And that’s a wrap on term one of 2021/22 at Student Hubs. We have been so busy this term welcoming freshers to our universities, facilitating our programmes including the Social Innovation Programme, conducting a student sustainability consultation and so much more. Now it’s time to sit back, enjoy winter break, reflect on what we’ve achieved and set our goals for 2022.
Students to Inspire
This term Bristol Hub piloted a new programme, Students to Inspire. Alongside our delivery partner, Tales to Inspire, we empower students to listen to, record and share stories of inspiring people in their community. This month the Hub hosted their first Students to Inspire showcase, where the storytellers shared a story from the student body with others at the University.
Hari spent some time interviewing students who were moving around the University of Bristol campus, as well as a young boy on a bus with his mum. Though each tale he collected, Hari learned something new, and from this created Life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re gonna get, a series of short stories from strangers.
Kui Kui connected with her old anthropology “Mum” to learn more about her dissertation topic, black women in anthropology. From this Kui Kui created a podcast about their journey.
Finally, Nadia learned more about one of her peers who, through the pandemic, had progressed massively in her engagement with Extinction Rebellion. From this, she compiled a short comic of her journey through environmental activism to be shared with others. One student at the showcase said “I actually know this person, but I never truly knew what this side of her was like”.
Youth Programmes in Southampton
This term 76 student volunteers have supported more than 350 young people in Southampton through our Youth Programmes at Southampton Hub. Our flagship practical volunteering programme, Schools Plus, has been taking a blended approach with opportunities for student tutors to engage in person and online. The student tutors are supporting schools and young people with a range of projects from sports clubs to one-to-one Maths sessions.
Meanwhile, Inspire, Debate, Change has stepped into its second year of delivery smoothly. The incubated programme focuses on building up civic engagement in young people through a series of workshops. This term 6 pupils have been receiving the workshops in person.
Finally, so far this term our Projects Officer Sapthi has delivered 3 Branch Up activity days for 39 young people and 24 student volunteers. The days have included doing a scavenger hunt on campus, attending the University’s Hands on Humanities day and visiting a local sport centre to do donutting!
Creating Cards
Students in Bristol and Kingston got creative this month designing and writing festive cards for people in their local communities.
In Kingston 20 volunteers created 25 cards for older people in the Kingston Advocacy Group network. For 19 of those volunteers, it was their first time getting involved with a Hub activity! In Bristol 2 keen volunteers created 10 cards for the community participants of their Friends with Pens project. Friends with Pens pairs University of Bristol students with older people in the local community as penpals.
In the Spotlight
This month we wanted to put our Very Merry Murder Mystery in the spotlight. On 14 December the Alumni Ambassadors – and Detective Orange – lead an intriguing investigation, solving the murder of Ben Niza and raising £133 for Student Hubs.
A big congratulations to Murder She Zoomed and the Potticarys and Fiona and Liam who cracked the case on the night. If you missed it fear not, you can buy the packaged version to complete in your own time from Eventbrite. Perfect for a festive night in with friends and family.
What to Look Out For
- Did you graduate in 2021? Student Hubs’ Recent Graduate Survey is still open for responses. Let us know what you have been up to since graduating, and share with your Hubby friends
- As spotlighted above, you can still buy the pack for our Very Merry Murder Mystery to enjoy in your own time – support Student Hubs and join in the festive fun
- Join us for our upcoming January webinars, Project Management for students and Resetting your Approach to Staff Culture for staff