Essential Apps For International Relations Students

what aps does a international relations student need

International Relations is a broad and complex field, and students often have a lot on their plate. Thankfully, there are many apps that can help with everything from note-taking and research to staying informed on global issues. For example, Evernote is a great app for staying organized, while Mendeley is a useful tool for managing research papers and their citations. Apps like Trello and Asana can help with time management and task lists, while Quizlet can aid in learning and retaining key concepts and terms with its digital flashcards and study games. News apps like NY Times, CNN, and Thomson Reuters can help students stay informed on global issues, while Coursera can supplement their coursework with additional knowledge. Additionally, international students can benefit from apps like WhatsApp for staying connected with friends and family, City Maps 2Go for navigating new cities, and Moovit for tracking public transportation.

Characteristics Values
Note-taking Evernote, OneNote, OneDrive, Office Lens
Research management Mendeley, RefMe
Maps and navigation City Maps 2Go, Citymapper, Google Maps
Transport Moovit
Communication WhatsApp
Sleep Sleep If U Can
Food Too Good To Go
Discounts TOTUM, UNiDAYS, Student Beans
Unit conversion Imperial unit converter
University updates University app
Grammar correction Grammarly
Referencing LinkedIn

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Note-taking and research management

Note-taking is an essential skill for international relations students. It helps them stay engaged during lectures and readings, enabling them to retain important information that will be useful in their future studies and careers. Effective note-taking allows students to identify critical information and organize it in a way that is easy to understand and recall, facilitating better exam preparation, research projects, and essay writing. Additionally, note-taking enhances critical thinking and analysis by encouraging the breakdown of complex information into manageable portions.

There are various applications available for note-taking and research management, each with unique features catering to individual needs and preferences. Here are some popular options:

Evernote

Evernote is a comprehensive note-taking app that allows you to store, organize, and share your notes across devices. It offers features such as creating notes, to-do lists, and reminders, with the ability to attach files and images. Evernote also has a powerful search function, making it easy to locate specific information. While Evernote is a robust tool, it may be pricey for some students, especially if they need to scan documents or save multiple research papers, as the free plan has limited storage. However, students do get a 50% discount on the Premium plan for the first year.

OneNote and Google Keep

These applications support different styles of note-taking and allow users to choose the one that suits their needs. They provide easy organization and quick access to notes, even on the go.

Notion

Notion is a flexible and powerful app that can be used for note-taking and offers a database feature with multiple views, including Trello-style kanban boards and calendars. It is highly customizable, allowing users to set up different pages to keep track of various aspects of their lives. However, one limitation is that it currently requires an internet connection to function.

Jamworks

Jamworks is a valuable tool for international students, helping them feel secure in capturing all essential information during lectures. It is especially useful for those who need to pay close attention to understand and translate the content.

Roam Research

Roam Research takes a unique approach to organization by allowing instant linking between notes, eliminating the need for tags and folders. It has strong support for Markdown and encourages daily journaling by default.

Mendeley and Zotero

These apps are specifically designed for research management, helping international relations students organize their research papers, citations, and references. They facilitate the import and organization of papers, bibliography creation, and collaboration with other researchers.

Avidnote

Avidnote is an AI research writing, reading, and analysis tool that works alongside your notes. It can analyze research data, transcribe interviews, and provide insights on potential correlations or findings. While it supports AI functionalities, Avidnote emphasizes that users must utilize the output ethically and responsibly, ensuring they develop their own ideas and use AI as a supplement rather than a replacement.

Duolingo

Duolingo is a language-learning app that can be beneficial for international students facing language barriers. It offers daily reminders, quick challenges, and a placement test to determine your current language level. Duolingo's motivation system also makes it a great tool to consistently improve language skills without adding extra classes to your workload.

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Language learning

Duolingo

Duolingo is a popular language-learning app that offers a variety of languages to choose from, including Spanish, French, German, and Mandarin. The app provides interactive lessons, exercises, and games to help users learn and practice their language skills. Duolingo's lessons are structured like a game, with levels and achievements, making language learning fun and engaging.

Memrise

Memrise is another effective language-learning app that utilizes memory techniques and spaced repetition to help users retain vocabulary and grammar rules. It offers a variety of languages, including less commonly spoken ones. Memrise also provides user-generated content, allowing learners to create and share their own language-learning content.

Anki

Anki is a powerful flashcard app that uses spaced repetition to enhance memory and retention. It is highly customizable, allowing users to create their own digital flashcards with text, audio, and images. Anki is particularly useful for learning vocabulary and can be effective for languages with complex character systems, such as Mandarin or Japanese.

Babbel

Babbel is a comprehensive language-learning app that covers various languages, including French, Spanish, German, and Italian. It offers structured lessons that focus on conversational skills, grammar, and vocabulary. Babbel also provides speech recognition technology to help users improve their pronunciation and speaking skills.

Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone is a well-known language-learning software that offers immersive language instruction. It utilizes interactive exercises, audio lessons, and speech recognition technology to teach languages. Rosetta Stone covers a wide range of languages and is effective for beginners and intermediate learners.

In addition to language-learning apps, international relations students can also benefit from apps that provide cultural and political insights, such as CultureTrip and Reuters, which offer news and cultural content from around the world.

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Global news and current affairs

International relations students need to stay informed on global issues and current affairs. Here are some apps that can help:

BBC News

The BBC News app provides access to articles, videos, and live streams of news broadcasts, making it an excellent resource for international relations students. It offers in-depth coverage of specific topics such as climate change and technology, giving you a comprehensive understanding of global affairs. The BBC Global News Podcast airs twice each weekday and once on weekends, featuring experts from around the globe discussing the most pressing threats, events, and developments.

Al Jazeera

The Al Jazeera app provides live streams of the channel's broadcasts, as well as access to documentaries and articles. Al Jazeera is known for its in-depth reporting and analysis, making it another valuable resource for international relations students. The app's "My Topics" feature allows you to follow specific topics and receive notifications when new content is available.

The New York Times

The New York Times app offers in-depth coverage of global news, including politics, economics, and social issues. You can customize your news feed to receive updates on specific regions or topics, making it easier to stay informed on current affairs.

The Economist

The Economist app provides access to articles from the weekly news magazine, covering global events and politics with in-depth analysis and commentary. The Economist also offers a range of podcasts, including "The Intelligence" and "Money Talks," which provide additional insights into global affairs.

Other Podcasts

In addition to the podcasts offered by The Economist, international relations students can benefit from listening to podcasts such as "The World," produced by PRI, which publishes multiple stories each day on a wide range of global affairs topics. CSIS, a bipartisan nonprofit policy research organization, also offers a podcast that tackles global policy issues with interviews from experts in the field.

By utilizing these apps and staying informed on global news and current affairs, international relations students can develop a comprehensive understanding of the world and the events that shape it.

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Time management and organisation

International Relations is a complex and fascinating field that requires students to stay updated on current events, analyze political systems, and engage in critical thinking. With numerous assignments, research papers, and exams to manage, it can be easy to get overwhelmed. However, with the help of time management and organisation apps, students can enhance their learning experience and achieve academic success.

Apps like iStudiez, Studious, My Study Life, and Any.do can help you stay organised and improve time management. iStudiez allows you to input your class schedule, set reminders, and keep track of assignments and exams. Studious can silence your phone during class and remind you of homework assignments and tests. My Study Life lets you input your class schedule, assignments, and professor information, and it will send reminders for upcoming classes and incomplete tasks. Any.do is a to-do list app that lets you create reminders, lists, notes, and events, and set recurring tasks.

Time Management Techniques

In addition to apps, there are several time management techniques that International Relations students can employ:

  • Identify priorities and set SMART goals: Recognize what truly matters to you and set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-specific goals.
  • Understand the big picture: Ensure your goals align with your broader life ambitions and academic path.
  • Prioritize well-being and self-care: Practice mindfulness, engage in activities that recharge you, and seek support to enhance your overall well-being.
  • Break down tasks: Divide large assignments into smaller parts and schedule time for each part to make them more manageable.
  • Group similar tasks: Allocate time for "admin work" to respond to emails, plan your week, and handle similar administrative tasks.
  • Plan ahead for time zone differences: When collaborating with students worldwide, plan and complete tasks well before the deadline, taking into account time differences.
  • Create a backup plan: Be prepared to adapt to unexpected changes or setbacks, such as deadline changes or unforeseen events.
  • Avoid procrastination: Break tasks into smaller, manageable pieces and set deadlines for each to prevent feeling overwhelmed.

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Referencing and citations

There are various citation styles, but they normally fall into two categories: name and date, and numeric. The name and date style uses the author's name and date in parentheses in your in-text citation (Smith, 1989), then provides a separate list of the sources cited alphabetically by author at the end of your work. The Harvard referencing system is an example of this style.

The numeric style uses a number in your in-text citation that links to your footnotes/endnotes, like this [1]. A full bibliography is also required. The Chicago style is an example of this, which is commonly used in International Relations. The Chicago style uses footnotes with abbreviated details at the bottom of the page and a bibliography at the end with full details of the cited works. The Notes & Bibliography style is the one most frequently used in International Relations.

Other commonly used referencing styles in International Relations include APA and MLA. It's important to get to know the requirements of your particular referencing style, as automatic references may not always be perfect and may require tweaks.

There are several tools available to help you manage your references and in-text citations. RefWorks is a user-friendly cloud-based reference manager that keeps all your articles and citations in one place. Zotero is another free tool that helps you gather, manage and share information about books, articles, web pages and other digital objects, and it can also generate citations and bibliographies.

Frequently asked questions

Evernote is a comprehensive note-taking app that allows you to store, organise and share your notes across devices. It also has a powerful search function so you can quickly find what you need. Mendeley is a research management tool that allows you to organise your research papers and create bibliographies and citations.

City Maps 2Go is a free travel guide and offline map that provides detailed information on points of interest across the city. Moovit is another useful app that allows you to track public transport from your mobile phone.

International Relations students are often expected to learn a second or even third language. While there are no specific apps mentioned for this, WhatsApp is recommended for staying in touch with friends and family around the world, which could help you practice your language skills.

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