When you think of studying in Cambridge or Oxford, perhaps your first thought would be – ah, these are where the big leagues go.
Highly ranked and prestigious, these universities produce more than two-thirds of the world’s leading research in the UK and are known as some of the most elite institutions globally.
But on the surface, that’s what they are to most of the population. Just the top-ranked universities in the UK (that also cost a bomb).
However, if you ask Dr. Jarrod Sio, who hails from Malaysia, his days studying in Cambridge were some of his life’s best and brightest.
He was a huge fan of the libraries in the UK. Source: Dr Jarrod Sio
His journey to studying at Cambridge began at Oxford
After completing his degree in Educational Management, Dr. Sio spent a few years teaching in a rural school and universities while working in the Malaysian Ministry of Education.
At the same time, he was busy juggling his PhD.
“The thing about a master’s degree is that it encourages you to go further,” says Dr. Sio. “With that in mind, I took up a PhD – mostly out of curiosity. It took me five years to finish, and by then I was already holding a full-time position in office, but only at the district level.”
Part of his PhD included a presentation of his thesis at the University of Oxford, which was an exciting opportunity for him as he had never been to the UK before.
“That was my first time in the Western Hemisphere,” he confesses. “I’m a Potterhead – a Harry Potter fan – so I was excited to go to the UK.”
Before going, he was sure his PhD would be the last stint in his academic journey. Oxford proved him wrong.
“At that point, I already had three degrees, and I thought I knew all about the university experience, but the Oxford atmosphere was very different,” says Dr. Sio. “You could tell who were tourists and who were students.”
For one, Oxford students did not wear Oxford T-shirts, as Dr. Sio quickly found out after purchasing one from the university shop. The second was that Oxford students seemed to walk with a purpose, a swagger that set them apart from the common folk.
Dr. Sio was keen to check out the rest of the university’s facilities, but as a visitor, he could only press his nose against the library’s glass. He then started to wonder – how would it feel to be a student here? Not just Oxford, but in the UK.
“When I walked around town and went to the pub, I could feel that the air was electric with intellectualism,” he says. “I went to a pub and I could hear students drunkenly debating about everything from God to politics.”
Walking down the thousand-year-old cobblestones, it wasn’t hard to imagine settling into the intellectual and academic atmosphere. Even the director of the Oxford Union encouraged Dr Sio to come to Oxford to pursue a programme, which he initially declined.
“I was like, I already have a PhD,” says Dr.Sio. “I paid no mind and returned to Malaysia, and then the pandemic happened. It was then I really gave it some thought, also because I spent so much time watching TikToks and YouTube videos of Oxford and Cambridge.”
Forced to stay home with nothing else to do but work, Dr. Sio then looked at applications for fun. He looked at Oxford programmes first, but the university did not have any related programmes that he was interested in.
He then turned his attention to Cambridge, which offered a master’s in Educational Leadership and Improvement. Being only an hour away from Oxford, he was sure it still provided the academic atmosphere he fell in love with, and more.
Eager to try his luck, he applied for it and secured a spot.
“It was quite a straightforward application process,” he recalls. “I applied in September, then had the application interview in December.”
By a stroke of luck, his interview was with Dr. Pete Dudley, the director of the particular programme Dr Sio was interested in.
Dr. Dudley was also the founding president of the Singaporean Malaysian Association of Lesson Studies, which meant that he was familiar with Malaysians – and, to Dr Sio’s pleasant surprise, Sarawakians like him.
“We spent a lot of time chatting about the research I planned to undertake at Cambridge,” says Dr. Sio. “He also became the supervisor for my master’s programme, so it was all very lucky.”
So it was off to the UK for his master’s, or as Dr Sio fondly calls it, a well-deserved mid-career break.
Before taking his master’s, Dr Jarrod Sio went from teaching in a rural village to spearheading education policies across Sarawak in Malaysia. Source: Dr Jarrod Sio
What studying in Cambridge is like
While studying in Cambridge, Dr. Sio mostly stayed on campus. “Mostly” is used lightly here, as he admits to spending much time visiting other colleges and attending formal dinners.
“Part of the reason why I chose Cambridge was for the formal dinners and events,” he admits. “If I had gone to any other UK university, it would probably have been similar to Malaysian ones, or 99% of universities around the world.”
Studying in Cambridge also meant that every student wore a sleek black gown for formal events, such as dinners, matriculation, and graduation. Ever the Potterhead, Dr Sio likens the experience to being at Hogwarts, where every student wore house robes.
“Matriculation here is also quite different,” he says. “There’s a whole ceremony to induct you for life as a member of that particular college, and you drink wine from an ivory horn. It’s kind of like baptism, in a way.”
Being in Cambridge, Dr. Sio was adamant on not just mingling with his fellow Malaysians. He also wanted to attend formal dinners in the different colleges, to which he had to secure invitations.
“You can’t just mosey in there,” he says. “So I joined a friend, who introduced me to his friends at a pub – but they were mostly Brits, and it was hard to penetrate the group. They only laughed at a joke I made after my fifth time having drinks with them.”
As expected, lots of socialising was done at the pub after classes. He also made friends with South African students, who did not enjoy much of the UK’s frigid weather like him, and spent much time huddled up in the dorms together for warmth.
Another way Dr Sio made friends fast was through rowing. This meant waking up at 5:30 a.m., walking to the river, and carrying a heavy, expensive boat while getting barked at by a 19-year-old.
“It felt like the military,” he jokes. “But that truly was the shortest way to befriend people, because after all that physical exertion, people become friends. I also represented my college in the rowing competitions after that, which helped too.”
Then came the dinners. These were formal events, complete with a three-course meal in a college’s dining hall, and primarily served as a way for students to socialise, celebrate special occasions, and enjoy a night out.
People often joked that they saw Dr Sio in his formal robes more than his day-to-day outfits. Source: Dr Jarrod Sio
Dr. Sio started packing his schedule with them, primarily out of FOMO, as he had a friend who would stumble home drunkenly every night with extraordinary tales to tell. He, too, wanted in on the fun.
He started going out, armed with his bowtie and tuxedo. Some nights, he visited colleges back-to-back.
“People told me that I did more in one year than they did in three,” he laughs. “I think people saw me going out in my gown and tuxedo more than they saw me in T-shirts and pants. I’d be in my bowtie and dinner jacket, waiting for my Uber with wine in hand.”
Dr. Sio successfully clocked in 44 formal dinners over the year. Considering that there were only 52 weeks a year, this was impressive.
“There were days when I went to five colleges in five days, back-to-back, while juggling my work,” he says. “Sometimes I’d think – I shouldn’t be doing this so often… I’m so tired!”
Upon completing his master’s, Dr. Sio was set to join his graduation ceremony. But while many of us are used to long hours, endless roll-calling of names, and hundreds of graduation photos taken on stage, his ceremony lasted half an hour.
“My mother wanted to go to the toilet, but the porter told her to stay because by the time she came back, the ceremony would probably have been over,” he jokes.
The process was intriguing, too. Upon entering the hall, no cameras would be allowed. A professor would hold out his fingers, and each graduate would hold onto one as they recited a Latin verse.
Then, names would be called individually, and students would step up to the college master, seated in front in a red coat. Each student would then kneel and hold their fingers as if in prayer, as the master repeated another verse in Latin.
“Then you say ‘Amen’ and you go out,” says Dr Sio. “There’s no scroll. You just step outside and get your certificate. Then it’s goodbye!”
Looking back, Dr Sio. fondly remembers his days studying at Cambridge. It was an incredible feat – a man who had previously been an average student and an engineering college dropout was now a Cambridge graduate.
“If I were to go back in time, I don’t think I’d give myself any advice,” he muses. “I’d just tell myself, you’ll be alright. It’ll work out.”
