2023 has bought us so much joy and excitement with both blocks 3 and 4, yet a hint of sadness as we said goodbye to those students leaving us. It has been wonderful seeing them grow and develop alongside the many exciting things that have happened through these blocks.

Block 3

Block 3 started with our January Welcome Week, providing a warm welcome to new students joining us, as well as more fun and excitement for existing students. During this wonderful week, we had Brew Monday, which was a wonderful time for students to socialise as well as getting to know us at Your SU and the services we provide. The socialising continued throughout the week into the ‘Feel Good Friday’ event at Sanctuary, giving everyone a wonderful time to socialise outside of the university campus.

As the block progressed, the focus switched to feedback and welfare support, something I have been very keen to focus on during my time in office. A seires of feedback sessions were provided for Nursing students, giving them an opportunity to express their opinions and feelings, so that we could therefore support them as much as possible. To enhance their experience further, the Royal College of Nursing visited our campus as well as UNISON who both provided additional knowledge that cannot be taught in the classroom. However, support doesn’t just come from external agencies, as our welfare team here at CU Scarborough provides wonderful support, which was demonstrated through their ‘Time to Talk Day’ event in conjunction with Your SU. This gave students and staff a chance to reflect and discuss matters personal to them, as well as making more students aware of the welfare service and what they provide. Similarly, Scarborough Pride visited campus to celebrate LGBT+ History Month, to inform students what they do in the community and how they help and support LGBT+ individuals in as many ways as they can.  

As Block 3 came towards a close, the I Love My Course campaign started with various entries coming from Scarborough. One entry involved a very professional, personally made video showcasing our Cyber Security course here at Scarborough, whilst another entrant held a stall showcasing the Health and Social Care degree by engaging fellow students in a ‘sugar contents’ activity. All exhibits that were on show were seen by members of our senior management team who enjoyed all entrants. I am very pleased to say that all entrants from Scarborough won a prize!

Block 4

Block 4 saw Your Communities Officer Catherine bring her Lonely-Less campaign here to Scarborough along with Your SU Student Engagement Coordinator Sophie. This campaign aimed to raise awareness of the issue of student loneliess across all Coventry University campuses. The wonderfully interactive stall really created some valuable conversations with students about their own personal well-being and how they tackle loneliness. This was a wonderful event and I hope to see similar activities bought to Scarborough in the future. North Yorkshire County Council also visited the campus, to reach out to as many students as possible to fill in a transport survey which gave them valuable data, to enhance and develop local transport.

The hive of activity on campus didn’t stop there as the Your SU Elections took place, providing a chance for students to vote for sabbatical officers as well as a Campus Officer who will work to deliver a memorable experience for students. Special congratulations to Emmanuella who will be your Campus Officer for Scarborough from July 2023! Also, one great big thank you to the Course Reps this year, whom I have worked very closely with, and who have been influential in shaping the student experience. They have all come with very valuable feedback to our Student Voice Meetings which have now concluded, and I wish them all the best for the future. We had a great time celebrating their achievements and handing out some awards at the end of the block. 

Only a few weeks ago we celebrated and recognised the wonderful staff we have here at Scarborough with the I Love My Staff Awards held at Scarborough Spa. Various student reps presented awards to a variety of staff members who were chosen by a student panel in recognition of their work. It was a wonderful event with afternoon tea and was thoroughly enjoyed by the staff who attended the event. I would like to say thank you to those students who presented an award, who were all amazing, and congratulations to all the nominees and award winners. You can see the full list of nominees and winners here. 

Highlights and Challenges

All of these wonderfully amazing events have really made these blocks so special, however, it hasn’t been without challenges. The elections provided me with a big and tough task, pushing me out of my comfort zone, by running a campaign I felt would be successful. Unfortunately, it was to be an unsuccessful campaign, yet upon reflection, I learned so much from the experience, recognising how I have developed personally through my time in office. It was a really demanding time for me personally, yet it has given me a positive outcome from a negative and tough time. On a positive note, I am so very proud of the participants in the I Love My Course campaign and I admired their dedication and personal growth through the process. The Lonely-Less campaign was also a real highlight for me, as it was wonderful to see how something can have an impact on students on our campus, so thanks again to Sophie and Catherine for bringing their campaign to Scarborough. My final highlight has to be the I Love My Staff Awards. By being on the panel and helping to choose the winners, I got to see the full process, as well as being able to handout awards to some well deserving staff, ending in a standing ovation for the final award!

Block 5 and Beyond...

As we now enter block 5 and the weather gets warmer, the excitement continues here at CU Scarborough. Our May Welcome week starts next week, involving a ‘Brew Monday’ event as well as a ‘Games Library’ and ‘Freebie Friday’. Overall wonderful and exciting time lie ahead on campus, and I look forward to the up and coming events.

Contact me

If you have any queries, feel free to contact me via Microsoft Teams or on my email ad8567@coventry.ac.uk

I will also be around campus supporting our May Welcome activities at the beginning of Block 5 so please feel free to say hello.

Michael (CU Scarborough Campus Officer)