(UNIVERSITY OF DERBY ADVERT - MUSIC AND VOICEOVER)
Voiceover:
This is a global university of choice, a university
of what ifs next, an ambitious university
as anything is possible. An outstanding University
of teaching excellence and applied research,
of aiming high and raising the bar. This is
University of big ideas, an applied University
of today and for tomorrow. This is a University
of making a difference and making your mark.
This is the University of Derby. What will
you make of it?
(ALICE AND LUKE, OUR PRESENTERS, IN THE STUDIO)
Alice: Hello and welcome to the University of Derby's Open Day Livestream. We're here to welcome those of you who can't join the thousands of guests. We're expecting to arrive to our Derby campus today.
Luke: Over the next hour or so, we'll be taking you around our sites, as well as introducing you to our students and staff from across the university who will help explain more about our courses, campus facilities, accommodation, and some of the reasons why we believe you'll love Derby.
Alice: We'll explore what makes Derby such a fantastic place to live and study, and we'll focus on several of our subject areas. But some of the people that teach and study them and will share some of the fantastic news Derby has had recently that recognises how impactful our university is.
Luke: If you're watching live and have got a question for us, send it in for our Q&A session at the end. First, though, here's a quick introduction as to what you've got to look forward to as the University of Derby student.
(OPEN DAY MONTAGE)
[ALICE IN THE ATRIUM AT KEDLESTON ROAD ALONGSIDE VICE CHANCELLOR, PROFESSOR KATHRYN MITCHELL, CBE DL]
Alice: Welcome back to our Open Day live stream here at the University of Derby. Our first guest today is someone whose role fundamentally shapes the student experience, our Vice Chancellor, Professor Kathryn Mitchell. Hi, Kath.
Kathryn: Hello.
Alice: So what would you say are the sorts of things students need to be thinking about when they're looking for university?
Kathryn: So for me, there are three critical areas that I would want them to really focus on when they come to university. First of all, the subject area that they are looking at and making sure that the facilities that we have actually are going to be able for them to progress and engage with so that they feel comfortable in the academic environment. The second piece, I think, is about engaging with the academics on an open day, asking questions with them, seeing how they sort of can engage. And the third one is actually walking around the campus thinking, could this be my home? Could I work and live here? And also, with other students feeling, would they feel confident? Because the most important thing for me about a student engaging and feeling it could be their university is - how confident can they be if they were studying here at Derby?
Alice: And one of the ways in which we describe ourselves is an applied university. What does that mean?
Kathryn: So for me, what that means is for all of our curricula, we work with our industry partners and that could be health, or it could be engineering, or it could be with the legal services in looking at what we teach them. And is it actually current? So is the currency with the organisations where they in the future would want to work and get a job?
So firstly, our curriculum is very much embedded with our industry partners.
The second element of the applied is that then how will they use that knowledge when they're at university and beyond? So during their time with us, we would want to get work experiences. So that actually the knowledge that they're learning can be applied and they learn how to apply it. And then finally, in their final year, most of them will do a project. And that, for me, needs to be in partnership with industry partners so that they absolutely get both the insight from the industry and from the academic side.
Alice: And I suppose that extends into the research being undertaken here as well. What can you tell us about how research at Derby works, and are there any opportunities for undergraduate students to get involved?
Kathryn: So for research, all our curriculum needs to be underpinned by evidence base so that it has to have research at the heart of it. So every piece of knowledge that you will learn here has to have evidence base. So research is attached. But we also want students to learn the skills of doing research. And so we have a fabulous undergraduate research scholarship scheme that we encourage our students to participate in. Many of our academics really encourage their students to support them in their own research activities. But what I would always say to students is: get involved. Lots and lots of activities are about our research, not just when it focuses on the word research, but if you're getting involved in a teaching and learning element, please make sure that you ask about how does this link to research?
Alice: And Derby has received lots of national recognition this year from a number of organisations. Which of these do you think are most relevant for prospective students to know about?
Kathryn: So clearly the most important one is TEF Gold. That tells us that we have outstanding teaching and learning experiences here at the University of Derby and we are one of only a third of universities have achieved that absolute gold standard. So I'm incredibly proud of the university. And also for students, that does give them an assurance that the type of learning they're going to receive is fit for the future. The second one, I think, is around how satisfied are our students and are they happy in their courses here at Derby? And so we are ranked as number 20 for teaching excellence and also for that student experience, both with the Times and also the Complete University Guide.
Alice: Brilliant. And finally, is there any advice that you'd give to students who are in the early stages of the process of applying to university?
Kathryn: I've been giving this advice for all of my time in academia, but the most important thing for me is that you actually study something that you're passionate about. Please don't be persuaded by people that it's a great course because it might earn you a lot of money or give you a great job because you've got to be here for three years studying something you're passionate about. And it is the role of the university to make sure you get a great graduate job. But fundamentally, love what you learn because actually that will stand you in a great stead for your future careers.
Alice: Excellent advice. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me today. I know you've got to rush off now and deal with all the visitors that are arriving, but I really appreciate you joining me to speak for everybody who's watching online. Thank you very much.
Kathryn: Delighted.
Alice: Thank you. Now, it's not just life on campus that you've got to look forward to as a student. There's plenty of things you can get up to in the city, whatever your interests are. Here's a look at student life in Derby and Derbyshire. And afterwards, join us from the studio where we'll be finding out more with the Union of Students.
(VIDEO: Student Life in Derbyshire)
[WE JOIN ALICE AND DOMINIC WHITE, UNION OF STUDENTS PRESIDENT, IN THE STUDIO]
Alice: Hello. We're still coming to you from the studio for our Open Day Livestream. We've been joined once again by Dominic White, the president of the Union of Students for this year. Hi, Dom.
Dominic: Hi, Alice.
Alice: So, Dom, can you explain to us what can students when they arrive in September, expect from the Union of Students?
Dominic: Well they can expect multiple things from the union. So, for example, the Union offers them an advice service which covers everything with wellbeing from housing matters, money matters, but even the academics. We also offer them exciting opportunities with our extracurriculars, for example, in sports societies and student services. There's a vast array that they can get involved with with us. And then finally, we also offer them opportunities within student voice, such as our Student Representation Scheme, making our student's voices heard through every level of the university.
Alice: Now, obviously we're coming up to September soon, when our new students will be starting. and a big part of that I know is Freshers Week. What is Freshers and how does it help students get acclimatised for life at Derby?
Dom: Well, Freshers is based over two weeks and it's a full two weeks of free events that we give to the students via their wristbands. It gives students the opportunity to meet new students, but also socialise with those they've met in their cohorts so that those live with. And it's an excellent opportunity for students to get out and about, see what it is the union and the university offer to them. And to see what the city can give to them as well.
Alice: Yeah, and I know societies are a big part of what the union organises or supports. What is a society and how do students go about getting involved?
Dom: Well, union societies are an excellent opportunity for students, again to grow hobbies or learn something new. Students can be involved with our societies programme through numerous measures. Best of all, is meeting our committees at Freshers Fair and going along to give it a go. Societies are an excellent opportunity to learn something new alongside your degree. Build or continue a new hobby and make new friends and go on adventures. In the history society, I know they like to visit museums across Derby, but also further afield and also have lectures given to them by world leading academics who've come in, especially just to see them.
Alice: And what about more active things such as sports? Is it really competitive? Can anybody have a go?
Dom: Absolutely. Our sports program is designed for everyone of any ability. You don't have to be an Olympic athlete, but if you are, we'd love to see you anyway. We have lots of opportunities within our sports program for any level of competition, whether that's within the halls program or our more recreational but still competitive. Just play programs we have with the university. Or within our highly competitive BUCKS Wednesdays where Union Sports and Team Derby travel across the country, representing the university and the union, taking on our biggest competitors in sport.
Alice: And so for lots of people watching, the Derby is going to be a new place for them. And when students do join us this year. What can they expect from Derby as a university city?
Dom: I think one of the best things they can expect from Derby is that it's not too big. Derby as a city it's just the right size to have everything in it needs, but also have quite a homely atmosphere.
Within the city, there's lots of opportunities for shopping with the Derbion and but also our outlets and night friendly nights out, especially those that have been accredited with the Purple Flag scheme, which all of our Stonegate venues who we work with in the city have been accredited with.
So there's lots in the city for students to be involved with. But also I think within wider Derbyshire you've got some of the most beautiful countryside to be able to go and visit right on our doorstep.
Alice: Oh absolutely. So there's lots of different things for lots of different sorts of people.
How do we how do you and the union go about really celebrating and making sure that inclusion is a real focus?
Dom: I mean, as a union of students, equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of what we do, and we make it our goal and our compliance to go well above all legal standards that have been set. So when it comes to how do we celebrate and educate individuals on minority groups, we go our very best mile to make sure we're doing all that we can through liberation months, for example. So we have Black History Month, Women's History Month, Inclusive Sport Fortnight, where we celebrate Parasports and Paralympians and paraathletes and of the like. There is lots of opportunities that the union puts on and campaigns in particular. They help us celebrate and educate everyone on the incredible individuals that make up our community.
Alice: So for any students who are wanting to get involved but might be a bit nervous or worried about it, how do they go about making that start with you?
Dom: Well, we always say to those students who are feeling a little bit nervous about approaching our students directly come speak to us as executive officers, our office is smack bang in the atrium, and we're always visiting lots of other campuses. So when we say, come speak to us, let us help us introduce you to the wider student body. But also as well as our students are very friendly. We take very great pride in the fact that our committees are so approachable. So we would always say, even if you don't necessarily feel the confidence, reach out. Our student committees are ready and waiting and they'd love to have you whether that's part of their sports club. that student led service or that society.
Alice: That's brilliant. Thanks Dom. A really welcoming and supportive approach there from you. Thank you very much.
Let's take a few moments now to find out more about the University of Derby.
(Video: International Student Life)
(Montage of international students saying 'Hello' in their home languages)
I came here and I didn’t know anyone, no friends, didn’t know what to expect.
The first day I was here, I sat down in a classroom and I was like, what did I get myself into? I don’t understand nothing this man has said. The accents, they all sound like Harry Potter
I was worrying about being by myself
I was just worried about living, I mean, you know, just like the cost of living
and how people will welcome me, how they will react.
But here in derby people are so friendly, they made us feel settled in very, very fast
After 3 years of living here I feel like Derby is kind of like my second home it feels like they are just from my country or I’m from here
It’s a very very friendly, and very personal atmosphere, it’s like, like a big family
I would recommend the University of Derby because it’s so easy to connect with people and it’s so easy to get the support, to get the opportunities and all you have to do is just want.
When you live in your home you live with your parents, you rarely can learn how to face the world and you willing to learn how to become more independent, becoming more strong.
There is a team of professionals here who will welcome you, they will make you feel like your second home so don’t worry, just pack your bags and make a decision and you will enjoy it.
[WE'RE BACK IN THE STUDIO WITH LUKE AND OUR HEAD OF ADMISSIONS, HELEN MERCADO]
Luke: Welcome back to our Open Day livestream. You may have already started looking at what you need to do to actually apply to the uni. To help demystify that process, we're joined by our head of admissions, Helen Mercado. Helen, Hello.
Helen: Hi, how are you doing?
Luke: I'm good, thank you. I'm good. Thank you for being here. So just to start off with how would you say the admissions team How, how do they support the students' applications?
Helen: So we receive all of the student applications across the university. So for undergraduate and postgraduate applications and also home and international students. So we get all of those come into our office. And then on behalf of the university, we process those obviously against the criteria and we support the applicants through that journey. So so every part of the process, so helping them to submit their application if they need the help, but also then once they've submitted them, if they have any questions and that kind of thing, through the process, we, we would support them through that. We invite everyone to interviews, we help them with portfolio submissions, and then we also process their results when they come through and collect supporting documents and things like that. So really, all the way through the applicant journey, we we're there for the applicants to help them and try and get them hopefully to an offer as quickly as we can.
Luke: Nice. It's quite, quite a bit.
Helen: Yeah. That's it like thousands and thousands of applications. And we have up several intakes as well. And we also have the online provision as well. So we support those applicants as well.
Luke: Nice. Goodness. So yeah, kind of like you mentioned. So there's obviously going to be quite a few students that are doing this for the first time. So what kind of advice could you give to those people that are going through the process currently?
Helen: So I think I guess just sort of taking the time to do things properly. So so in terms of when people are deciding where to apply, just thinking, you know, doing their research, looking at the courses, the course content, the location. So obviously Derby is a great city to come to, but really sort of looking into that and trying to spend some time talking to some of the students as well. So so we we know we have a position here at Derby that that people can reach out to students that are currently on the courses. So I would definitely recommend that we're doing that as part of that journey. But I would also say that when they are then making that application to provide us as much information as possible so that we can process as effectively as possible and as quickly as possible. I would also say, particularly those coming through the central admissions Service (UCAS), you can obviously there there is the generally equal consideration deadline is the 31st of January.
So I would say, you know,
we receive a huge number of applications running up to that deadline.
So really, if they can
put their applications in before that, that obviously help speed up the process for them And more able to sort of get to them a little bit more quickly than we might if they apply right around the deadline. And so I would I would definitely say to sort of you need to spend the time doing that research, make sure present that full application, spend time doing their personal statement as well. That's that's really important. I think I look at it as a little bit like their first job application kind of thing. It's a really good opportunity for them to, you know, to think about, you know, impressing the university, if you like. Yeah, just sort of telling us, you know, why that why the course that they've chosen. You know, what what's what it is about, what their career aspirations are and why they think they're a good fit for that program as well. So, you know, thinking about all the things they might have done, volunteering all of those different things, to include that in their personal statement. So we can actually use that when we are assessing their application.
Luke: Absolutely. I do agree. It's like in terms of the way you've got to sell yourself, It's it's very similar like similarities, though. And in terms of the admissions process, does it kind of differ between UK students and international?
Helen: So it can do. So International students - undergraduate students - can apply through UCAS as well as home students, so that that functionality is there for them. They can use that. A lot of our international students don't. They come through our agent network so they can apply directly to the university. So there are slightly different things obviously that an international student might have to do because they will have to get a visa later down the line and things like that. So but generally say that that UCAS option is available for undergraduate students or they say they can apply directly on our website and if they go on, then they can apply on our portal.
Luke: Nice. Thank you. Makes sense. And the personal statement, the aspect of it that's something that I must know many students have had heard about by now. So how much attention would you say is put into that by our admissions team and academics?
Helen: So we definitely look at it as part of the application process. So it varies by course how much the academics focus on. For the most part, the admissions team have delegated authority to process applications. So for some of the more selecting courses, say nursing and things that are definitely things that they specifically look for, you know, as we're shortlisting for interview and things like that. So definitely thinking about, you know, mentioning, you know, the course that you want to do, why you want to do it, why is there that drive, Why that particular if it's nursing pathway, that kind of thing, and just making sure that, you know, it's really clear what your aspirations are and that actually, you know, that is the course that you really, really want to do. Yes. So so that we can obviously take that into consideration when we're processing it.
Luke: Nice. Thank you. And in terms of the students that have already submitted their applications is when should they typically expect to hear back from the university?
Helen: So we try and turn things around as quickly as we can. So there are different points of the year that get busier, like I say, the equal consideration deadline for the for the UCAS applications tends to be a lot busier. I mean, it would take a bit longer, but but I would say normally within sort of 3 to 5 working days, I would hope for most of the undergraduate applications that come through.
Luke: Goodness. And what happens when the course has an extra step to complete, you know, for, say, for example, like a portfolio or like an interview?
Helen: Yeah. So the interview course, as we say, we will shortlist to interview. So we will see the application. We will shortlist against the shortlisting criteria. And then my team will reach out and invite applicants to attend that interview. So this year we are running both on campus events and also remote events, so people will have the opportunity to to choose which option they prefer. So, so they will get invited. They will get links to the web pages where all of the information that they need to know about what they need to do to prepare and why they need to come if they're coming to one of the on site events. all of that information is then sent to them so they can prepare in advance of the interview. And then for the portfolio courses, typically we would reach out to applicants if a portfolio is part of the selection criteria and request that as part of the process. And so they could expect to hear from us if they hadn't submitted that at the point of application.
Luke: Okay, goodness. And in regards to students that have any kind of specific support or, you know, wellbeing kind of meets, when should they be making that known? So what I would say to that is we in in admissions, we don't tend to take that kind of thing into consideration. So it's not part of the application process. We treat it, we sort of treat everybody equally, if you like, and say that. But I would still say it's really important to flag anything like that as early as possible in the process so it can be picked up by the appropriate team, the wellbeing team, and they can sort of be in touch with applicants and make sure that, you know, any reasonable adjustments, that kind of thing that we can make in advance of the term starting. So I would say sometimes we struggle if there are late applicants to meet, you know sort of needs of everybody. So I would say as early in the process as possible, absolutely flag it to the university and then we can make sure that we can help to support you into the university.
Luke: Fantastic. Okay. And and finally, yeah, if a student gets stuck anywhere in the application process, what would you kind of suggest that they need to do in that case?
Helen: Reach out yeah, absolutely. So get in touch with my team. I have an admissions inquiries team and they are ready and willing and happy to help.
Luke: Fantastic. Helen, Thank you so much. I think those are all the questions I have. Thank you for being here.
Helen: Thank you.
Luke: Hopefully that helps you move forward with your application. Here's a bit more about what to expect at the University of Derby.
(VIDEO: What are halls like?)
[WE SEE ALICE OUTSIDE PEAK COURT HALLS OF RESIDENCE]
Alice: Hi, I'm Alice and I'm here at a University of Derby Hall of Residence. I'm visiting today to find what life is like in halls for our students.
[ALICE ENTERS THE COMMON ROOM, AND IS JOINED BY KIRK HEGARTY, HALL MANAGER OF PEAK COURT]
Alice: So Kirk, what happens in here?
Kirk: Right. Well, this is one of our common rooms. All hallo of residence have a common room. Some will have a pool table. Some of the slightly larger ones will have a table tennis table.
They're just a place for students to come and relax, Maybe have a few friends around. They might come in here if they want to make slightly more noise than they do in actual flats. Then they can do that in a common room.
We also have halls events here, we have music nights, all sorts going on, and it's all provided for the students for free.
[ALICE AND KIRK WALK ACROSS THE COURTYARD INTO ONE OF THE FLATS WHERE THREE STUDENTS ARE SAT AROUND THEIR KITCHEN TABLE]
Kirk: Hi, guys. How you going? Yeah, I've just got Alice here. She just wants to ask you a few questions about what it's like living in halls. Are you ok to give her a bit of your time?
(Yeah!)
Amazing, cheers guys.
Alice: Thank you so much for letting me into your flat like this.
What's it like living in halls?
George: Honestly? Really good. Can't lie - mates for life. Close to campus, close to city center.
Alice: So for any students who might be living potentially close enough just to commute in and not try and live in Derby, what would you say to them?
Nathan: Yeah, I had the option and I'm really glad that I went with halls because you just get put with people straight away and you get to meet friends straight away and you're really part of the action.
Alice: And what would you say is the best thing about living in halls, all of you?
Liam: He's always, always that person that you can go to. If anything's wrong.
Alice: Now, I've seen your kitchen, I've seen you communal spaces. Would any of you mind giving me a little look around your bedroom so you can see what the bedroom spaces look like?
George: Yeah, sure. Do you want to follow me.
(GEORGE AND ALICE WALK OVER TO GEORGE'S ROOM)
George: So this is a standard en suite room at Peak (Court). You've got a small double bed. More than more than enough for student, a desk big enough for your work games, books, anything you need a more than big enough wardrobe on it, and a en suite with a shower and toilet.
Alice: Brilliant. It's really lovely.
(ALICE IS BACK OUTSIDE IN THE COURTYARD)
Alice: So that's our halls of residence. A safe, supportive and well-located place to live for students.
Visit our website to find out more about all our different halls.
[WE JOIN PRESENTER JACK HOLCOMBE AT AGARD COURT HALL OF RESIDNECE IN ONE OF THE ROOMS. HE IS WITH SARA HICKINBOTHAM, HALLS MANAGER]
Jack: Well, welcome back to Agard Court and I hope you enjoyed having a look around some of our other halls of residences in that video.
Now I'm joined by Sara, who is a Halls team manager here at the University of Derby, and she's going to be chatting to us about a couple of my questions to find out more about what it's like to live at halls. So, Sara, thank you for joining us. First, what can you tell us what can our students expect to find at halls of residence when they move to Derby?
Sara: Yeah, okay. So when you do arrive, you'll find that we have a lovely, spacious bedrooms and lovely kitchens that have mostly been refurbished. If you're sharing bathroom and shower, then you share that within the flat group. But you also can have an en suite room depending on your own choice. And all of our holes are on a refurbishment program so they can, they can all be kept to a really good quality. We have caretakers onsite who do the jobs that might need doing like if your lights out or something like that. And we also have a team of plumbers, electricians, etc. who will come and do any bigger jobs that you might need to have an amazing
Jack: Thank you. And some of our students might want to know about cleaning and security. You tell us a little bit about that as well.
Sara: Yes. Now the and the cleaning team will come round to your flats once a week and they'll clean the communal areas. So if you're sharing the showers and the toilets, then they'll clean those. They'll also clean the kitchen for you. You're responsible for your own bedroom. And our security team work from 6:00 at night until 8:30 in the morning. And we have hall managers who work all day Mondays to Friday, as well as live-on staff. So there's 24 hour staff here for support if that's needed.
Jack: That sounds amazing. Now, I know that some of our students are going to be wanting to know what's the locations like for ours halls of residences here in Derby.
Sara: Yes. So we are city center based. So all of our halls are within walking distance of each other. And so that's quite nice if you've met people on your course so you can meet people at other halls of residence and things. And we also have events on so you can meet people from different halls of residence as well as your own and they're within walking distance, both of the city center and the learning campuses. So there's it's a really good, a good way to get around town. And all you need is your legs and you can just walk between the halls and that's absolutely fine. We also have a free Unibus. So if you wanted to get up a little bit later to get to your lectures, then you can just jump onto the Unibus instead of walking.
Jack: Well, that's amazing. Sounds like our halls are really well connected here at Derby. So my final question for you - what can our students expect to help them settle in, are there any programs or anything that you put on to help them with that?
Sara: Yes, we do. So the first day that they arrive into halls, Welcome Week, we can we put on a welcome buffet for them in the morning so they can come down to breakfast and they can meet other people within that hall. We also have a range of events such as Meet the Guide Dogs, going to Alton Towers, things like that, that can help them meet each other and be able to get friends and so that they don't feel too isolated. The reason that our halls - or one of the reasons our halls have won the platinum status is because of our friendly, approachable staff, and the platinum status is voted by the students. So they're the people who've told us that we're welcoming, we're friendly, and that we look after the students while we're here. So nobody should be worried about coming to halls.
Jack: That's amazing. Sara, thank you so much for telling us a little bit more about what it's like to live at halls.
(VIDEO: 'The University of Derby makes me feel...')
Anisha Johal: The University of Derby makes me feel...
Empowered:
they empowered me to break barriers and smash stereotype.
Nathan Addai: Diverse: I feel like I'm part of a bigger
community and what I've learned about my abilities and potential goes well beyond my degree.
Tingan Li: Excitement: a transition that felt challenging
to start but led to excitement built on my character and independence.
Ioana Batcu: Passionate: a process of growth filled with
fun career opportunities and beautiful people - a mixture of everything.
Adam Price: Independence: Derby has given me confidence
and self-direction allowing me to experience independence for the very first time.
Jessica Lucas: Awakened: to a world full of possibilities.
Nothing is stopping us now.
[WE JOIN PRESENTER KELLY SEVERN, HEAD OF PR AND SOCIAL MEDIA, AT ONE FRIAR GATE SQUARE SITE, WITH PRO VICE-CHANCELLOR, DEAN OF COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, KAMIL OMOTESO]
Kelly: Good morning Kamil. As Pro Vice-Chancellor, Dean of the College of Business, Law and Social Sciences, what can students in your college expect during their time at Derby?
Kamil: Thank you, Kelly. Our students will be exposed to state-of-the-art facilities as part of their learning experience. Also, they will be taught by people who are professionals in their areas. They have been there. They've worked in that sector before and they bring along with them their experience, their connection and network, and that's really enriches classroom experience. Also, some of them are active researchers in their area. So a combination of both make a whole student experience at Derby.
Kelly: Brilliant. And what kind of careers do our students go on to do? Our students will go through the course, and if they are studying, for example, a professional course: law, accounting, marketing, human resources, management, some of them want to go straight after graduation into those disciplines, and there will be some others who would choose to say, You know what, I don't want to go into that anymore. But that's okay. That's fine. What we have done or what we will be doing is to ensure that they have necessary transferable skills to make them excel wherever they choose to go. And that's what we pride ourselves for.
Kelly: Brilliant. And in the background over here, I can see that we've got some building work going off. Tell us about what's happening there.
Kamil: Excellent. That's going to be at the home of our new business School a £75 million investment, the largest in the history of the university. And it's going to be in a zero carbon building. That speaks to academic theme as an institution. One of the six is net zero carbon. Also, we have a number of researchers exploring different aspects of sustainability, so this actually brings their research work to life. So we are very, very proud of it and we are looking forward to it. It embodies all we do as a business school. It also embodies state of the art facilities that will make a difference in the learning experience of our students.
Kelly: And tell us a little bit about these facilities. What can students expect to find in the buildings?
Kamil: Yes, students, depending on the course of studies, if they are just studying economics, finance, accounting related programs, they will have a trading floor powered by Bloomberg, for example, with live data to work with, and that makes a huge difference. Also, if they are studying marketing, they will have a marketing laboratory, supply chain laboratory strategy and lab. So and this laboratories are actually available regardless of the course you are studying, you can actually benefit from those facilities and even have certification through some micro credentials opportunities, particularly for those who may decide not to pursue what is studied in the university. And another very significant element of it is, is the gateway to the university. That's what it's going to be. So we have opportunities to collaborate with businesses within the city, within the region nationally, and they will be attracted to it. And we are already making groundwork to ensure that that is the case.
Kelly: All very exciting and I'm sure we're really looking forward to it opening. Thanks very much, Kamil.
Kamil: Pleasure
(VIDEO: Tour of One Friar Gate Square)
[WE'RE BACK WITH LUKE IN THE STUDIO, JOINED BY LECTURER DR JENNIFER GANT]
Luke: We're now joined by Dr. Jennifer Gant, a lecturer on our law programmes. Jennifer, thank you for being here.
Jennifer: Thank you for having me.
Luke: So can you tell us a bit about the course and its pathways?
Jennifer: Certainly. So we have a standard LLB with honors course and that all kind of begins in the same way. So we have a number of modules that they will take for the first two years that are the same. We also have a law with criminology pathway, so that follows the same pattern as the standard LLB. But then the third year they get to take a number of criminology electives. We also have a number of pathways within the LLB, such as sort of commercial law company, law pathway. There is a public policy pathway and several other ones which basically kind of mean you will take specified third year modules to focus on a specific specialisation.
Luke: Goodness. Okay. And what kind of key skills would like law students develop?
Jennifer: I would like to say that University Derby, the School of Law, we do things a little bit differently than a lot of other law schools. So we revalidated, I think three or four or four years ago now. And when we revalidated the course, we thought it was important to bring into it a number of skills and a focus on skills. So we've now developed, we call a skills spine. So essentially their first year they take one whole year long module that is around beginnings of legal skills, legal research, how to read cases, how to read legislation, some initial bits on writing. So the basic skills that you need to study the law. The second year they do a module that I teach called Law and Business in Context, and this raises the skill level where we have to think, think, think about things like critical thinking, strategic thinking, but it also places what they're learning in the context of commercial awareness and business, which even though they're law students, when you're in the legal profession, you still have to consider business issues. And the third year they do Commercial Awareness and Business Acumen. And this again builds on the skills that they've done in the second and first year to look at sort of immediate problem solving. So they might get a a brief right there in the session and have to kind of work out together how to solve that particular problem, not just from a legal perspective, but also from a practical perspective. So it raises the skill level of these students not just to practice in law, but into any profession. So I think that that that makes the law school quite unique in what it does in its provision.
Luke: My goodness. I feel like you've kind of touched on it briefly, but what kind of modules can students take whilst on this course?
Jennifer: Absolutely. So in the first year they take contract law, tort law, constitutional law and administrative law. So all of them will take that, whatever pathway they're on. The second year they take land law, tort law, criminal law and the law and business and context module as well as a half a single term of EU law. Because regardless of the fact that we've been through Brexit, we still operate and trade with the EU. Therefore, it's important that we understand how businesses are going to to deal with those those changes.
Luke: Absolutely.
Jennifer: And then in the third year, I'm not going to remember all of the modules because there's a number of electives that they can take during the third year. There's I think, three around environmental law, dealing with different aspects of environmental law. There's evidence, company law, commercial and consumer law. I teach an employment law module myself, and I think domestic violence, family law, tons of different electives that they can choose to take in their third year.
Luke: Quite varied,
Jennifer: Very varied. And then not to mention the criminology modules that those following the law with criminology path can take, which include things like evidence and youth justice. And I'm not going to remember all of those.
Luke: No no, I appreciate it, it's impressive. And what kind of opportunities are there for students to carry out work experience?
Jennifer: So that's quite a few different work experience opportunities. We have a lot of connections within the community and the region that offers things like internships and basic work experience following people around in the Magistrates Court. for example. In our third year, we also have a module called Clinical Legal Skills, and that starts with kind of learning the skills and learning reflection and the things you need to do to actually go and then practice within our Student Legal Advice Center. So the students who undertake the Clinical Legal skills module in their third year are actually having to volunteer within the Family Law clinic. So they're having face to face interviews via teams, but it's still, you know, face to face via teams and doing interviews, advising clients under the supervision of a solicitor. So those students who take that get a whole year's worth on various weeks of work experience working in an actual clinic.
Luke: Wow nice. So you mentioned that a moment ago. Can you tell us more about the Student Legal Advice Center?
Jennifer: Absolutely. So I've already I've already mentioned family law. So we have a family law clinic. We deal with a lot of issues around accessing children. So fathers might come to ask for help to access their children if they're split up. We get little divorce questions, that kind of thing. We also have an immigration and family reunion clinic, which is focused on individuals who are coming over here to emigrate and then want to get their family to join them. So it's that kind of kind of issue. We've also got a legal triage clinic which is focused on helping other University of Derby students. So University of Derby students can come in and talk to our student legal advisors and get help on things like, I mean, it's often housing or something of that nature. So there's that. We have a new clinic this year which is special educational needs and disabilities. So it's a SEND clinic that's the acronym for it. And that particular clinic focuses on issues surrounding access to education for children who have disabilities or neuro divergences and sort of interacting with the local authority, for example, to make sure those students are well served. We also have the Reach Out clinic. That's another new clinic where we actually interact with prisoners in order to help them with certain family law matters. So that's a very interesting one that's just started this year. I also run the business law clinic that's focused on providing pro-bono services to the business community, entrepreneurs within Derby in the region, as well as small business owners and that kind of thing. We also provide support for litigants in person, so individuals who are going into court represent themselves. We don't advise them on the spot, but we sit with them and we give them support as as far as we can. So that's all the kind of active clinics where people are actually getting practice experience. We also have three kind of more research related clinics, one for each year. The first one is the Justice Project, where students will work on a project together that's around access to justice, and they'll do a presentation to not just the university and the law school, but also members of the community towards the end of the year, I run the policy clinic, which is aimed at second year students, and that we usually get a brief, a policy brief or a brief from someone in the community. This year we're looking at how to improve accessibility for individuals with neurodivergencies and disabilities to work within the volunteer sector. So there's a lot of employment law that covers how to help accessibility from an employment perspective. But it's a question around how do we deal with the same issues but within the volunteer sector? And then the final one is the International Human Rights Clinic, which again I think from the title is fairly obvious. It looks at international human rights and it's similar to the policy clinic, but on an international scale.
Luke: My goodness, thank you. And you mentioned one was had been introduced in the recent. year. It sounded quite interesting. So students that are working with with with inmates, can you tell me a bit more about that?
Jennifer: I don't actually know that much about it, to be perfectly honest. I don't run that particular clinic, but it is obviously because everyone needs to have their rights protected. You know, doesn't matter what you've done in your life. Access to justice is there for everyone and, you know, individuals who are in prison. Yes, the students do help to deal with the kind of accessibility of children or children of communication and that kind of thing. But other than that, I don't quite know how it works myself, so.
Luke: It's quite cool.
Jennifer: So I apologise.
Luke: No, it's okay.
Jennifer: It's very interesting one, but as it's very new and I don't work within it. Yes.
Luke: Yeah. Another thank you. So are there any professional links that the teaching team hold that they've been able to kind of bring into the student experience?
Jennifer: Absolutely. So most of us have some kind of practice background. So I qualified as a solicitor back in 2011, I believe it was in Nottingham at Shoosmiths and went into academia fairly shortly thereafter. But there are some who practice for years in various areas, so we've got that practical expertise that we can pass on to our students through our teaching and through, you know, scenarios that we might devise. We've also got a huge research sort of cohort now within the law school. So I also do quite a lot of research. So we publish and we can bring that innovation that interest, that theoretical context into our teaching as well. But apart from the staff, we've got again, all these wonderful links with the community. We have guest speakers come in from, you know, law firms and other community organisations to provide your real life perspective on what it's really like out there. So there's tons of links that we have and we continue to build those links with the community and with organisations in the volunteer sector, for example, to create more opportunities for students.
Luke: Nice. My goodness. And what kind of facilities the students get to learn in?
Jennifer: Yeah, no problem. The law school is based at One Friar Gate Square, which is right in the center of Derby, pretty much, pretty close to the center anyway. So the lecture halls themselves, they have all the digital stuff that you might need as long as it's work, which most of the time it is. And, and, but the nice thing about it is it gives us the opportunity to use a lot of our digital teaching skills to increase the kind of level of, of access that students can have to the ways of teaching as well. But we've also got, you know, there's Blends downstairs for a cafe or something like that. We've got a few quiet study areas that students can can go to. There's a full computer lab on the top floor and all of the lecturers are based at One Friar Gate Square as well. So it makes us accessible too.
Luke: Nice. Yeah, I've actually kind of been there on a tour. I've been in one of the courtrooms. Fantastic. It blew me away, honestly.
Jennifer: Yeah, there is the court room as well. I forgot to mention, which is fantastic.
Luke: Yeah, it's incredible.
Jennifer: It's a really good courtroom.
Luke: It really is. I tried to recreate an episode of Law and Order on it. it didn't work out well at all.
Jennifer: We do all of our Mooting in that courtroom, so it gives students a real life experience. And Mooting is essentially pretend court, the cases and things like that. So they get to wear the wig, they get to wear the coats. Everything. Yeah. So it's good. It's a really good practical experience
Luke: Quite an authentic experience I can imagine.
Jennifer: Very, yeah.
Luke:And lastly, are there any opportunities for students to study abroad?
Jennifer: Well, the School of Law doesn't offer a particular opportunity to study abroad, but the university does. So they can engage with the university's programs. But while we don't offer study abroad opportunities, we do have three school trips every year. Our university trips, law school trips. So the first year, the first years tend to go down to London. We take a look at various law related things. The law courts down there this year, the second or the second year, traditionally, will go to The Hague. So that means we get to tour things like the International Criminal Court and that kind of thing, and also do a bit of traveling within the Netherlands.
Luke: Yeah,
Jennifer: Most people go to Amsterdam. to be fair. This year, our third years are going to Edinburgh. But in the past we've gone to places like Dublin and again there's some things that we organise to try to get students to experience legal aspects. And we do organise some entertainment as well, but there's plenty of free time as well to kind of go and see what's going on in the city and hopefully not get into too much trouble!
Luke: Hopefully! That's so interesting. So what would you say is - weird question incoming - What would you say is kind of the criteria for students wanting to pick X country? Is it kind of like, I don't know, the modules that they're on or just specific types of crime that happen in specific parts of those countries?
Jennifer: As in which one they'd want to go to?
Luke: Yeah
Jennifer: Well, to be fair, they're actually aimed first year goes to London, second year is available to go to The Hague and that will probably be because you know we do EU law in the second year so there's that connection for the second year, so we're going to an EU country. I think honestly for the third year, the choice is often around things that you can do to have a little bit of fun.
Luke: Nice. Okay, that's fantastic. Well, those are the questions I have. Jennifer, I want to thank you for your time. That's fantastic.
Jennifer: No problem. Thank you very much.
(VIDEO: Tour of Kedleston Road)
[WE'RE BACK IN THE STUDIO WHERE ALICE IS JOINED BY Dr GULCAN GARIP]
Alice: It's time now to learn more about one of our subject areas. And I have the programme leader for Psychology, Dr. Gulcan Garip here with me. Thank you very much for joining us. So Gulcan - psychology is often a popular subject at A-level. How is it different studying the subject at a degree level,
Gulcan: Yes, psychology is a very versatile subject. You can go into various areas of psychology upon completing your undergrad training and then doing the relevant stage one and stage two training pathways at the University of Derby. We've got undergrad both online and on campus, and we've also got an online conversion psychology program as well. For those who may have studied something completely different at university and want to kind of move into a more psychologically based area, You don't need to be limited to just psychology professions either. You can go into marketing, human resources, and really I think any area where you're working with people, psychology does contribute something to that. So I think it's a very good option to study.
Alice: And what are the benefits of studying psychology at Derby in particular?
Gulcan: So Derby's got a really large psychology team. So for the size of the university, we've got a lot of diverse academics from different areas of psychology as well. I'm personally I've got my expertise in health psychology. We've got a lot of research, interest in nature connectedness, contemplative psychology, as well as biological and cognitive psychology areas as well. And I think all that variety and diversity gives students a really good exposure to those different areas as well.
Alice: And how do you keep the course up to date with what's happening outside of the university in terms of the industry and the research that's happening?
Gulcan: Well, apart from the general kind of quality assurance and psychological society standards, we've also got people interested in their own areas of research. We regularly attend conferences and we're also engaging with colleagues from other institutions as well to make sure that we're staying on top of the latest developments and also collaborating with them for various research projects.
Alice: And what sort of practical experiences can students expect to have on this course?
Gulcan: We do pride ourselves in trying to make sure whether you're studying on campus or online, you've got parity of experience. Obviously there are some limitations. When you're perhaps studying online, you might not be able to do what an on campus student does in terms of coming into a lab and using one of our cold presses or using one of our other kind of EEG equipment to look at brainwaves and those sorts of things. But you are able to kind of book equipment through through our online systems. And if you are able to come on to campus, you'd still be able to use those facilities. And we've got a whole host of online software as well that both online and on campus students can use.
Alice: That's fantastic. Now, we've recently expanded the different versions that can be offered for this subject to include different subject combinations. What would a student get from from having a sort of combination course rather than just straight or pure psychology?
Gulcan: So this is actually a really great opportunity because as a student, when I was studying psychology, I was really torn between what areas I wanted to study. And at the time I wasn't able to find a course that met my needs in the UK and I had to look elsewhere. But with these joint honours courses, if you've got two areas of interest for instance, you'd be able to look at combining them during your undergrad studies.
Alice: And whatever combinations somebody does choose, why is Derby the place they should be studying it?
Gulcan: I think our team is a really great team, I've been part of it for eight years and I've really seen the team grow both individually and as a group and I think the attention to detail and the care we give to students is one of those unmatched with other of the places. I might be biased!
Alice: Haha just a little bit, just a bit now, Now how does studying psychology at Derby expand a student's mindset?
Gulcan: So we see people from all walks of life, but what we want to ensure is that at the end of completing one of our programs, that students will develop the skills to think critically, they'll be able to have a basic understanding of how to conduct research in a way that is going to meet those steps that that the scientific method outlines. And we don't just focus on quantitative, but we also introduce qualitative research methods as well, as well as the core areas of psychology as well. And after finishing off from that, students have a choice of going into health, ergonomics, forensic psychology, which are programs that we also offer.
Alice: That's fantastic. And in terms of careers, you've touched a little bit there about the sorts of subjects that that students might go into, but what sorts of careers can they expect with with a degree in psychology?
Gulcan: So studying an undergraduate degree in psychology is the first step you would do before you can specialise into some of those more core professions in psychology. So if you did want to say, become a health psychologist or a clinical psychologist, you do need to go on to further study and a lot of our students do. But if you are kind of looking to gain work experience and employability, there are lots of opportunities either within the NHS, within educational psychology, trainee opportunities, where you can study alongside working as well. So I think those are some of the options that I would mention.
Alice: Sounds great. Where do I sign up? Thank you very much for joining me here today, Gulcan. That's been really good to hear from you. Thank you. Speaking of research, let's take a look now at how we approach it at Derby and then next up will be finding out about our teacher training and other education subjects.
(VIDEO: 'Research at Derby')
Voiceover: Research is changing the way we see and understand things. At Derby, you will be taught by leading researchers. Their groundbreaking findings not only have real world impact, but inform your curriculum, giving you the most up to date teaching in your subject area. There are so many opportunities to get involved in research, such as attending conferences, being part of a research experiment, or conducting your own research project. The skills and knowledge you gain through experience and research will allow you to shine and stand out in job interviews. We are at the forefront of discoveries. Quite simply, research never stands still, and neither does the University of Derby.
[WE'RE BACK WITH KELLY, JOINED BY INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION LECTURER REBECCA PETRONZI, IN A CLASSROOM SET UP WITH PRIMARY MATHS RESOURCES AT KEDLESTON ROAD]
Kelly: Welcome back. We're here in our Institute of Education, and I'm joined by Rebecca Petronzi, who's English subject lead in primary initial teacher education. Hi, Rebecca. Thanks for joining us today.
Rebecca: Hi. Thank you for coming along.
Kelly: So talk to us about the different routes into teaching. We know that we have a variety of options here at Derby. We have a three year and a four year programme. So talk to us about what they involve.
Rebecca: So we have, as you said, two undergraduate programs that get straight into teaching. So they come out with on the three year route what's called a BEd with qualified teacher status or recommendation for qualified teacher status, and what we call the integrated Masters, which is a four year route which also has recommended QTS. That recommendation QTS is the bit that allows you to go forward into a career in teaching. But in order to do that, it is a graduate profession, so you do need to have that degree level qualification. So our three year route is at an undergraduate degree level and our four year gets you a masters at the end of it. And the reason that's quite interesting is because when you're in education and you want to move forward leadership or perhaps you want to expand into higher roles within education, and that master's really gives you that critical eye and allows you to access different roles that you wouldn't have opportunity to. And one of the reasons we think it's brilliant is because you could do that later in your career. But that's really hard when you've got a class to look after or you've got other roles in the school. When - the three year route and the four year route, they both involve school placements. So there's lots of opportunity to learn practically on the job. And they both are involved opportunities to kind of personalise and tailor your degree a little bit. So whether that's things like working in civic responsibility or with our local facilities here in Derby, we do a lot of work with the Museum of Making for instance, we go to things like Alvaston Castle, which is a great local environment, to do some outdoor learning in the curriculum, but all of them include research as well. So that's a great opportunity for students to go, what am I interested in? What's brought me here? Things, whether it's like speech and language or, maybe they're interested in SEND, or maybe they're interested in a particular subject such as P.E. and they can research a particular area there and find out more and really drive that career forward because they've got that knowledge base when they go through for jobs.
Kelly: It sounds really exciting, Rebecca. And we're in one of our teaching classrooms here today, and you've touched upon sort of that outdoor learning environment. Talk to us about the facilities that our students get to access if they study here at the University of Derby.
Rebecca: So as you said, we're in Institute of Education, and part of that is we have kind of themed classrooms. So we're in the Maths classroom today where a lot of our maths learning happens and we have a range of facilities here to really engage with practical learning, because a big part of our degrees is understanding the theory behind the classroom practice. And in order to do that, you have to be able to deconstruct how children learn. So we use a lot of practical resources, whether it's things like Numicon, ten squares, but in each classroom we have it kind of themed. So for instance, in our science classroom, we'll do some science experimentation. One of the interesting ones that all science does, it is dunking biscuits, which sounds silly, but it's a great way to think about how things dissolve and temperature of tea and things like that. So lots of scientific experiments going on there. We also have a forest schools area, so we have a practitioner that takes our students down to do some forest school learning and think about the value of that within education. And and as part of this, as I said, we use a local community, but we have partnership schools we work with. So we work with a range of schools across Derby, Derbyshire, some into kind of Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire depending. And those partnership schools are where a lot of our real core learning happens, where students get to take what they've learned in university and apply that into different environments. And it's really interesting because what they learn is we might show you how to use reading books here or learn early reading skills such as systematic synthetic phonics. But when you go into the classroom, it won't work exactly the same in every school. So both of our routes - our three year and our four year route - include different placements. So in year one you might be in a year six class. That sounds scary to everyone who's watching. Don't worry, we'll prepare you for it. And in your second year of training, you might be in an early years classroom. Because we are a 5 to 11 program. So you need to have that variety of experience. And we try and do the same thing as well with locality and demographic so we might try and send you to schools in quite rural areas one year and then inner city schools another year, because again, the number on role, the number of pupil premium children, the local facilities, all of that changes the way a school works. So our partnership is a big part of what we do and I think we're really proud of that.
Kelly: Great and you touched upon it there, but how do we prepare students to be confident teachers when they go into the classroom?
Rebecca: So the range of experiences is definitely part of it. Our degrees are also about developing the wider professional. So it's not just about preparing them to be a teacher, it's preparing them for life skills as well. So things like the civic responsibility, part of our degree that's thinking about the wider impact that you can have through the skills you've developed. And what we find is a lot of our students grow in confidence over the years because we scaffold the level of not just accountability, but the level of opportunity they have and level of freedom and autonomy they have with their practice. So in their first stage, their placements are quite supported. You might work with small groups, you might do a lot of observe, and so you can get your confidence and know what the classroom practice needs to look like and how to do it. Whereas in stage three you're teaching 80% of the time. You 're teaching the same as you would an early careers teacher. And so that transition, because it is so gradual and it's supported by the university learning and the wider experiences, we find that a lot of our students feel ready for the classroom and our schools comment on that. I've worked quite closely with the headteacher who has commented on our for years program students because they get to go into school and do a bit more of a strategic role. So for the master's level learners in their final year, they get to engage with the wider school community and have more of an impact than just their class. And headteachers have commented really positively on that and the fact that they can see how they've grown in confidence, and particularly when we have students that return to their first year school and the schools can see how they've grown, that wow, they've become such an amazing teacher. And that's all through the way they engage with the program, the experiences they have.
Kelly: Great. And if someone's considering a career in teaching, what advice would you give to somebody?
Rebecca: Well, first, it's an amazing career. Everyone who is a tutor at the University of Derby in our initial teacher education, we are all teachers. We love the career, we love working with children. A lot of us have still got roles in schools, whether that's we're governors or we're doing supply work or school improvement work. And so the first thing is to know that you love it. And part of that is to go into a school. Now, we can't require that as part of the course. But we always recommend it because you get to see the reality of the day in, day out. You get to see the work that goes on behind the scenes. It's very different being a teacher than it is being a child. So you might feel really positively about your school experience because you are a child, but you didn't see the work your teacher put in. And so going in and seeing that reality will help you prepare and know what to expect and also give you a bit of subject knowledge. So for instance, if you were teaching maths, it would help you to brush up on your own mathematics skills, ready to teach those children because you're learning alongside them. So we always say try and get some time in the class, voluntary reading, working with like afterschool clubs, anything like that. Just because it helps you transition into your role as a teacher.
Kelly: And why should students choose Derby?
Rebecca: Well, I love Derby, to be honest. We were really lucky. We like I said, we're all ex-teachers or currently in the profession ourselves and we're really passionate about the career and I think that comes through in our teaching practice because we want you to be passionate about what you do in the classroom. And really committed to making a difference in the lives of children. So all of our teachers are probably a bit friendly and a bit silly in some ways. We're not kind of traditional academics because we are primary practitioners, so get used to that. But we are, we have really good graduate outcomes as well. So our students tend to get employment pretty quickly after they leave. I think we've got a 95% rate of graduate employment at the minute. Lots of our students as well are choosing to go and teach abroad and they've got those transferable qualifications for it. And I think that's something that our program facilitates because of the experiences we have within it. We also, you know, we've we've got these wider facilities, we've got this community impact, we've got our forest schools, all of these things that take us outside of a traditional university learning environment to enhance the experience. But it wouldn't happen without our excellent partnership. We put a lot of work into our collaboration, communication with the schools in our community, and part of that is that we it's like a give and take relationship. So they work really closely with our beginning teachers, our students to give them the best possible training experience they can. And we went really closely with them to enhance their provision or to support them in any way they need. And that give and take relationship means that whilst you are at the University of Derby, you are training with us, but you are part of that wider school partnership too.
Kelly: Thank you very much. There's some great insight there, Rebecca, Thanks so much for your time.
Rebecca: Thank you.
Kelly: Back to you in the studio.
[WE'RE BACK IN THE STUDIO WHERE ALICE IS NOW JOINED BY COMPUTER SCIENCE STUDENT SAM VOLTOLINI]
Alice: It's time now to learn more about one of our subject areas. Computing at Derby can take you from game design to cybersecurity. We're now joined by final year students on Computer Science: Software Development, Sam Voltolini. Welcome, Sam. Thank you. Thank you very much. So what made you choose the University of Derby?
Sam: Well, it goes back to 2020, actually. One of my friends attended to the Open Day in Derby. He knew that I wanted to pursue computer science. And then we had a conversation. He mentioned how the computing labs are, all the technology that they have on campus and everything. And basically he convinced me to to apply for computer science in Derby. I was living in Nottingham at the time. Yep. So I applied for computer science in Derby. Then I moved to I moved to Derby from Nottingham to Derby and started my course in 2020.
Alice: And what's been the highlight of your course so far?
Sam: I think it was probably the opportunity I had to pursue my career at the Met Office. I had a lot of support from the university, especially from the placement team. I think that was that was great, actually. I had so much support from the university and my experience at the Met Office, working from people like all around the world was, was really insane, it was really cool, really nice.
Alice: And so what new skills and knowledge did you learn while on this placement?
Sam: Well, I think working with people was probably one of the biggest difference for me, something that I really learned from the Met Office. They have loads of different partners like Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, India and working directly with the government, people from different culture, you know, different mindsets, different way of, of thinking. I think that was really great actually. I probably going to take that along with me and also all the technology they have. The Met Office is really known for to have like one of the best weather forecasting technology in the world. So working like with, you know, top technology was, was great, was really interesting.
Alice: And how do you feel that this placement is going to help you in your future career?
Sam: Definitely open doors for my my future. I again, I've learned so much from it. All the new technologies that are available at the moment. Probably I have a little better understanding about it because I was working for them. So I also worked close with the Microsoft Engineers, Cloud engineers. So that's the new technology that they are bringing to the UK, to the Met Office. It's a very expensive technology as well. So that's a brand new thing that most companies in the UK will use, start bringing that to their business at some point. So I have a bit of knowledge on that as well. So I think that will be great for me after graduation. Yeah.
Alice: And what about technology that you've used at the university? How have you found that?
Sam: Well, I've used - as a computer science student, I use some of the computing labs, especially the VR lab, which is great. I developed one of my best projects on a VR lab, which was basically like a high school classroom where people could interact with their lecturers. It was a specific for people with disability, so you could interact virtually with the lectures without the physical contact. So that was a technology that is available at the university in Derby and I made use of it and it was great.
Alice: Yeah. And what about your lecturers throughout this process? Have they been supportive? How have they helped you along the way?
Sam: Definitely. My lecturer from software engineering supported me a lot to get my placement at the Met Office. One of the interview process was to have a presentation about software engineering was a one hour presentation, so I really need to know as much as I could to, you know, to present very well my ideas about software engineering to them at the Met Office, and he really supported me, like all the way all through the process. I remember that he asked me to send my presentation to him and he checked all my presentation, everything that could be improved. So yes, I really got loads of support from him. So I'm really grateful for that.
Alice: And am I right in thinking that you've joined the Erasmus scheme as well.
Sam: Yes. Alice: What did you get from that?
Sam: Yes. So during my second year I applied for the Erasmus scheme. I went to Romania for two weeks. It's very different. It's a beautiful country. The food is amazing. I worked with one university in Romania to try to change their computer science curriculum, basically. Try to improve to bring new technologies. New way of the students to make like mobile applications. And this kind of things to their course. So I stay two weeks there, I help them to improve their computer science curriculum during the summer. So it was great. Yeah.
Alice: And what advice would you give to anybody thinking of studying computing at Derby?
Sam: I think it's a great and diverse place to be. I love it. And all the supports I got from, you know, from software engineering lecturers, all the lecturers I had, it was great. I loved it. Also, this city is amazing. I love nature and the Peak District, it's just one of the best places you can go. You know, you should just once a week like a refresh or something. Peak District is amazing, is beautiful. People are really supportive. So yeah, it definitely is a place I can recommend anyone who wants to do computer science to be.
Alice: That's great. Thank you very much. And all the best with the rest of your studies, Thank you. and your future career! Thanks, Sam. Thank you. We'll be right back with more after this short video.
[WE'RE BACK WITH KELLY, NOW WITH SPORTS SCHOLAR BILLIE-JO SMITH IN THE HUMAN PERFORMANCE UNIT OF OUR SPORTS CENTRE]
Kelly: We're here today with Billie-Jo Smith, one of our sports scholars at the University of Derby. And we're here in one of our state-of-the-art facilities, which is our Sports Center. Thank you ever so much for joining us today. And first of all, just tell us, what does it actually mean to be a sports scholar at the University of Derby?
Billie-Jo: So being a sports scholar basically means that we can combine our academic studies as well as compete a sport high level. So we get support in terms of not only academic support, but also strength conditioning, physiotherapy. And we kind of get guided as well through some of our professionals that we have as part of Team Derby.
Kelly: Great. And tell us a little bit about what your sport is, you're a professional golfer That's right isn't it? And compete at a very high level?
Billie-Jo: Yeah. So I'm currently on the Ladies European tour, so I turned professional a couple of years ago, which was just after I signed up to do my Ph.D. So I'm doing that full time as well. So basically it all started when I was about four years old. I kind of went to the golf club with my grandparents and then they eventually bought me some golf clubs on my fifth birthday. And from there I've not really looked back. I've competed kind of through the amateur ranks at County, Regional, and then in national and international level, and then decided to make the decision to turn professional.
Kelly: Excellent. And you're also studying here at the University of Derby as well. So tell us what you're studying and how you combine that with your professional golfing as well.
Billie-Jo: So I it's kind of all relative, to be honest. I'm studying biomechanics in the golf swing. So yeah, it's kind of relative to what I do on a day to day. And yeah, I use the HPU downstairs and record lots of golf swings and basically try and find some theories, things that I can find out from that. And yeah, writing lots of papers about it.
Kelly: It sounds like it's a lot of hard work and your schedule must be extremely busy. How has the university supported you and how has the sport scholarship benefited you in terms of your career goals and your future aspirations?
Billie-Jo: So I think a key thing about the sports scholarship is that we can follow a dual career path. So as I said before, we can take our studies and not necessarily kind of come and go as we wish, but we get support in how to structure playing. Well for me, playing golf at a high level and for other scholars, whichever sport that they're choosing to do, whilst at the same time kind of getting more of an understanding from academic staff why maybe we have missed the small deadline or we've had miss a lecture or something for training. So we kind of get a bit of support in that we can go and catch up. If we do meet a deadline, we can get a small extension to kind of help us with that, which also takes the pressure off us when we're competing. We don't want to be thinking about too many things at once when we're trying to do well at something.
Kelly: Excellent. And here today we're in our sports center, and this is one of the facilities you use. And you've mentioned our HPU, which is our Human Performance Unit. What other facilities do you use on site here and how does that help you in your studies and your sporting efforts as well?
Billie-Jo: Yes. So the HPU is mainly where I do my academic work. We've got a Viacon motion capture system in there and some force plates. Which is very high tech. So yeah, we're really lucky to have that as well. So that kind of helps me do what I do academically. Also, we have a new gym downstairs. It's just been refurbished as well as the gym that the scholars use. So during our sessions when we're doing strength and conditioning, we can use that as well. Other than that, we have kind of the whole sports center really I use and I find it quite comfortable in the fact that obviously I'm surrounded by people of kind of similar situations and we can speak amongst ourselves what we've been up to. As well as main campus, so in the atrium, it's quite a social area as well. So yeah, people can kind of come together and use all of those facilities.
Kelly: That's really great. And what advice would you give to somebody who's considering taking up a sports scholarship at the University of Derby? They want to pursue studies, but also combine that with their sporting aspirations as well. What would you say to them?
Billie-Jo: Having spoken to other people that have come from different universities, people that have gone to America as well. Well, I think the University of Derby is quite high up there in terms of how they support athletes and people that want a career in sport. I think that we not only get the really well, well, highly rated academic staff, but we also get the staff that help us with our progression in sport. And I think having both of those things in a university is quite rare. So I think I've been lucky enough to find this here and would hope that other people manage to do the same thing.
Kelly: That's great. Thank you so much for talking to us today. That's all from here in the sports center at the University of Derby.
[WE'RE BACK IN THE STUDIO WITH LUKE WHO IS NOW JOINED BY SARAH RICHARDSON, HEAD OF STUDENT SERVICES]
Luke: Welcome back. We know there is a clear link between well-being and academic success. So all of our students have access to services which are designed to support them. We're now joined by Sarah Richardson, who is the head of student Services, at Derby. Sarah. Hello.
Sarah: Hello,
Luke: How are you doing?
Sarah: I'm good, thank you.
Luke: Good, good, good. So firstly, Sarah, could you summarise what student services kind of supports with?
Sarah: Absolutely. So Student Services is there to provide the bulk of the pastoral support for our students to complement all the academic support that's available. Student Services consists of three key teams. That's our counselling and mental health team, which provides that emotional and mental health support that's really vital to our students. We've got our disability service, which provides key support for our disabled students. And then we've got our student life team that's there to support all of those other aspects that may students may find difficulty within during their studies.
Luke: Fantastic. Okay. Obviously, mental health is a massive priority for all of us. So what do we kind of have in place to make sure our students are taken care of in that area?
Sarah: Absolutely. It's so critical. We've obviously got the key services within my teams. We've got that clinical support, through our counselling, and mental health team. They offer counselling appointments and also mental health practitioner appointments. Through our disability service as well, students can access the disabled students allowance, which will also give them access to a specialist mental health mentor. Many of our students find that a really key support. The Student Life team as well offer a whole range of services, coping with difficulties with sleeping, anxiety, managing stress. And then we've got a lot of peripheral services around student services. Which are they really there just to link in and support good mental health.
Luke: Brilliant. Ok. And are there any are there any costs involved when accessing any of these services?
Sarah: No, absolutely not. All of our services are entirely free.
Luke: Fantastic. Okay. So some students may not need like clinical support, but may have other things kind going on that impact their studies. So is this the sort of situation in which students services can kind of help?
Sarah: Absolutely. We recognise that for students they're with us for three, four years plus, there's going to be ups and downs in life that students experience that that we all do. So we've got a range of services, particularly the student life team - difficulties students may have difficulties, relationships, disturbed, sleep, anxiety, exam stress. Those are all normal things that can happen during a student's time with us. So the student life team is absolutely there to help. We've also got as well the Talk Campus app, which is a fantastic peer on peer mental health support app. It can just allow students to reach out and engage with other students 24/7 around the globe, and they can just link in with students and just talk through some of the life difficulties that they might be experiencing.
Luke: Goodness. Brilliant. And similarly, I know you kind of touched on disability Student Allowance. So with regards to students that have disabilities, what kind things we have in place to support them?
Sarah: Yeah, absolutely. A huge range of support at Darby. So we've got a dedicated disabled team, disability team who ensure that a student once they've made contact with that team, is allocated a disability advisor. That advisor will assess the student and then talk to them about a bespoke package of support so that we the things that we can support on campus. And that might be extensions, it might be adaptions in the classroom, adaptions in accommodation. We'll also then support the student to apply for the disabled students' allowance and then that disabled disability advisor will be with the students throughout their student journey and will constantly review that support package to make sure that it's absolutely supporting the student's needs.
Luke: Excellent. Okay. And how do you kind of students access student services and should they be doing this before they they come to the city?
Sarah: Absolutely, absolutely. I would strongly urge students put it on their to do list before they come to us. Any student that is looking to come to the University of Derby can engage with the team, with the student services teams. They can actually start to put those supports in place so that when they get here, end of September, beginning of October, that support package is in place and they can just get on with study and get on with making friends. So they can either contact the team via email, telephone, all of those details on our web pages and the teams are already there. Happy to support.
Luke: That's incredible. Sarah, I have no more questions for you. So thank you so much.
Sarah: Thank you very much. Thank you!
Luke: We'll be back soon with more from our Open Day livestream.
(VIDEO: Graduation Memories)
[WE'RE BACK IN THE STUDIO WITH LUKE]
Luke: Welcome back. We've been watching out for your questions this morning, and now we're going to be answering them for you. We just got time to run through a few of the questions we have received so far and we'll reply to everybody else later on today. So first question, what is the nightlife like in Derby? So there's a variety of student nights to choose from, a number of clubs, bars and pubs with a range of different music and vibes.
Next up, is it easy to get part time work at Derby? Good question. So we have our own student employment agency, which can help you find work within or outside of the university.
Next up: with the cost of living crisis, are bills all inclusive with Halls? Really important question. So absolutely all of your utilities and Wi-Fi costs are covered.
Next up, is there wi-fi on campus? So there is free WiFi. It's available across all of our campus sites and it's also included within your halls of residence.
Next up, is all teaching now back face to face or is some still online? So all our campus based courses are taught in person and we do offer a range of digital resources designed to supplement your self-study outside of the classroom.
Next up, when do we need to sort accommodation? So you can apply for halls once you've firmed your offer with the university. For international students however, wherever you choose to live, we strongly advise you arrange it before you arrive into the UK as we don't want you to turn up with nowhere to live.
Next up, can I get an update on my CAS? So if you are looking for an update, you can email askadmissions@derby.ac.uk for questions around your application and cas@derby.ac.uk or international@derby.ac.uk for general queries. They can then direct you to the right place.
And last question - can we work while studying? So yes, students are free to find part time work outside of their studies. For international students, you would have a max allowance of 20 hours a week, but would need to make sure that you can still attend classes of course. Our international student hub can help with understanding what work is permitted.
And that's it.
A huge thank you to all students and staff who have been a part of our event today.
And for all of you joining us for our Open Day livestream.
Today's day is continuing for several more hours on campus.
So if you're on your way, we'll see you soon. If you'd like to what you've seen and want to come and visit, you can book your place now for our next event on Saturday, the 22nd of June, and you can book on our website. But if you're joining us from overseas or can't make it in person, our Virtual Tour is available whenever you need it. With more to see about our courses, city and accommodation on our website.
And from all of us here, it's a good bye for now.
(VIDEO: #LoveDerby)
Nat: Hi, I love working at Derby because I like being part of the college students centre teams. It's great to be able to support our students all the way through from enrolment to graduation. We get a lot of students in the college student centers that may be struggling and it's fantastic when we've been able to help and support them to achieve that degree and see them walk the stage during graduation.
Tola: As someone who works with international students from all around the world, I love the University of Derby because it presents an opportunity for students to over 50 countries to come and study with us. It's such a melting pot of different nationalities.
Steven: What I love about the University of Derby is our relationship with our partner organisations, excellent placement opportunities. It means our students can be the innovators and future leaders in our communities.
Sonal: I love coming to work at University of Derby to be part of a team and staff that are dedicated and committed to make sure our students can flourish and grow while they learn here. It's great to support our students, be their best selves, and be part of their onward learning journey.
Jack: I love how the university prioritises students and tailors the resources towards our needs. I love how my lecturers and tutors are so supportive and helped me achieve my potential as a student.
Naomi: I love the University of Derby because it gives so many opportunities for everybody to develop their skills. Working in the Library Skills team, I get to see that every day and it's brilliant.
Kirk: Why love about the University of Derby is the community feel: I work at the halls of residence and it is such a great place for the students to come and stay, meet other people and I think it really represents the university as a whole, which is a real lovely family environment.
Emma: What I love about working at the University of Derby is I get to engage with students from enrolment straight to see that progression to the end of their studies. And then it all ends with graduation and we how we can celebrate with them on their special day.
Mo: Some of the main reasons why I love working at the University of Derby as it's a fantastic place to work. It gives amazing opportunities for students and staff.
Olivia: I love Derby because we offer amazing opportunities to students. From work experience to part time jobs to graduate careers.
Martin: I love the University of Derby due to the positive impact it has on the student experience, and their academic journeys. Here at the Union of Students, we have the pleasure of working with the university to deliver a variety of different activities, whether that be supporting the student voice, delivering events and activities such as freshers or providing clubs and societies for those students looking to socialise. It's a pleasure to work with the university on all the things we do.
Samantha: I love working at the University of Derby Library because I remember what it was like to be a student. I remember the array of emotions from pure joy to pure panic, and I remember the consistency of the library being there for me. So I really love the fact that I now get to do that for students.
Arvin: There are many different reasons as to why I love the University of Derby. The main one for me is the different opportunities that you can seize.
So being alumni of the university and an ex Student I got involved with becoming a student ambassador, a content creator and academic representative. I now look forward to making a positive impact in the graduate scheme as an associate in marketing.
Uwaje: What I love about the University of Derby, is the support for diversity and communal living. As an international student, I believe one of our dreams when migrating to a new country is to settle in smoothly and seamlessly and get comfortable as fast as we can. The University of Derby is a great place to be because it supports diversity and communal living, which in the long run not only helps with personal development, but also professional growth, as this is what I am experiencing.
Ian: The thing I love most about the University of Derby is teaching. When teaching, I can be myself, and by creating a fun and exciting environment for students, I allow them to become the best versions of themselves.
Amber: What I love about Derby is that the University has a really strong commitment to ensure that our students are ready for the workplace and to make sure that when they leave university, they're ready to go straight into graduate level employment.
Adam: What I love about Derby is that it's a community that's big enough to contain a rich diversity of people from a whole range of traditions and backgrounds and perspectives, enabling all sorts of stimulating ideas and initiatives to emerge. But it's a community that's small enough so that you feel you can find a place within it, and a real sense of belonging. That's what I love about Derby.
Wisia: I love Derby as a staff member and as a student. I had the opportunity to explore my passion, and that's why Derby's brilliant!