St Mary’s Explores, Engages and Celebrates with Students and Staff

Earlier this week, St Mary’s University, Twickenham hosted a day of quizzes, online activities and challenges as a way to explore, engage and celebrate what it is like to be part of the University community. The event was organised as a way for staff and students to explore and better understand what it means to be part of the University community. A retro Routemaster bus adorned the main piazza, acting as an information hub for the six zones across campus which included the Student Journey, Communities, Learning, Energise, Social and Online. Each of the zones offered staff and students different opportunities to talk about what it is like to work and study at St Mary’s. In the Student Journey zone, a video diary tent recorded opinions on various aspects of the university life including how students use the study space around campus and what technologies they use to enhance their learning experience. A graffiti wall in the Communities Zone captured thoughts about what it’s like to study or work at St Mary’s, whilst exhibitors in the Learning Zone showed off all the latest technology available to students and staff. There was even a chance to win an iPad Air. St Mar’s Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr Claire Taylor said, “University Day provided a great opportunity for us to gather valuable information that will inform improvements for the St Mary's community going forwards. The data gathered will feed into a process mapping event called 'Visualising the Student Journey' which I hope will enable us to implement tangible benefits for staff and students alike.” The day concluded with a celebration barbecue, where helium balloons were released into the London skyline to celebrate St Mary’s being awarded University title at the beginning of the year and to symbolise the journey that students have taken at the end of three years.