Well, it's definitely been a summer like no other, with a lot of changes to government guidance, and contingency planning to keep us busy here.
With campus being set up for freshers week, and arrivals, it's a really uncertain, but exciting time. I've been working alongside the FWEMs, officers and key staff across the university on the Freshers experience, and looking at our offering, I'm really happy to say that unlike a lot of universities, we have an amazing offer that should allow for in-person and virtual events, as allowed by the guidelines at that time.
The key question we have been looking at over the summer is how to make the very most of the guidelines in place to ensure a really solid, and safe in-person offer, to supplement the virtual offer for learning, teaching, research, studying and the extra-curricular. this has meant:
- Working alongside the university to understand the carrying capacity of campus, and understanding the transport implications. This has resulted in a campaign to increase the number of students and staff using active forms of travel.
- Consultations and forums with Sporting committees to reinvent the sporting offer, and ensure it’s high value and robust!
- Fighting against specialist facilities (ie. dance studios, theatres, sports halls) being repurposed as study spaces, and fighting against the use of Wednesdays for UG learning and teaching, keeping it for the extra-curricular.
- Lobbying the university to invest in increasing the number of spaces on AND off campus. this has resulted in 3 heated marquees that will be used for study, activities and social spaces.
- Working with the senior management team to ensure covid-safe social spaces on campus, so that you can meet in-person in a safe way!
Looking back at our approach across the university this summer, I'm really proud of what we've already achieved, and am hopeful that we can weather the storm, whatever that may be....