were walked into this huge grassy field and got put into a line to queue; we were some of the last people to make it in before they cut off at a specific number. After queuing for over four hours we finally made it in. I was so excited to see the famous grass courts and watch the sport in one of its most well-known locations in the world.

First, we needed to grab some food because after queuing for so long we were so hungry. I was tempted to try Wimbledon’s popular strawberries and crème, but opted for a more filling wrap instead. Once recharged we headed out to the courts to watch a couple matches. The highlight of this event was getting to see Venus Williams not only play, but play extremely well and win her match. It was exciting to me to see not only an American play, but one that I've heard of since being a little kid.

I probably won’t ever have this chance again and it was such a good experience, that I recommend it to anyone with any range of knowledge about tennis or the players. It is well worth the wait to see Wimbledon! ~Kelly P

Waiting in queue and paying the £25 for a ticket was definitely worth the experience. We were able to watch Azarenka beat Kontaveit in a Women's Singles match and afterwards we saw John Isner from Greensboro beat Go Soeda. One of the students in our group, Adam, is from Greensboro, so after Isner's match we went down to the edge of the court and Adam yelled, "I'm from Greensboro!" When Isner heard him, he walked over and started signing our tickets and hats. He saw Adam's NC State hat and said "You guys go to State? My whole family went to State, Go Pack!" Our day was pretty much made after talking to John Isner, but we stuck around a little longer to watch part of a double's match, some of Sharipova's match on Centre Court from the screen on Henman's Hill, and a few players warm up on the practice courts. It was a full day of standing in queue and watching tennis, but being with a good group of friends made the time in queue fly and watching such talented players made the matches captivating! ~Sedona



The best experiences are often unpredictable and require you to wake up at 4:30am. That was Wimbledon. A group of us crawled out of bed at sunrise, took the first available tube and started the queue by 6am. I was the 3278^th person in line. After about four hours of delirious conversation, we were let into the gates just in time for the first games at 10:30am. We somehow managed to get eight seats all together for Azarenka’s first game at Wimbledon. She quickly defeated her opponent. As people exited the court, we ran to the front and luckily got eight seats all together on the fifth row. The next game was a big one for all of us. John Isner played in the next match and he is from my hometown. We cheered him to victory and then the best part of Wimbledon happened. We ran to the sideline and I yelled, “I’m from Greensboro!” He looked up, saw my NC State hat, and came over with a sharpie. He fist bumped me and said “Go Wolfpack! That was my team back in the day.” He proceeded to give all of us his autograph.

John Isner

Look carefully for Serena Williams in the background

Harrod's

On June 29^th I visited the department store Harrods located in South Kensington. My visit allowed me to see many luxurious items in London and witness the extent of the wealth in this area.

VISIT TO HARRODSHarrods is located in South Kensington off of Brompton Street next to the Knightsbridge Underground Station. I arrived at the department store about ten minutes before the store opened and there was already a long line outside waiting to go inside. Once in the store, I entered into the ground floor where the beauty and perfume departments were located. Towards the middle of the store is an opening for lifts and escalators that takes you to the lower ground floor or floors one through five. This area is styled with Egyptian art and pillars that rise the length of the ceilings and a water fall against the wall. Harrods has many different sections such as clothing, home and cook ware, jewelry, art, writing, food, and a gift shop. All of the products sold at Harrods, except for some items sold in the food and gift shop, are rather expensive and beyond the price range of any average income person. The writing, home, and art section seemed to have the most expensive items; many of them were several thousand pounds. The home section had a lot of crystal sculptures over £20,000 and the writing section had a gold and diamond pen worth £75,000. The food section of Harrods was more affordable and had a lot of decorated pastries and dishes available for sale. The gift shop was the last section of the store that I visited, and the souvenirs in Harrods weren’t nearly as expensive as in the rest of the store.

HARRODS SUMMARYMy trip to Harrods had no cost for entrance or transportation. However, I did spend approximately £16.00 at the store for gifts to take home to my family. My visit to Harrods was beneficial to me by demonstrating the extent of wealth that is present in London. There are multiple different lifestyles in this area and going to Harrods allowed me to view the luxurious lifestyle more closely. -Jessica

Yoga in Hyde Park

On Sunday, June 28, 2015, I participated in a free yoga session at Hyde Park for about 1-1/2 hours. Having read about the session through Time Out Magazine and through group encouragement, I decided to join a group of some of my fellow London for Engineers girls for this event. Since it was the first weekend after our arrival in London, we were all relieved to spend some time relaxing and stretching amidst the breezy landscapes Hyde Park offered. I was also motivated to do yoga because I remembered how it impacted me when I used to do it prior to swim meets back in high school. Yoga allowed me to focus thoughts, relieve stress, and stretch muscles. I have never done yoga outside in a park before and could not be more thrilled to do it in one of London’s most famous parks.

Our instructor’s name was Ivan Molochko, and we did hatha yoga during this Sunday session. I particularly liked that he emphasized that we did not need any experience prior to joining and even showed examples on how to “fake” poses while still getting some stretching. He mixed breathing and posture exercises, giving us tips on how to make improvements. Towards the end, it started to sprinkle, but it just reminded us that we were in London. -Anjali

Our group doing a yoga pose with Ivan:

Saturday morning, July 5,  I attended a yoga class in Hyde Park put on by the Russian in UK organization to meet locals from a different ethnic group and to take part in a group activity in the park.
Before the class started, I was able to speak with three of the women there for the class. All three were Russian but had lived in London for many years. I enjoyed hearing their stories and picking up on a different culture in London.I quickly realized that I might be the only member of the yoga class who did not speak Russian.
When the class started, the instructor Ivan greeted the group in Russian but then conducted the class in English. Classified as hatha yoga, the practice differed a bit from my usual yoga practice but I was able to follow along. We started with pranayamas, or breathing exercises, to center ourselves and prepare for the class. The initial meditations made the practice feel more authentic than the yoga classes offered at NC State and turned the practice into a mental exercise as well as a physical exercise. The class as a whole was a success with great weather and a very helpful teacher.

For those interested in attending, the class is held at 11:00am Saturday and Sunday in Hyde Park. Note that the Saturday class is for more advanced practice and Sunday is for beginners. I would recommend the Sunday class to someone who wants to try something different in Hyde Park but do not practice yoga regularly. The class is free, although donations are greatly appreciated. -Juliet

Orientation and Tour

We started our day with Orientation at Asa Briggs. Then, a quick lunch and a tour of London. It was a busy day in London--the PRIDE parade and festival had many roads closed so there was even more traffic than usual. But, we managed to see lots of the big sites.
This evening, some of the group went to Hyde Park to listen to Taylor Swift.  We certainly enjoyed the gorgeous weather today!

Orientation

Selfies by Tower Bridge

Buckingham Palace

Arrival Day

We are so glad that 30 of our 33 students arrived on time today. We are expecting our last three students this evening. Some have had some trouble with travel--Dr. V-P "wins" the travel delay after being stuck in Toronto.

Students checked in at Courtfield Gardens and spent the afternoon settling in and getting accustomed to their new neighborhood.