Kelly Coate, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students

Kelly Coate, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and students wrote to all taught students earlier today. Read the full message below.

Hello,

When we asked what matters to students and staff in our recent Energy Insights survey, your feedback told us that saving money and the planet were the most important energy saving issues for you. Some of you also told us that you feel worried, anxious or powerless about climate change.

So, this week marks the start of the Seize the Switch campaign, created to help our University community reduce our energy use together and affect positive change. You can join in by making a pledge on our website to do something new that will help you save energy. The Sustainability team will also be sharing one energy saving tip a day for ten days on the University Instagram to help you form lifelong habits.

Personally, I’m going to pledge to empty my deleted emails folder regularly and reduce the temperature of my thermostat. Small actions can make a difference if we work together.
This week’s update also includes:

• Subsidised hot meals at Eat Central
• Helping you find part-time work
• Support for your mental health
• Make sure your vaccinations are up to date
• Reminder to add your mobile phone number to Sussex Direct
• CineCity film festival at ACCA
• Transgender Awareness Week
• Industrial action affecting Sussex
• Our education partnership with the Turner Prize and Towner Eastbourne
• Sussex Connect networking event at the Brighton i360
• This week’s Sussex snapshot

Subsidised hot meals at Eat Central

As part of the University’s cost of living support measures, each day two main meals will be subsidised to the reduced cost of £2 in Eat Central (on the ground floor of Bramber House). Students and staff can access this offer between 12 noon and 6pm by showing a University ID card. The cost of these dishes is being subsidised by the University.

Helping you find part-time work

The Careers and Entrepreneurship service is here to help you find work and consider your options for the future. I recommend exploring our online resources or attending an upcoming event – they are all designed to support you. If you are currently looking to earn money alongside studying, we have tailored information about part-time jobs and campus jobs. You can also view a video introduction to the service to get started.
Remember you can find our money advice pages on the Student Hub and come along to the Finance drop-in clinic in the Student Centre on Wednesdays during term-time too. I know these sessions have been popular so far.

Support for your mental health

I'd like to remind you of the wellbeing resources you can access through the University, which you may find helpful at points during your time at Sussex. You can find links to our Health, Support and Wellbeing services on the Student Hub. We also provide other online resources about good mental and emotional health, including self-help guides on a range of issues.

Make sure your vaccinations are up to date

We encourage all students to get vaccinations for Meningitis ACWY, mumps, measles and rubella (MMR), HPV, and Covid-19. Please view more information about vaccinations and medications on the Student Hub. You should also make sure you are registered with a local doctor – please don’t wait until you’re ill. Find out how to register with a GP surgery near your term-time address.

Reminder to add your mobile phone number to Sussex Direct

Please check that you have added your UK mobile number to Sussex Direct, so that we can contact you in case of an emergency. You can update this through the ‘personal’ and ‘contact information’ tabs on Sussex Direct. It’s also a good idea to add another trusted person as your emergency contact.

CineCity film festival at ACCA

As part of the CineCity film festival this week, we’re delighted to be screening four films at our Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts. Student discounts are available on all films, so you can book at a lower price. Find more details on ACCA’s website.

Starting on Saturday 19 November, the CineCity 36-hour film challenge is coming to our School of Media, Arts and Humanities. From 8.30pm on Sunday 20 November, you can join a free screening of all the short films created over the weekend, where an expert panel of judges will be awarding up to £1,000 prize money.

Transgender Awareness Week

It’s Transgender Awareness Week – an opportunity to increase the visibility of the issues members of the trans community face and to amplify trans voices. We are flying the Transgender flag above Sussex House and, this Friday, as part of CineCity, we are showing “Keyboard Fantasies”, featuring Beverly Glenn-Copeland, an inspiring transgender, septuagenarian musician. The film is described as “a lullaby to soothe those souls struggling to find their place in the world.” You can book discounted student tickets through ACCA’s website.

Industrial action affecting Sussex

You may be aware Sussex is one 150 universities where its members have voted in favour of industrial action over pay, working conditions, and one of 67 who are striking in relation to the USS pension scheme. This is nationwide industrial action and some staff may exercise their legal right to strike on Thursday 24 November, Friday 25 November and Wednesday 30 November.
We’ve made sure there is a range of information available to you on the Student Hub, including a set of commonly asked questions. These will continue to be updated regularly, so please look there first if you have any queries.

Our education partnership with the Turner Prize and Towner Eastbourne

I’m excited to share that the University of Sussex has been announced as the Education Partner for the Turner Prize 2023, in a major collaboration with Towner Eastbourne. We will be playing a key role in developing and running an arts education programme around the Turner Prize, which is being exhibited for the first time in Sussex next year. Look out for more information in the coming months!

Sussex Connect networking event at the Brighton i360

Sussex Connect is your exclusive networking and mentoring platform, helping you to shape your student experience and prepare for the future. All students can log in or sign up easily. Coming up on 24 November, our Alumni team is running a Sussex Connect networking event open to final-year students and recent graduates. Taking place at the i360 observation tower on Brighton seafront, the evening will feature alumnae speakers Stephanie Ofili and Sophie Morsman. Find out more.

With best wishes,

Kelly

Kelly Coate, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Students


Did you miss my last message? You can read it on the Student Hub.