Rob, where did you go to university, and how long for?

Erm…I went to Manchester University to start with, and to do a bachelor’s degree. Erm…and…

What did you study?

What did I study? What did I study? Microbiology. Erm…and then I went on to Salford, which is just Manchester; and there I studied parasitology for a master’s degree; and then I to Germany for three years to Giesen University, and there I did my doctorate.

So three separate universities.

Yep.

Tell us about life in the er..the English university. Wha..what was the routine like? Was there a routine?

No, not really.

So what did you do…what did you do when you weren’t studying?

Erm…sleeping, drinking. Erm..life is..is..is not very routine at a..at an English university. It’s intense study, and intense play.

But you have your organised classes.

You have organised classes, and as a biologist, yeah, there’s a lot of erm.. lecture time per day…in that it’s a routine. But it’s relatively flexible in that you don’t have to sign in to courses. If you miss a lecture, it doesn’t really you can borrow notes from other people. And people quite often miss relatively large sections of courses . An…You don’t need to cover that much…erm…you have the from other people, and you can…you can still have a lot of fun you do...you can miss lectures in the morning, or.. miss a couple in the afternoon…it’s fairly flexible.

So before exams you would study intensely.

Yes.

And not go out at all. And is..was…

Well we would study intensely, I didn’t say we wouldn’t go out at all!

Was the nightlife good in Manchester?

Man..Manchester nightlife is very good. There are three universities in Manchester City, and there’s Salford University nearby. There…there were at that time about 60, 70 thousand students in Manchester.

That’s a lot.

So, a very good nightlife, yes.

Are you still in touch with friends from university?

Some; not very many. Erm…I’m still in touch with two or three people from …erm.

Were there many foreign students studying there when you were there?

In biology no, . In the languages departments..erm..arts, yes. But..erm.. in sciences, relatively few.

Hmm..ok. If you could go back to your university days, would you change any of your decisions about that time in your life?

I would not change what I studied. I would be more active. I would do more sports, and spend more time meeting women, frankly.

More time meeting women and maybe less drinking.

No, I didn’t say that!