CGI imagery gives a sense of what the Student Centre will look and feel like

This week (10 January) the Vice-Chancellor David Maguire wrote to all staff. You can read the email in full below:

Dear colleague,

I want to start by wishing you a happy new year. I hope you had the break that you wanted and that you have returned refreshed and ready for what will hopefully be an exciting and productive 2022. I have just returned from a family holiday in Madeira and I’m raring to go.

As we peer into 2022 there is certainly a lot to feel optimistic about. In the UEG open staff forum towards the end of last year, I reflected on some of the things I am looking forward to in the next 12 months. Close to the top of the list was the opening of our new Student Centre.

Balfour Beatty handed over the keys later last week for the final fit-out and selected staff and students have had the opportunity to tour the building. Their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. It is a major new university asset, an incredible building and much more than bricks and mortar – it provides a fantastic, multi-functional, communal space at the heart of our campus. So much thought has gone into the clever design, to ensure that all of our students can use the flexible space and the facilities it contains. Crucially, students were closely involved in the design.

The building structure is just the start of the Student Centre and work is beginning to furnish it and implement the operational service delivery aspects – including service design, access and provision. That, again, is being based on what students tell us they need in order to enable the best possible student experience.

The Student Centre really is the physical manifestation of our students-first approach, which saw us crowned University of the Year for Student Retention in The Times Good University Guide 2022.

Opportunities for the wider staff body to experience the centre will be made available closer to opening later in the spring. Do keep an eye on the regular updates on the staff web pages – you can read the latest now.

Smarter use of our physical spaces goes hand-in-hand with new ways of educating our students, which is why we are pleased to be continuing our Pedagogic Revolution initiative this term. If you are involved with teaching and learning, I strongly encourage you to book onto our half-day symposium on Wednesday 19 January. The focus for this event is the future of assessment – I have no doubt that, collectively, we can develop some excellent ideas for progressing this important area of work. If you have thoughts or suggestions about how we can improve, please do attend.

Of course, I do not want to pretend that the new year means that everything is back to ‘normal’. Clearly, Covid-19 remains a vivid part of University life and continues to restrict some activities. Most regrettably, this includes our Winter Graduation ceremonies, which had been due to take place this month. As you will have seen, they have been postponed until the summer, due to the ongoing and rapid spread of the Omicron variant. I’m sure you will join me in hoping for a significantly improved situation by then.

For now, the government recommendation remains that universities should provide in-person teaching, research and associated services wherever possible, but those that can should work from home where feasible.

I hope you have a great week wherever you are.

Warm regards,
David

David Maguire
Interim Vice-Chancellor