A unique module developed by the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences uses King’s location at the heart of London to help students flourish during their first term at university and beyond.
Interactive and participatory, Thriving in Cultural London encourages students to explore the city around them through arts-based activities. During each session, they observe, reflect and work collaboratively, developing essential skills as they start to form their professional identity.
All first-year dental students take part in this module, which encourages them to try new ideas, not be afraid of failing and to step out of their comfort zone. With Rambert on London’s South Bank, they learned about the benefits dance can have on health and wellbeing at a contemporary dance workshop. In another session, students tried freewriting – writing continuously for a set time without worrying about usual conventions – at the Undercroft skatepark on the bank of the River Thames.
Other activities included developing local walking tours to exchange with their team, a visit to Sadler’s Wells theatre and participant observation – joining a group as both an observer and a participating member – at Tate Modern.
Reflecting on the module, Isabel (Jie Yue) Chan, a first-year Dental student, said, ‘Through my experience of exploring London, I have opened myself to finding beauty in the most unexpected places. If one can liken places to people, this experience has taught me how everyone has a story to tell, if you have the empathy to take the time out to listen.’
Building on Thriving in Cultural London is a new online extracurricular programme for 2020/21 available to all students regardless of faculty, year or level of study. At Home in Cultural London transforms London into an immersive, creative classroom and features bespoke content and activities developed with King’s academics, artists and organisations at the cutting edge of London’s vibrant cultural scene.