Getting ready for the start of a new academic year is an exciting but also busy time for most colleagues.
So much work goes into preparing our campus, Colleges and even further afield and we spoke to colleagues across the University to gain an insight into what is involved.
L to R Ella Pierre, Niamh Boyle, Max Bamford and Nathan Sempala-Ntege from John Snow College
Helping students settle into College life
Professor Nathan Sempala-Ntege, Principal of John Snow College, provides an insight into how colleges prepare.
He said:
We want our students to settle into university life and make the most of their experience. We appreciate that many students will be living away from home for the first time - many a long way from home. This brings with it excitement and uncertainty.
“Preparing for arrivals and Freshers’ Week requires the most detailed planning of any activity in College and is very much a collaboration. We have to ensure rooms are allocated properly (and only to one student!). The Vice-Principal and I personally inspect all 450 rooms and all kitchens before students move in to ensure they are ready. We also rehearse all our welcome events to make sure they run smoothly. We want to set the right tone from the very start and ensure all our new arrivals feel part of our John Snow College community – one of kindness, inclusion and respect.
“Freshers’ Week is really important. We have a team of Freshers Reps (FREPs) and International FREPs who are dedicated to helping our new arrivals settle in. We appreciate how very different Durham will be to someone from a different continent and how disorienting the first few weeks will be. We work hard to introduce our new students to life in Durham through walking tours, bus trips and presentations. We also run trips to Tesco and Ikea so they can pick up those things they forgot or didn’t have room for!
John Snow College’s Fresher Reps
“Our Freshers Reps (FREPs) and Welfare Representatives (WREPs) are critical. They are all volunteers who return early, working long hours to support our new students. They do everything from help unpack cars to walking Freshers’ home after a hard night’s clubbing. I’m in awe of our FREPs and WREPs, they are the perfect demonstration of inclusive, selfless and engaged members of our college community – the best of us.
“There is a lot of information to communicate to our students too, from Consent Matters to gym inductions, to introducing the amazing opportunities the Junior Common Room (JCR) offers. Ensuring that all our new arrivals are in the right place at the right time can be like putting eels into a string bag if we don’t plan this and communicate it clearly.
“It’s a busy and tiring week but it’s so rewarding to see the next generation of Snow students start to settle in and make friends and to see the JCR, FREPs and WREPs working so hard to look after our Freshers and role model our values of kindness, inclusion and respect.”
Getting the campus ready
Right across campus, there’s so much work that needs to be carried out to prepare for the arrival of students and the start of teaching.
You may have seen some of the preparations over the past few months. From improvements inside and outside of buildings, to work on our external spaces, colleagues and contractors use the summer as an opportunity to prepare for the year ahead.
David Profit, Head of Maintenance Services in Estates and Facilities, told us more about the work of our teams.
“The Estates and Facilities Maintenance Services Department workload certainly increases as they prepare for students returning from their summer vacation.
From July to September, the trades teams undertake work which cannot be completed while people are in the buildings. For example, work progresses in each student bedroom, including partial room decoration and electrical, mechanical and joinery repairs.
David continues: “For those who like statistics, looking at the latest job requests for the Maintenance department, there were 32,234 jobs recorded for the year! This included everything from a new light switch to the replacement of a toilet cistern or radiator.
“Together with a squad of 14 painters employed for 10 weeks in Accommodation services, we freshen up student room decoration where needed.”
This work is alongside the large construction projects on our buildings that colleagues might have seen as they walk around campus.
Peter Prior, Senior Project Manager in Estates and Facilities, said: “This summer has seen us complete a number of varied projects across our estate. This included a construction project for the central production kitchen at St Aidan’s College which now caters for students and events all over the University.
“We’ve carried out electrical infrastructure upgrades in Biosciences, Physics and the Arthur Holmes Buildings, and have worked on a photovoltaic installation project which has seen 1,316 solar panels installed at Graham Sports Centre, James Barber House, and Josephine Butler and Stevenson colleges.
“A number of projects are still in progress, including at Biosciences, the Chemistry refurbishment project, the Waterside building for the Business School, and at a number of colleges, including hot water systems or boiler replacements at Van Mildert, Grey and Hatfield.
“We’re also installing electric vehicle charging points across the estate and continuing the roof replacement on Palace Green Library. So a lot of work has been completed, continues and is coming up to maintain and develop our estate for staff and students.”
Welcoming our international students
Colleagues in our International Office are looking forward to the arrival of our new cohort of international students from across the globe.
The international recruitment team has been working with students, and often parents, to support them through the application and pre-arrival processes and are now eagerly awaiting their final arrival in Durham.
We spoke to Fiona O’Carroll, Head of Global Opportunities and Experience in our International Office, to find out more.
“Though we’re lucky that Newcastle Airport is a fairly short taxi ride to Durham, the feedback we’ve had over many years is that new students really appreciate being welcomed by students and staff at the airport through our annual welcome service and then transferred directly to their accommodation.
Welcoming international students at Newcastle airport
Fiona continues: “It provides a feeling of security for both students and their parents that, once they arrive, they’ll be in safe hands and don’t need to worry about finding their way to Durham when they’re tired and jet lagged.
“It’s also a chance for them to meet other international students starting their Durham journey, share their experiences and hopefully develop friendships along the way.”
The welcome service has grown significantly over the last number of years as the number of international students at Durham has grown. It starts early in the summer with the arrival of three cohorts of pre-sessional students culminating in the main arrivals period at the end of September.
Fiona continues: “So it is quite a logistical exercise involving sometimes hundreds of students arriving on the same flight and needing to be transferred to a wide range of final destinations, including both colleges and private accommodation.
“We work closely with staff at the airport and with bus and taxi companies to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible, while also dealing with flight delays, lost luggage, and a host of other unexpected events!
“For students living in accommodation that’s not accessible by coach, we operate an arrivals hub at Maiden Castle from where we provide a taxi to their final destination.
“The team have trialled lots of inventive ways to make sure that students don’t end up on the wrong bus or going to the wrong accommodation! We did once find we had a student going to Teesside University on one of our buses but managed to sort them out in the end! Colleges international FREPS are on hand to welcome students on arrival from the airport, help them settle in and introduce them to college life.”
The welcome service also provides a great volunteering opportunity for our current students and staff members. It’s usually great fun and volunteers often share that it’s very rewarding to play a role in helping students through this major life transition, making them feel welcome and re-assuring them that support is available whenever they need it.
Fiona said: “We often have international student volunteers who appreciated the welcome service so much that they wanted to give back and make sure other students had the same experience as they had.
“Being welcomed by other students who have previously gone through the same life journey and can share their experience is also really appreciated by our new students.”
The International Office also provides pre-arrival guidance and information to help students with their preparations, what to bring and what to expect from living and studying in the UK.
They also provide materials to help them to understand the new culture they are coming to as well as practical information about interesting things they can do in Durham and the surrounding areas.
Good luck to all colleagues involved in getting our campus ready.