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ISBS has been licensed by the UK Border Agency to enrol international students under Tier 4 of the Points Based System
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Student Services & Life
in London |
At ISBS we do not believe you come here only
for studies and there isn’t anything else you
will need from us. Indeed student life involves much
more than just classrooms and labs. To make you feel
at home and help you in concentrating on your
studies even more, ISBS has taken responsibilities
to facilitate you as much as possible for all your
needs.
There are many items in a student’s life
needing attention, either on regular basis or when
needed, that can be
problematic. We take on those problems for you so
you don’t have to.
An outline of these facilities and services is as
follows:
Student Accommodation:
At ISBS, we understand that students spend a lot
of time and efforts to find a suitable accommodation
in order to be able to concentrate on their studies.
All students have concerns in many ways, but
international students in particular have more
worries as they never know what to expect when
arrive in a new country.
ISBS does not have halls of residence or hostel of
its own to offer accommodation to its students.
However, to give our students a peace of mind and
assure them an accommodation when they arrive at
ISBS, we have arranged it with local landlords and
estate agents to offer confirm place to live upon
arrival. Domestic or overseas, , ISBS can
arrange accommodation should you need it and inform us in time. This accommodation can be a one bed in
a house or a flat, a studio flat, one or two
bedrooms flat/apartment or even an independent
house, we have arrangements
as per your needs.
How to Apply for Accommodation?
Please make sure you make your request in
writing to ISBS and give us as much time as possible
to find you an accommodation according to your
needs. Typically you will be expected to make your
request at least four weeks in advance to arrange an
accommodation. If you have special or disability
needs to be considered, a six weeks period is
required. Please state clearly what kind of
accommodation is required and how much you expect to
pay per week inclusive of bills. Simply by saying
“the cheapest” or “the best” will not satisfy the
application requirement. Your request can be
accepted in writing or by an email and process can
be started, however you will have to fill in a
detailed form and sign a contract upon your arrival
at ISBS to complete the process.
What is Contract Renting?
It is called Short Term Tenancy Agreement. It is
clear from this term that you will be required to
sign an agreement to rent a place to live. Normally
a tenant is expected to provide references of
official and personal contacts and other
identifications to be able to rent. In case of newly
arriving overseas students, this is not possible in
majority of cases as they may not know someone here
in the UK. In such a situation, ISBS
will provide your references as
enrolled students. You
will be bound by the terms and conditions that ISBS
has agreed with landlords. A detailed agreement copy will
be provided for your perusal before you agree
to it. For further details, please contact ISBS
Admin Office.
What is Suitable Accommodation?
In most cases, students like to rent a single or
double room in a house that is in close proximity of
their college. This is also recommended by ISBS as it
helps saving travel cost, the second most costly
item a student has to pay for in London, after
accommodation. Most of these rooms are let as fully
furnished and the stated rent per week also includes
utility bills like gas, electric, water, TV Licence
etc. Landline telephone is not included. In some
cases the landlord provides cooked meals as well
either included in the rent or for a little extra.
Students who have their spouse and children staying
with them prefer to hire an independent apartment or
house. This costs more but gives the advantage of
freedom and a personal independent life. In most
cases, such a rented accommodation is available as
fully furnished, however you might find some partly
furnished or even unfurnished. The rent of the
property will vary accordingly. In these
circumstances, the utility bills are not included in
the rent stated.
Whatever your need be, ISBS always exert its best
endeavours to provide the accommodation of your
choice and needs. We do our best to select a best
match of all of your demands in the price you can
afford. After all, we claim to be
a student’s best
friend.
Airport Welcome:
When you arrive in the UK, you may know someone
who can come and collect you at the airport, take
you to your accommodation and get you settled in for
the very first time. If you do not know anyone then
ISBS can do all that for you upon your request. You
will have to notify us at least one week in advance
of your flight details, time and date of arrival and
our representative will meet you at the airport,
help you loading your luggage and bring you to your
accommodation. This service is available mainly for
arrivals at London Heathrow Airport, however
arrangements can be made for other London Airports
like Gatwick, Stansted or Luton.
For new arrivals, this service is highly recommended
if they do not have prior arrangements or are not
familiar with the public and private transport
system of London. Public transport requires a good
knowledge of London areas to be used properly and
private transport (cabs and taxis) can be expensive.
More Facilities:
There are many other facilities that ISBS offers to
its students for free. Here you have a glimpse of
those:
National Insurance Number (N.I.N) Registration:
As a full time student from overseas, you are
eligible to work in the United Kingdom. However your
entitlement to work is limited to 20 hours per week
maximum during the term time. This restriction is
lifted when you are on holidays from your institute
like during Christmas, Easter
or summer break.
To be able to work in the UK as stipulated by the
law, you will need to register for a National
Insurance Number (you may understand it as a tax
reference number). It is a systematic procedure and
ISBS is there to help you understand the process and
apply for the NIN when you arrive.
Opening a Bank Account:
You are advised strongly to open a student bank
account straight after your arrival to keep your
money safe. This will also be needed to receive
funds from overseas to support you and make or
receive any payments locally.
A recent change in banking procedures now require
overseas students to provide address references in
the UK and back home and utility bills in the UK for
their identification to open an account. A freshly
arrived overseas student will not have utility bills
or a UK driving license etc. for his/her
identification. This is where ISBS becomes your
guarantor and provides you with introductory letters
addressed to the banks confirming your details. We also reply to any written query by the
bank, should they need further information.
Register with a GP:
It is required by law that all students upon arrival
to the UK should register themselves with a local
general practitioner (a GP, or as commonly known, a
doctor). Once again there is supportive
documentation required by the GPs surgeries (or
clinics) to register such students. ISBS provides
full support and recommend its students to well
established GP practices where we are already known
so that the process can be completed in a short
time.
ISBS Cyber Zone:
Along with IT facilities that may be required to
carry out normal student activities, ISBS provides
all of its students with a personalised email
address with isbs.org.uk domain name. This address
comes with a web space so that you may communicate
worldwide electronically with the identity of a
student at ISBS for your research and project work
purposes.
We are in process of making available a special
website dedicated to our students only where they
can display their work, projects, thesis and any
other course related material for the attention of
anyone interested.
Work Placement:
Many courses and programmes at ISBS may require a
student to be attached to a suitable company or
financial institute in order to have a working
knowledge of his/her course. This also could be
applicable to the student doing a research project
and there is a need to present that research with
backing of a case study.
Whatever the need, ISBS gives a full and
comprehensive backing help to its students for
finding such a placement. Mainly it is a decision of
the student and his/her tutor to go for a particular
company; ISBS approaches a number of suitable
companies and recommend its students. Our aim is to
get our students the best opportunity to have an
early experience from inside the practical world of
business so that they get ahead start. Work
placements are also a good source of confidence
building for things to come and give valuable
thesis, making a strong base for further higher
qualifications and research degrees.
Student Counselling:
As a new arrival to the UK, there will be a million
and one things, so to say, that you will not be
accustomed to or not sure how to go about. Even if
you are a regular visitor to the UK or a local
student, there may be issues that you wish you could
discuss with someone or seek advice. It could be a
career advice or study or work related stress that
is making you feel down all the time. On the other
hand you might have a future opportunity and would
like to discuss it with someone experienced who can
analyse it with you.
Whatever the issue be, good or bad, happy or sad,
important or, you may think, unimportant, ISBS has
student counselors who will give you independent
advice after listening to you. You will book an
appointment with one of them and have your say,
totally in confidence, and expect to get the best
advice in return.
As always there is no charge for this service and in
fact ISBS management encourages you to arrange these
meetings on regular basis to have a smooth ride
throughout your time at ISBS. This also helps us to
understand how our students think, act and interact
with studies and society, enabling us to improve our
services even further.
Student Mentoring:
In addition to student counselling, freshly arriving
students may be attached for the first session only
with a senior student, preferably from the same
course, to be mentored. This is to make new students
feel more comfortable and have an introduction to
ISBS culture and any queries answered. This is a
voluntary service and you may opt out should you
wish.
However, if you decide to have a senior student as a
mentor, see how they try to flog their old books and
study notes to you. Try to get a good bargain from
them.
There is much more that ISBS offers and you are
invited to raise any queries or questions that have
not been answered already.
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