Student

Yuliya is a Bulgarian first year Journalism student at UWE in Bristol. Here she argues that Romanian and Bulgarian students should be given the same rights as students from other EU countries.

"Despite being part of the last enlargement of the EU in 2007, Bulgarians and Romanians are still facing work restrictions in the UK. Although they will be lifted in 2014, many students face the risk of not finishing their studies. Not only are the living costs a problem, but so are the paid placements that are part of many undergraduate and postgraduate courses around the country.

Imagine you are a student coming from Bulgaria or Romania. You are passionate about the course you have chosen and you are impatient to settle down in the UK. You are ready to study hard and to work part-time in between the lectures, because you are coming from one of the poorest countries in the EU with an average salary of under £300 a month.

In the middle of September you say good-bye to your friends and family; you arrange your new accommodation; start meeting new people... everything seems perfect except the money issue. You know that you have to apply for the so called "yellow card" - the work permit you need as a Bulgarian or Romanian.

Mexico impresses the visitor with both its scale and diversity; a land of tempting eats, jungle hikes, paradise isles and the ruins of an ancient empire. It's also a country where your money will go a long way.

This is all good news for the thousands of student and gap year travellers who take holidays to Mexico, through budget providers such as www.holidayhypermarket.co.uk, every year. Armed with a few tips, you can eat, party and sleep here for the price of a meal out back home and there's a wealth of natural and cultural attractions to try in between.

There's no doubt that Mexican accommodation is a steal. Here, hostels are not the only cheap way to stay, with some budget hotels costing under £10 a night in the capital, Mexico City. Staying by the coast in a big resort like Cabo San Lucas or Cancun (pictured above) will up the prices, but some do reasonable all-inclusive deals if you're just here for a two-week break in between semesters. You could try out life the Mayan way if you're heading to the beach; sleeping in a hammock under the insanely low-cost roof of a beach hut or cabana.

Welcome! As part of a series that keeps students up to date with international insights, current technology and popular culture, this week we're bursting at the seams with amazing hand picked content.

Print it in 3D

We live in remarkable times where technology advances at an unprecedented rate. Rapid prototyping or 3D printing to the layman (also known as additive printing) is beginning to branch out from design and manufacturing to different sectors and eventually our homes. Originally developed for creating product prototypes, a 3D printer takes a digital design and literally prints it out by constructing it layer by layer, just like the picture above. The ramifications for the future of commerce are epic. Find out more here. 

Welcome, as part of a series that keeps students up to date with international insights, current technology and popular culture, this week we've got content so fresh it may expire by the time you read the post. 

The Ninja Turtles Return

The dearly loved 80's cartoon series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is returning to capture new audiences. According to Nickelodeon's trailer it seems like the animation will be pretty basic. I wonder if the characters will be as likeable as the ones in the original series that caused a huge surge in the sale of pet terrapins, poor animals.

With youth unemployment at its highest for decades, and student debt increasing by the year, students and graduates are finding more and more novel ways to make money. One such student is LSE Second Year Jason Ting (above), who has come up with the idea of ‘selling time'.

With student loans hanging over him, the Economics student decided that the best way to make that extra bit of cash, was to come up with his own business idea. That idea was MinutesForSale.com. In Jason's own words: "I thought of selling something I wish I always had more of... time".

Buying Time

Basically, his website is a brand new and unique way of advertising online. For each minute of the day, one business, website or blog is displayed on Jason's site, before the next minute ticks over, and the next site appears. Anyone can buy any number of minutes, and they will then appear on the site at their chosen time every single day. With the 1440 minutes in a day representing 1440 opportunities for businesses to advertise, Jason works on the principle that every little bit of cash helps.