'I can't wait to get out my room and experience life in Glasgow'

An international student who is stuck in her flat while quarantining has said she can’t wait to “experience life in Glasgow”.

Taneeshaa travelled to Scotland from Malaysia and is due to begin a Masters in social innovation at Glasgow Caledonian University.

But after arriving on Sunday, September 12, the 23-year-old must complete a ten-day quarantine period inside her student accommodation.

“It’s just tiring to see the same four walls again and again,” Taneeshaa told STV News. “You know, I wake up and see the same thing.

“So I just wish I could be free a little bit, but I’m hoping this will pass really quickly. I’ve always wanted to experience life in Glasgow.”

In the meantime, Taneeshaa is keeping herself busy by sorting out her flat and preparing for university life.

She said: “I’m in a studio apartment, so I have my own kitchen and my own washroom. It’s very convenient for me and I have enough food stocked up for my quarantine.

“I’m busy unpacking. I’ve so much luggage to unpack and sometimes when I’m bored I’ll just look out the window and I’m on my gadgets most of the time, my laptop and phone.”

Back to class

While larger lecturers will still take place online over the next academic year and face masks, lateral flow tests and social distancing will remain in place at times, the student experience is expected to be much closer to normal.

Most classes will take place in person, while students will be free to roam campus after being confined to their rooms during lockdown.

And, importantly for many, bars and nightclubs have all reopened as Scotland tries to emerge from the pandemic.

‘Cautious approach’

Queen Margaret University principal Paul Brice said institutions would be “acting cautiously” as students returned to campus.

He said: “Our incident management group will meet daily and we know from last year that we can pivot quickly and make changes if we need to.

“We will work to keep the university operating as nearly normally as we possibly can.”