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You Said, We Did!

By Nicole Lee
Tuesday, January 17, 2023

We constantly listen to your voice and make improvements in order to enhance student experience. Here is what you said and what we did!

1. Employability and Careers

You said: “We want more employability and careers events.”

We did: Careers Fairs, Guest Speakers, Industry Visits, Additional Qualifications – all paid for by the University – see example below.

Guest Lectures

This year, BABM welcomed Phillippos Economides to speak on International Financial Management and BALM invited Dan Corcoran to speak on Workplace Culture and its impact on Organisational Efficiency.

Careers Fair

In July, students had the opportunity to attend the Careers Fair where sixteen local, regional and national businesses were represented.

Dementia Bus

In October 22, Health and Social Care students had a unique glimpse into the experience of dementia when the ‘Dementia Bus’, an immersive dementia tour.

“An extremely valuable and exciting training course.”  – BSc Health and Social Care Term 1 Student

Bruntwood SciTECH Innovation Centre Visit

Also in October, BA BM and BA BL students got to visit Bruntwood  SciTech Innovation Centre Birmingham campus.

“Great day and invaluable in my future career development.” - BA Level 6 Student

2. Additional Employability Courses

Enterprise Hub

In September, we launched the Enterprise Hub. Based in Birmingham, the hub was set up to effectively address entrepreneurship, development of enterprise skills and employability across our student body.

"The support I have had in developing my business ideas and the mentoring I have received from the staff in the Enterprise Hub has been first rate." - BA BM Level 6 Student

First Aid and Mental Health First Aid

There have been numerous extracurricular courses on offer for students, including emergency first aid, mental health first aid, counselling skills.

“I now feel confident to help someone in case of emergency I wouldn't have attempted to before this course.” – BSc HSC Level 5 Student

“Thank you so much for this brilliant first aid course I now feel much more confident in giving first aid and my employer is very impressed.” – BSc HSC Level 6 Student

3. Study Skills

You said: “More Study Sessions.”

We did: Our regular study skills sessions are now run both in person and online to make sure they are accessible to all.

You said: “We need more physical copies of textbooks for Health and Social Care.”

We did: We distributed hard copies of 'Introduction to Health and Social Care' and 'Health and Social Care Literature Review.

You said: “Can you help with more sessions on excel please?”

We did: The Digiskills advisors have been visiting classes and are available to assist.

You said: “We would like more practical teaching/events so that we can have examples of theory in practice.”

We did:

  • The Dementia Bus
  • Visits to Bruntwood Innovation trip (see above)
  • Mental Health First Aid Course
  • Emergency First Aid courses
  • Counselling skills

1:1 sessions with students on a bookable basis

In these meetings we have worked with students to overcome their problems and find solutions for them to continue their studies with us.

“I had amazing support from the student services team today and now am ready to re-engage with my study thank you so much.” – BSc HSC Level 6 Student

4. Educational Visits

London Health and Social Care Student Trip

In December, Health and Social Care students took a trip to London. The group explored The Florence Nightingale Museum which celebrates the life and work of the best-known figure in nursing history.

BSc HSC students described their experience as ‘inspiring’, ‘thrilling’, ‘a nice atmosphere’ and ‘thoroughly enjoyable’. 

London Business Student Trip

Also in December, business students set off on a day trip to London where they had a tour of the City Finance district. They saw sights, such as the London Stock Exchange, Guildhall, the Bank of England, Lloyds of London, Rothschild's and more.

“I found the visit to the London Financial was really beneficial to enhancing my career and getting to know more students and staff.” - BA BM Student Level 6

More information can be found here: London Day Trips for Birmingham Students

Day Trip to Oxford

In the Spring of 2022, students took part in a day trip to Oxford, where they were given a tour of the colleges, enjoyed lunch and leisure time exploring the city in the afternoon.

“I loved being in Oxford and having the tour and meal. I especially enjoyed meeting other students at various stages of their studies. Level 4 all the way to students about to graduate this June. I gained valuable insight into the personal struggles and how they were able to overcome them. As this gave me perspective and a renewed motivation to continue on.” – BSc HSC Level 5 Student

Overnight Trip to Wales

Overnight Wales trips were offered to students in August. They first visited the UWTSD campus in Carmarthen (the oldest town in Wales) and UWTSD’s campus in Lampeter.

5. Learning Resources

1:1 sessions with students on a bookable basis

The Birmingham Student Services team have offered an increased number of 1:1 meetings with students to overcome barriers to education.

"The Library team has been so supportive in developing my referencing and information literacy skills and this has greatly helped with my assessments." – BA BM Level 6 Student

You said: “Can we have access to more learning resources?”

We did:

  • We have purchased more than 300 new e-books and journals!
  • We distributed hard copies of the Harvard Review Book and the Leadership Handbook to business students
  • We distributed hard copies of 'Introduction to Health and Social Care' and 'Health and Social Care Literature Review' to Health and Social Care Students

”The Health and Social Care core textbook provided by the University has been so helpful for my modules.” - BSc HSC Level 6 Student

  • The Library team has visited over 80 classes and delivered 250 online and face to face support sessions for students.

“I have been so well supported by Doreen the Librarian in using the appropriate resources for my assessments – she is amazing.” – CertHE HSC Student

6. Student Voice and Student Wellbeing

You said: “Can we have more nutritious snacks on campus? Can we have a café at Quay Place, please?”

We did:

  • We have made the vending machines more accessible by installing card readers. We have also installed state-of-the-art water points giving access to hot and cold water at the touch of a button.
  • Vending machines now offer a range of more nutritious snacks.
  • There are also fridges and microwaves available for student use.

We also did:

  • Leaving party for BALM students
  • 138 students received devices through the Digital Connectivity Bursary
  • 10 students received the Academic Excellence Bursary
  • Defibrillators have been installed
  • Dedicated disabled parking bays for disabled students
  • Automatic door installed at main entrance to make building more accessible 
  • There have been foodbank donations to Sparkhill
  • We held a Macmillan Coffee Morning

7. Campus Development

You said: “Can we have more student social space and additional classrooms?"

We did:

  • At Quay Place we invested in the ground floor of Vincent House creating a large student social space and 4 classrooms.
  • The social space includes a water fountain, new vending machines, sofas, charging points.
  • At Sparkhill we upgraded all student spaces, classrooms, and installed study booths throughout.