Campus Services news

Director's Update

It has been wonderful to see so many of you back on campus. As government restrictions have eased, I’ve enjoyed meeting people face to face for the first time and welcoming furloughed staff back to the team. I know that we’re all looking forward to working together in person again and seeing the buzz return to campus as more people get out and about to enjoy the spring sunshine.

Understandably, many of you may still be anxious about returning to work. Your safety is paramount and we’re working hard to safeguard your wellbeing by making campus as COVID-secure as possible. Please do speak to your line manager if you have any concerns.

I recognise that the last few weeks have been particularly difficult for those involved in the service reviews. I understand this is a worrying time. Please be assured ideas and suggestions to proposals are welcomed and will be given due consideration. With your help, I am sure we can further enhance the services we offer to students, staff and other key stakeholders.

With the vaccine rollout progressing well, preparations now turn to the new academic year and how we best adapt to the ever-evolving way we operate. This newsletter will highlight some of the initiatives that will ensure 2021/22 is a positive year for all. Certainly, as one of the few institutions able to show students around our campus safely, and even offer graduation ceremonies for final year students, our reputation as one of the best universities in the UK will only be further enhanced.

Once again, thank you for all your efforts and I do hope to bump into you on campus soon. Please do stop me to say ‘hello’.

Simon Bray, Director of Campus Services

Spring into Summer

Last month, staff from across the University and the Guild have come together to bring Spring into Summer to life – an exciting season of street food and outdoor activities, based at University Square.

Each week, until the end of the semester, students can journey around the world via our many food stalls, enjoy giant garden games on the Green Heart or relax with yoga, baking and crafting sessions. Students will also have the chance to try their hand at mini-golf and table tennis and participate in sports activities with UB Sport.

Alongside in-person events, we will also be running virtual activities to give students who have yet to return to campus the best student experience possible. As restrictions ease further, we will be adding new offers to the schedule to enhance student life both off- and on-campus.

UB Sport and Fitness

Sport Facilities Re-open

Sport & Fitness and Tiverton Gym have opened their doors once again.

To celebrate, Sport and Fitness kicked off their first week with 70 children on intensive swimming lessons and 222 people taking part in outdoor fitness classes, including Tai Chi on the hockey pitches (pictured).

24 sports clubs returned to training under the ‘Test to Play’ initiative, with nearly 1,000 students attending and logging negative flow tests for the University’s tracing system.

To top the week off, over 100 new members joined the club, whilst existing members rushed to kick-start their exercise routines. 

Experience the Great Outdoors at the Raymond Priestley Centre

With the weather getting warmer, and bank holidays and half terms on the horizon, now’s the perfect time to embrace the great outdoors at the University’s outdoor education centre in the Lake District.

Perched on the picturesque banks of Coniston Water, the Raymond Priestley Centre is open for bookings for households and, from 17th May, will be open for two families to stay together. From here, you can explore the stunning Lake District from your doorstep.

Whether you choose to mountain hike or take a boat out on the lake, the centre offers a break from the city’s hustle and bustle and is perfectly placed for you to enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside.

With self-catered accommodation starting from £500 for 6-12 people (4 nights), the centre offers excellent value for money for adventures in one of the most sought-after locations in the Lakes.

Ready to explore? Click here to get in touch with the team and book your getaway. 

Keeping You Safe 

From enhanced cleaning schedules to social distancing, a variety of measures have been put into place to enable you to work with confidence. You can find out more about these via the ‘Return to Campus’ Canvas course, which all staff should complete before returning to campus. 

The University also continues to offer free, rapid asymptomatic testing for staff and students. You can book a test in the Great Hall (open Monday and Thursday) via the intranet or take advantage of our walk-in centre in the Duck and Scholar. This centre is open Tuesday and Friday from 11:00am to 6:45pm (closed 2:00-2:45pm).

To ensure staff can access asymptomatic test as easily as possible, we are looking to provide home testing kits to staff, free of charge (interest permitting). If you would like home testing kits to be made available from campus, please express your interest online via a short survey.

Celebrating the Business and Operations Team

Mjriam Ganci, from the Starbucks Muirhead Tower team, has successfully completed the Starbucks Coffee Master Programme, a scheme that trains employees to be the best of the best.

As a certified Starbucks Coffee Master, Mjriam is now an official expert in all things coffee. She will be wearing her esteemed black apron with pride.

Achievement has also been high in the Costa University Centre team.

Following on from great feedback from a senior manager from Costa HQ, Alfredo Sanchez-Vaquez, Store Manager, has been formally recognised for his excellent customer service.

On 23rd March, Alfredo was presented with a coveted Bronze Flying Bean badge for his exceptional service and received a ‘Grazie Card’ – a personalised thank you from the Costa brand – commending him for the kindness and generosity he’s shown to his customers. 

For Red Nose Day 2021, staff across our food and drink outlets put the ‘fun’ in fundraising by donning an array of fancy dress, from red deely boppers to superhero capes. Across campus and The Vale, the team served gluten-free cupcakes and jammy shortbread cookies all in the name of charity; 10% of the sales of each item were donated to Red Nose Day.

Sustainability on Campus

Campus’ New Community Compost Project

The volunteer-run community garden ‘Grow with Joe’ continues to add to the Green Heart’s eco credentials.

In March, Campus Services partnered with the Conservation Volunteers at the Guild to purchase two insulated compost bins for the garden, as well as a clean receiver station for food waste. The garden’s new clean and efficient composting system will turn food scraps from staff and students into a high-quality growing medium to cultivate organic produce. 

Conservation volunteers with Jade Willets, Environmental Officer

Green Impact

Green Impact continues to grow from strength to strength on campus. Since the launch of the Green Impact 2021 programme, 26 teams from across the University have pledged to work more sustainably. 5 of these are from Campus Services and include Business and Operations, Conferences and events, Sport and Fitness, Staff House Savers and Team Terrace Huts.

As part of the programme, teams are equipped with toolkits tailored to their area of work to help them implement environmentally and socially sustainable practices into their day-to-day activities.

Environmental Services are hosting a virtual coffee morning via Teams for all Green Impact staff on Tuesday 11th May at 10:30am. A Campus Services working group has also been established for participants to share best practice and discuss their progress. For further details, please contact Jade Willets at j.y.willetts@bham.ac.uk.  

Sustainability Branding and Communications

Did you know that there’s a branded toolkit for sustainability-related projects? An exciting part of this is the ‘Sustainability

The stamp is an important way to communicate that S&SR are at the core of what the University does and the decisions it makes. Therefore, staff are encouraged to use it wherever it’s appropriate. at Heart’ stamp, which can be used to proudly showcase projects, initiatives and products that align with the University’s sustainability and social agenda (S&SR) strategy.

The heart stamp has already been added to vehicles in the electric fleet and it is hoped that we’ll be seeing it much more around campus in the coming months.

For any marketing materials you require, featuring the sustainability stamp or otherwise, please contact Campus Services Marketing at csmarketing@bham.ac.uk. 

Energy Survey

The University is working towards net-zero carbon emissions, with support from technology company Siemens. People, processes and technology are essential to achieving this goal, which is why all staff are encouraged to share their experience in an energy survey.

Your feedback will help the University better understand current energy usage behaviours and practices across campus and inform our future sustainability plans. To thank you for your time, you will be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 ethical superstore voucher. 

Your 2022 Commonwealth Games Update

Next year, our campus will be the official host venue for hockey and squash and the training venue for athletics and swimming. It will also be home to the largest of three Athlete Villages, which will host around 3,000 athletes and technical officials.

To ensure that that the University adopts an integrated and joined-up approach to its involvement with the Games, Campus Services has welcomed Tom Clift to the team as its Commonwealth Games Venue Operations Project Manager.

Tom will manage the operational and logistical commitments the University will deliver for the duration of the Games, and work to minimise any disruptions caused to the University’s business as usual operations.

Tom has attended or been a part of the last four Olympic and three Commonwealth Games and has previously worked as a Games delivery partner, administrator, ambassador and volunteer.

Hosting the Commonwealth Games is a once in a generation opportunity for Birmingham and the West Midlands to showcase what we can offer to a global audience. The Games has the potential to enrich the lives of everyone living in the region through the cultural, educational and economic opportunities it will provide, benefitting the city/region long after the baton’s been proudly passed on to the next host city.    

The Exchange

Work at The Exchange, the University’s new exhibition space and events venue, continues at pace. The contractors are making excellent progress on-site in preparation for a full handover at the end of July. Campus Services will then prepare the venue in time for its launch in September.

The opening of The Exchange marks a new chapter for the University as Matt Knight, Venue Manager, can attest: “this is a hugely exciting time for Campus Services, and the wider University, as we prepare to mobilise our new city centre venue and increase our visibility in the heart of our city”.

You can find out more about The Exchange here or take a look around the venue with a virtual tour.

Worklink for Campus Services’ Managers 

Worklink offers a range of services for hiring managers across the University, including tailored advice, end-to-end recruitment campaigns, processing new casual work requests and more.

As part of a recent service review, Worklink has launched a monthly newsletter for hiring managers to support them in casual resourcing needs.

To keep up to date with the latest news, you can sign up to the team’s mailing list via the online Worklink portal.

University Nurseries – Spaces Available

The University of Birmingham has 3 award-winning day nurseries – The Elms, The Oaks and The Maples – located close to the Edgbaston and Selly Oak campuses. An ideal childcare solution for University staff, the nurseries provide high-quality education and care for children between 6 weeks and 4 years old, in settings that allow little ones to flourish.

There are spaces currently available across all 3 nurseries for under 3s, with bookings now taking place for September 2021. There is also some availability for the 3-4 age group; however, spaces are limited. To find out more, visit the nurseries’ website or contact the following people:

• The Elms Nursery: Selina Hunt, 0121 414 8118
• The Oaks Nursery: Emily Grainger, 0121 414 7999
• The Maples: Heather Bench, 0121 415 9222

Edgbaston Park Hotel Re-opens

The hotel has stayed open to support key workers and NHS staff over the past year; however, with lockdown restrictions easing, the hotel intends to be fully open for overnight stays, meetings and dining by June this year.

On 12th April, the hotel opened its doors for outdoor dining and launched a brand-new terrace space and menu in celebration. With an array of tempting tapas, the new Terrace Tapas Menu is ideal for enjoying in the sunshine. Why not take a break and try it for yourself? The Terrace opens at noon every day for alfresco dining. 

 The next phase of reopening is to come on 17th May, with indoor dining in the hotel’s lounge and bar. Lunch will be served from noon, and dinner from 6pm, every day. The hotel expects to open fully from 21st June when restrictions on the numbers of people allowed to attend weddings and other events are relaxed.  

The hotel has put several safety measures in place to ensure that people can dine, stay and meet with confidence.

For bookings, please visit the Edgbaston Park Hotel website here or call the team on 0121 414 8888. 

Pritchatts Park Redevelopment (DBFO) 

As part of the University’s ambitious Birmingham 2026 plan, in 2018 planning was sought for the development of new student accommodation and car parking facilities at Pritchatts Park village. To secure investment for such a project, the University determined that a DBFO – design, build, finance and operate – structure was ideal and, following a tendering process, ENGIE-Equitix Consortium has been appointed as the preferred partner.

Equitix is a prominent UK infrastructure investor and developer, whilst ENGIE is a leading energy and servicing specialist, with a focus on sustainability. Together, in partnership with the University, they will turn Pritchatts Park into a state-of-the-art, low carbon campus.

The current Pritchatts Park car park will be knocked down to make room for 496 new, highly energy-efficient student homes, which will be built in a modern townhouse model, and a 482-space multi-storey car park. 734 existing rooms will also be refurbished to elevate them to modern standards.

The redevelopment has been planned carefully with sustainability, student experience and the local area in mind. The village’s townhouses will complement the buildings and infrastructure of the existing area and the entire scheme will be powered and heated completely by electricity – 100% of which will come from renewable energy sources. The new car park, available to staff and students, will also boast 24 EV charging points.

Work will commence this summer to ensure that the new car park and the first of the townhouse builds will be ready for handover to Campus Services by September 2022. The project is on course to be completed by August 2023.

New Starters

There are two new faces within the Campus Services senior management team – Andy Allford, Director of Sport and Fiona Wilkie, Director of Business and Operations.

Andy Allford

Andy has a strong track record of working across the sporting industry, working within both performance and commercial roles.

He spent seven years at the University of Hertfordshire, where he was Head of Health, Fitness and Performance and was part of the team that relocated the sports services to a purpose-built Hertfordshire Sports village. 

Andy then spent 6 years in performance sport working for the English Institute of Sport, holding lead roles for the Paralympic Association and also for Badminton culminating in the position of Olympic Team Leader for London 2012.

He then moved to King’s College London to set up the King’s Sport division with a remit to increase the student engagement, whilst balancing the commercial aspects.

Andy started in post as Director of Sport at UoB in January. He is excited to be leading the team across all facets of sport from Participation, through to elite Performance, stating that “Birmingham seems to have sport as part of its DNA”. He will also bring his wealth of experience and knowledge to help in the delivery of the Commonwealth Games in 2022.

Fiona Wilkie

Fiona Wilkie has been appointed to the position of Director of Business and Operation, becoming the newest member of the Campus Services senior management team. Fiona will be a familiar face to some colleagues, as she has been working with the hospitality team in a consultative role, up until her permanent appointment on 1st February 2021.

Fiona previously worked as the Director of Business Management and Support within the Campus Division of the University of Bristol. She was appointed to shape and execute strategy, providing direction for the Business Management and Support functions. Before this, she was the Deputy Director of Residential and Hospitality Service with responsibility for a diverse portfolio of professional services teams.

Whilst at the University of Bristol, Fiona worked as a residential Warden for over 15 years; and has a genuine passion for student wellbeing and community. She has also delivered sessions as a visiting lecturer on the specialist subject of Organisational Behaviour for undergraduates and on executive management courses.

The newly formed Business and Operations division within Campus Services are made up of the hospitality and retail teams. Fiona will use her wealth of knowledge and extensive experience to lead these areas of the Campus Services portfolio, and is very excited to shape the new strategic direction going forward. Fiona is also keen to build on the areas of student engagement and wellbeing at the university.

Shaun Fletcher

We would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Shaun Fletcher, the new University of Birmingham Police Officer.

Shaun has been a Police Office for 19 years, mainly serving within Birmingham city centre on the frontline. He has also assisted with Crime Prevention initiatives throughout the region.

He is looking forward to using his experience to contribute to university life; increasing students’ awareness of safety and supporting staff across campus. His work will link closely with colleagues in Security Services and with the local Neighbourhood teams, providing intelligence-led, pro-active support to the university community.

Shaun will be based in the Police and Partnership Hub, in University Centre (near Spar).

Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre

The hotel held its annual (virtual) award ceremony in early January, to acknowledge staff successes and celebrate achievements of the last 12 months.

Awards were presented for Employee of the Year, Manager of the Year, Department of the Year and Unsung Hero of the Year. 

There were also four awards presented to staff or teams who best demonstrated the hotel’s values – working together, caring, improving and excelling. 

Supporting our students

Over 700 students remained in accommodation over the Christmas period. The accommodation team made regular contact with residents to ensure they were ok, given the limitations on mixing and social activities.

On Christmas Day, members of the hospitality team served lunch to nearly 200 students. Whilst the Government restrictions meant that we could only offer a takeaway food option, Christmas spirit was in large supply from the team, and the students greatly appreciated our efforts.

Since Christmas we have been offering students “lockdown lunches” every Wednesday. These complementary takeaway lunches have proved to be a brilliant way for members of Campus Services to check on the wellbeing of our students; giving them some additional support during these challenging times.

We also continue to support students with the provision of self-isolation grocery boxes. These are distributed to students, who find themselves having to isolate due to the virus; and contain complementary, essential food items to tide them over until larger online food deliveries arrive.

UoBe Festival

The inaugural UoBe Festival took place last month. Delivered by the University and the Guild of Students, this was originally planned to be a face to face experience, following the semester one assessment period. Due to the ongoing restrictions caused by the pandemic, the entire festival moved online with virtual activities developed across five key themes – Community, Varsity, Skills, Social and Wellbeing.

There was a diverse range of events, activities and talks; with something for everyone whatever their interests. Some highlights included digital graffiti, the Vice-Chancellor's Challenge, cookery classes led by Dr Rupy Aujla, plus some high-profile speakers such as Clarke Carlisle (ex-professional footballer) talking about mental health, and Emmanuel Asuquo (TV financial advisor) explaining how to master your finances.

The Sport & Fitness team led the Varsity strand of the festival. Participants were challenged to undertake a virtual race from Birmingham UK, to Birmingham, Alabama, USA, by logging their kilometres through walking, running or cycling in the local area. Students and staff represented their colleges, with EPS storming ahead to win the race by travelling 3815km in total.

The Bramall technical team supported in the delivery of the virtual events for UoBe Festival – including the production of these stunning live projections on to the side of the Old Joe clock tower on behalf of the Student Services team, on what was a very cold and snowy evening.

Experience some of the festival content 

Home Workout Hub Returns for Lockdown 3.0

The Home Workout Hub offers a range of free pre-recorded and live virtual classes for members of Sport & Fitness, students and staff who want to keep active at home during lockdown. Over 2,500 people have joined so far and the student recruitment team are even using the platform to showcase how we engage with students remotely.

The Hub provides a variety of our members’ favourite fitness classes, from Body Pump to Yoga, as on-demand videos on Vimeo, and a timetable of weekly live classes on Zoom.

If you would like to make use of the Home Workout Hub, sign up using the web form, to receive links to the videos and live classes.

Elite Athlete Training During Lockdown 3.0

Fifty-three athletes have been classified as ‘elite’ by their national governing bodies and have been cleared to use the University’s performance facilities, as per the current government regulations.

These elite athletes are supported by Performance Centre practitioners and coaches, and are allowed to use the University’s athletics track, squash courts, performance gym and physiology lab. Amongst the athletes are world-class netballer Fran Williams, bronze medallist at the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup, and squash player Joel Makin, who is currently ranked number 9 in the world.

University train station development

The arrival of the Commonwealth Games in 2022 will be matched with a major upgrade to the University station.

Transport for West Midlands is leading a consortium including the University of Birmingham, Birmingham City Council, Network Rail, West Midlands Trains and the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP to fund the £56 million project, which will see the redevelopment and expansion of the station.  

Alongside additional passenger capacity, the project will deliver a larger, modern station and enhanced facilities including more lifts, a ticket office, shop and public toilets, helping to give competitors and sports fans an experience to remember.

Virtual Museum of Printing

In October 2020 the Printing Historical Society (PHS) Committee approved a proposal, presented by the National Printing Heritage Committee (NPHC), for a web-based ‘virtual’ British Printing Museum.

The concept, which has been developed by Lee Hale, from Winterbourne House and Garden, is entirely new. The site will be a platform for print historians, practitioners and heritage professionals across the nation to contribute data, images, video and narrative relating to their collections. Visitors will engage not just with one virtual museum, but with a range of physical collections from all over the country, many of which would otherwise be inaccessible.

The objective of the museum will be to bring “as much of the nation’s printing-historical resources as possible together on one virtual collective museum site”. It will also allow for improved connections, knowledge transfer and potential training opportunities.

The site will be developed and managed by the Museums Steering Group, of which Lee is the Chair. Plans are now underway for the build of the website and the collation of site contributors, donors and sponsors.

Student Accommodation

The University has signed off rent rebates until 12 April, for those students who have not been allowed to return to their student accommodation. This has meant that the team have been extremely busy, responding to student emails, rent rebate queries and questions.

The Vale continues to be popular with students, staff and local residents as a place to go for daily exercise, with beautiful scenery and wildlife.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Scheme 2021 - 2024  

The promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion is central to the mission and vision of the University of Birmingham.

On our founding in 1900 as the UK’s frst civic university, our core commitment was to accept women and people of all religious backgrounds as equal members of the University community. Today, addressing inequalities and promoting greater understanding and inclusion continues to be one of the key challenges that we face as part of a global society.

As a higher education institution, our role in society is to increase understanding. This takes place through our research and teaching and by enabling all our students to develop the skills they need as citizens in a global society. A diversity of perspectives and lived experiences is essential to underpinning the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate that is at the heart of our academic mission.

Campus services is committed to playing its part within this EDI scheme. Its aims are:

• Being proactive in celebrating and harnessing our diversity
• Listening to our students and staff and taking action to address the structural barriers within the University that can prevent groups from fulfilling their potential
• Taking steps to foster an organisational culture where equality, diversity and inclusion are embedded at all levels
• Recognising that understanding equality, diversity and inclusion issues is a key competency for our staff and students and has a substantial impact on individual interactions and experiences.

Monica Guise is the Campus Services lead on the EDI scheme.

Staff Wellbeing

Last month was ‘Time to Talk’ day, which aimed tochange the way we think about mental health problems.

From virtual coffee mornings to a quick message or chat with a colleague, Time to Talk encouraged us all to take some time to reach out to one another and have a non-work-related conversation.

We wanted to take this opportunity to remind staff of some of the sources of support available at what remains a challenging time for us all.

• At the end of last year, Workplace Wellbeing launched the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). The EAP is a confidential employee designed programme to help you deal with personal and professional problems that could be affecting your home life or work life, health and general wellbeing.
  
• The wellbeing employee hub draws together all wellbeing initiatives that are taking place across the University.
  
• Staff networks provide a forum for staff from particular groups to discuss challenges that they are facing and offer peer support.

Closing Loops at the University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham are sector-leaders in waste and resource management and are proud to have implemented their “zero waste to landfill” policy for over a decade. Following this success, the University is transitioning from a linear system, to a more circular model of resource management.

Warp-It

The University has had a particular focus on repurposing redundant items of furniture and lab equipment, adopting a standardised approach to furniture procurement and raising awareness across staff of the services available to reduce impacts, minimise costs and generate an income for teams.

Warp-It is an online platform which enables staff, to redistribute and reuse surplus items internally or, since 2020, with partner organisations (including local charities and schools), giving them a new life rather than just throwing them away. Since the scheme’s launch in 2018, the University has saved 34 tonnes of CO2, planted the equivalent of 46 trees and saved over £78,000 in disposal and related costs.

UniGreenScheme

The University’s programme for recovery, repair and resale of technical equipment is delivered through an alumni founded company, UniGreenScheme. Since its pilot in 2016, the team has collected over 5,600 pieces of lab equipment with a total weight of  in excess of 140 tonnes, generating £100,635 of funds for the teams involved. Without UniGreenScheme, all of this unwanted equipment would have ended up in waste disposal or recycling

Circularity is facilitated by standardisation allowing for greater reuse potential. With this and opportunities for non-pay efficiencies in mind, the University has created a new furniture supply contract with Elite Furniture. The high-quality products are sustainably sourced, with considerations for recycled content, reduced packaging and durability. The level of consistency achieved across the institution allows for items to be exchanged via Warp-It more easily. 

Although redundant furniture and lab equipment have long been considered a disposal problem, they are now valued as a resource. Redistributing the equipment has led to less cluttered and more efficient facilities. Whilst there are barriers to selling and exchanging, they can be overcome through engagement, and reap substantial benefits for the institution. 

Worklink updates

As part of the Worklink service review project, a number of changes were launched on 1 September 2020. The service returned to its original purpose as a student casual work agency, and non-student casual work was transferred to HR Operations. As well as re-focusing the service, a range of service enhancements were launched including improved processes, updated guidance and a new Worklink portal.

Following Autumn term 2020, the Worklink team are currently undertaking a review of all changes implemented in September 2020 in collaboration with HR Operations, and are in the process of implementing further business enhancements.

A Hiring Manager feedback group has been established to inform this review, and further volunteers are invited to register through our portal. For further information on Worklink, please visit our webpages.

Worklink (in collaboration with HR) and Accommodation have been selected for a Chatbot pilot on behalf of the University of Birmingham. Work on the project will be developed over the coming weeks.  

Winterbourne

The gardens at Winterbourne remain open during this period of national restriction and UoB staff are entitled to free entry on production of their staff ID card.

This year, Winterbourne House and Garden took over responsibility for the University Herbarium, a collection of endangered plant specimens dating from the early 1800s to the mid-20^th century.  The correspondence associated with this collection tells an important story about early plant collecting, and thanks to an intern recruited through the College of Arts and Law Experience Arts Scheme, we have been able to explore that story in depth. Work is now underway on an exhibition.

If you’re starting to think about Christmas gifts – look no further. Winterbourne gift memberships start at just £32 a year and include unlimited access, two seasonal Members Magazines plus 10% off plant sales. Visit https://www.winterbourne.org.uk/support-us/membership/ to find out more.

Food donations

At the start of November, the catering team took time to deliver approximately £5,000 worth of food stock to a local food bank in Northfield.

During half term, The Oaks Day Nursery also supported Northfield Food Service, providing lunch and tea meals to support their school meals campaign. The team also collected food for both Northfield and Quinton food banks for their Harvest Collection, filling two shopping trolleys of food and easy meals.

Commonwealth Games

The campus will welcome athletes and spectators during the 2022 Commonwealth Games, from 28 July to 8 August 2022. The hockey and squash competitions will take place in Sport & Fitness and on the outdoor pitches, and The Vale will be used as the main athlete village, hosting over 2,800 guests.

The University was also recently announced as an official partner of Birmingham 2022, creating opportunities for volunteering for staff and students. You can keep up to date on the latest news via a dedicated intranet page.

Security

Security Services took part in Welcome Week this year, offering Crime Prevention tips and free D-locks to the students.

Bike theft remains the focus of crime in the area at the moment, so if you’re still cycling to campus make sure you register your bike with the Bike Register.

In the mean time the security team have been busy patrolling campus and ensuring that visitors, staff and students embrace our new COVID secure culture; working with colleagues from Student Services and Community Wardens to provide a safe student experience during this difficult time.

Security Services will continue to offer 24h a day support throughout national restrictions, Christmas and beyond.

Sport

During the second period of national restrictions, Sport & Fitness launched a Home Workout Hub for members to access previously-recorded classes and workouts. So far, there’s been a great uptake with over 1000 members accessing the exclusive footage.

Self-Isolation

During this last term, the team have supported students with 775 complimentary self-isolation grocery boxes. These food boxes have been delivered to students who have either reported symptoms of Covid-19 or have had to self-isolate due to a house mate reporting symptoms.

Staff from Catering, Accommodation, Events and Sport have gone above and beyond in their delivery of multiple daily food packages, wellbeing support and a Canvas-based Home Workout Hub, accessible for students who have had to self-isolate in accommodation. The innovative and pioneering spirit of the teams to get these projects designed, executed and delivered has been inspiring.

Nurseries

The Elms and Oaks Day Nurseries have both achieved the Platinum Just Quality Accreditation this month; an award-winning programme which helps nurseries to demonstrate, through evaluation and reflection, the positive impact they make on children’s lives.

The Elms Day Nursery has also been shortlisted in the Initiatives - Team Development Award category of the Nursery World Awards, which will take place in February; and the Mapleshas achieved the award of an Attachment and Trauma school, meaning they are able to better support children who have experienced trauma, toxic stress and attachment difficulties, who will have more emotional and mental health needs.

Keeping the seasonal spirit alive, Winterbourne donated almost 100 pumpkins to the Oaks Day Nursery and the children had a fabulous week of pumpkin trails.

The Exchange

Opening in September 2021, The Exchange – the University’s new city centre venue – will bring together the city of Birmingham to shape ideas and solutions that will make our cities and regions better places in which to live, work and learn.

There will be an all-staff briefing on 3 December at 11am, where you will be able to see a virtual tour of the redevelopment of the former municipal bank in Centenary Square and learn how The Exchange will use the University’s research and teaching to create a place of curiosity, celebration, collaboration and change. Keep an eye on your emails for registration details.

University train station

The proposed new University train station will provide flagship facilities to accommodate future rail passenger growth and act as a fitting gateway to the world class hospitals and University campus.

Including a new station building, toilets and shop, the redevelopment will be able to host over 7 million passengers a year, compared to the current 500,000 capacity in the existing station that dates from 1978. Construction is set to commence in the New Year.

Cycle to work scheme

The new Cycle-to-Work scheme opened in October 2020 offering members of staff a new bike and equipment worth up to £3000, and the opportunity to make large tax and NI savings via a salary sacrifice.

Find out how the scheme works, eligibility criteria, and how to order on the HR intranet. All ordering, whether from your local bike shop or direct from Cycle Solutions, the scheme provider, is done via the university’s dedicated landing page.

Ceri Griffin, our Cycle Solutions account manager, can support with any questions you may have - contact cerig@cyclesolutions.co.uk.

Voluntary Leavers Scheme (VLS)

This year has been unlike any other, and one of the results of these changes has been the introduction of the Voluntary Leavers Scheme. This scheme will see a number of our valued and dedicated colleagues finishing their time with us towards the end of this year. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have applied for the scheme, for their ongoing support and commitment to their roles with us. We wish you all the best with your future plans.

Training

Campus Services staff should continue to undertake a number of mandatory training courses, to ensure that we are up to date with the basic health and safety knowledge and processes at the University. Including courses such as GDPR and IT security, all courses are available on Canvas – you just need your University login and password to access.

Awards

We are pleased to be shortlisted at the CUBO Awards 2020 in the Best Campus Experience category. The award winners will be announced on Thursday 3^rd December as part of the Winter Conference.

The Edgbaston Park Hotel was also a finalist in the recent Conference & Hospitality Show Awards for Independent Hotel of the Year.

Congratulations to everyone involved.

Virtual Events

The Conference & events team have launched a series of virtual and hybrid event packages, which mean that they can continue to support customers with meetings and events, despite the ongoing national restrictions. You can find out more via this short film.

Christmas recipes

Thanks to Stewart Turner from the catering team, for the following Christmas themed recipes.

A message from Simon

Security Services

Security  and  is heavily involved in the reopening of  campus, making sure that we can all return to spaces in a safe and secure way.

Cleaning Services

More and more of the cleaning team have returned to campus and are  working hard to prepare buildings for reopening. As each member of cleaning services returns to work, they have been undergoing detailed training, to ensure that they are up to speed on all the latest cleaning practices and best practice.

Post, Portering and Transport

The post team have continued to work through the pandemic, to take delivery of all the letters and parcels for campus. The  photos show just how much there is to be distributed, once everyone returns on to campus!

Environmental Services

Congratulations go to Jade Willetts, who has been shortlisted in the category of Rising Star in the Materials Recycling World National Recycling Awards, which take place in London in December. This is a prestigious national award and recognises the hard work that Jade has undertaken in this area.  Many congratulations.

Day Nurseries

Whilst the nurseries have continued to care for key worker’s children throughout lockdown, they were only operating out of the Elms Hub. On 29^th June, all three nurseries reopened  and are now caring for 150 children. The staff have enjoyed welcoming the children back and the children have been very pleased to see their friends again.

Winterbourne House and Garden

Winterbourne opened for staff, students and members to visit the gardens only, on Monday 6^th July. On the first day of opening, there were 100 visitors returning to the botanic gardens! The team are hoping that the sunshine returns and that even more visitors can enjoy some fresh air and relaxation, in this tranquil setting.

Accommodation

The Student Accommodation team are now returning to full strength on-site to complete check outs and flat clearances for undergraduate students. So far nearly 4,500 students have departed, with 700 postgraduates expected to stay for the summer.

The teams on-site have been delivering birthday cards and chocolates to students who have had their birthdays during lockdown. They have also been busy ensuring compliance with water hygiene protocols – with a phenomenal 4,000 water outlets now being flushed every week.

Sport

It is hoped that the Sports Centre will be able to reopen soon. Until then the instructors continue to offer virtual classes across the week.  We hope you have enjoyed some of these classes.

Catering

From 20^th July, the mobile jiffy van will return to campus, offering cold drinks, sandwiches, salads and snacks to those staff who have returned to work. For more information about the route they will be taking each day, please visit www.birmingham.ac.uk/foodanddrink

The team are also working on a new “Click and Collect” service, which will be rolled out across 13 different catering outlets in September. This will allow staff and students to pre-order food and drinks, which can then be collected at an allocated time, thereby avoiding the need for queues.

Edgbaston Park Hotel

The hotel welcomed back its first guests on Saturday 4^th July, after many weeks accommodating key workers, who were working at the local hospitals. A total of 43 rooms were booked on Saturday night and 28 rooms on Sunday night, and it is hoped that these numbers will increase as time goes by. The hotel has also received a large number of wedding enquiries during lockdown, from couples looking to tie the knot during 2021.

Conferences & events

Needless to say many events have been postponed this autumn but we are looking forward to an extremely busy year with events in the new year. There are many exciting projects underway and the team is really looking forward to welcoming conferences back on campus when lockdown has been eased.

Last but not least...

Support services like IT, H&S and marketing don’t often get a specific mention, but these teams are also working hard to support the different functions of campus services, especially as teams reopen again. Thank you to everyone involved.

A message from Simon

The pool as you’ve never seen it before

The Sport & Fitness team have been carrying out weekly maintenance and testing. Last week, however, they embarked on some essential pool work too.

This included lifting the floor of the pool to keep the water warm and stop the development of bacteria. Here’s Lucy standing on it!

The team also worked on strengthening the boom for new lane fixtures, meaning new lane configurations will be available to members when the pool reopens. It’s all part of their ongoing work to make sure the whole of Sport & Fitness is ready to reopen without delay, as soon as it’s appropriate to do so.

Thank you, team!

Conferences & events keep delivering

Events may have been cancelled on campus until 1 September, but the Conferences & events team have been looking to the future. The team have successfully postponed many planned events, securing important income for the University.

They’ve also brought in lots of exciting new events, including:

• Digital Health Conference July 2021 – planned to take place in Warwick this summer, and now being held with us next year
• BISS July 2021 and July 2022 – residential course 
• World Blind and Visually Impaired Games August 2023 – creating a complete Games Village for around 1500 athletes over 6 to 10 days for this major international event

Meanwhile, the team have been collaborating with colleagues to develop options for virtual and hybrid conferencing, and making plans for socially-distanced venues.

Accommodation team stay busy

Although many of the Accommodation Services staff are working from home, lots of us are still here to look after the students still in residence.

Claire’s working at the Vale reception, answering lots of calls from parents and students who are at home, and handling phone and email enquiries from students on campus.

Claire’s Netflix rec: Afterlife series 1 and 2 – ‘very funny but with a sad side to it’.

Sheila’s working at Jarratt Hall. Here she’s litter picking: no matter what’s going on in the outside world, we always want to keep the students’ living space clean and keep standards high.

Sheila’s lockdown hope: to get back to normal before her Amazon shopping gets out of control and she orders a hot tub.

This is Melodie at Pritchatts Park. Organising the store cupboard is one of those things she never has  time to do – until now.

Melodie’s wish: to get back to playing Ultimate Frisbee. ‘It’s like American Football but with a Frisbee. Google it!’

Nurseries celebrate VE Day

Our nurseries teams continue to provide care for key workers’ children at The Elms Hub, with teams working through closed days and Bank Holidays.

They celebrated the early May VE Day holiday with lots of red, white and blue crafts, and a picnic in the sunshine!

Families at home also joined in with their own picnics.

The Elms Hub children have also created this cheerful rainbow of support for our NHS, which has been put up on campus by the maintenance team.

Starbucks’ Mermaids cookie makes a splash

Before restricted operations came into force, individually-decorated Mermaids cookies were available to buy at both Starbucks stores at the University of Birmingham as part of their #whatsyourname campaign.

The charity Mermaids provides vital support services to the transgender community and their families, and has seen a 600% increase in demand for its helpline service in the past five years. Starbucks aimed to raise at least £100,000 for the Mermaids helpline, with 50p donated from the sale of every special-edition Mermaid cookie.

On campus, we sold 218 of the cookies. This meant a donation of £109, which Mermaids were delighted to receive. 

Garden tips from Winterbourne

Are you spending more time in your garden thanks to lockdown?

Why not get the advice of Winterbourne’s professional gardening team? Join the weekly Ask a Gardener chat on Twitter and Facebook to get bespoke advice. Or subscribe to the newsletter for regular tips on what garden jobs to do at this time of year, direct to your inbox.

Staying safe online

An increasing number of spam and fraudulent emails are being sent in the UK, exploiting the pandemic to scam individuals and businesses. Visit the National Cyber Security Centre for advice to help protect businesses and keep families secure online. 

We are staying together by meeting online instead. However, some have experienced unwanted guests joining in and causing disruption on sites like Zoom.

Read the step-by-step security guidance for online meetings - PDF (1.73MB)

Unfortunately, hate crimes still occur during times like these. If you experience a hate crime, online or in person, then please report it to West Midlands Police as soon as possible.

Our young people are also spending a lot more time online during the lockdown. Find advice online about what to look out for to protect them from extreme ideas, or read this parents’ guide.

Parents’ guide to identifying extremism - PDF (659KB)

The view from campus

One positive side effect of restricted operations: wildlife! This is particularly noticeable at night, when a cohort of badgers emerge and roam fearlessly through the streets.

There have also been sightings of foxes, badgers, voles and squirrels whilst Security carry out their night-time patrolling routine.

In the daytime sunshine, campus continues to look beautiful, with spring flowers everywhere.

Tales from home

Those of you who are working from home with families are tackling the challenges of childcare and homeschooling alongside your work – and we know it’s not easy. If you’re struggling to make things work, please do contact your manager, or get in touch with the Wellbeing Services team.

On a happier note, many of you are enjoying some fun activities with your little ones, especially during the Easter break. Helen Jones from Accommodation Services always bakes her dad a birthday cake. Though this one had to be delivered on the doorstep with singing through the window, Flossie definitely enjoyed helping out.

Now everyone’s used to it, teams are getting creative with their video conferencing. Worklink held a Skype team celebration before the Easter break, including a quiz, to acknowledge their huge effort to meet deadlines.

At Edgbaston Park Hotel, the team marked the Easter break with a ‘holiday’ Zoom meeting.

Others are finding ways to support vulnerable people in their local community, using their contacts from work. Karen Parkes from Catering and her daughter have arranged for campus catering supplier Bidfood to deliver to their home, and distributed food packages around her neighbourhood.

She’s also been knitting up these ear savers to make wearing PPE more comfortable.

Check out the WeAreUoB staff Facebook group for more examples, and patterns if you’d like to join in!

Staying active with UoB Sport & Fitness

The swimming pool may be unusually peaceful for this time of year, but the Sport & Fitness team have been hard at work creating a virtual experience for staff, students and the local community.

The Virtual Sport & Fitness Club group shared 18 classes – a mixture of live and pre-recorded – over the Easter closed period, with over 400 people ‘attending’ the live classes, and pre-recorded classes totting up an impressive 7000 views! 11 instructors worked to get these classes set up. Head of Athletics Luke Gunn also ran a circuits class which was viewed 1500 times, and Gym Supervisor Chris Shorey did three ‘DIY’ videos for people to create their own equipment – including a kettlebell!

Sunday 26 April was the intended date of the London Marathon. The #TwoPointSixChallenge was created to help raise money for UK charities who will lose around £4billion in income as a result of Covid-19. The team lent their support with outdoor activities, and the special 26-minute Grit and Pilates classes were watched by an amazing 1000 people.

The Performance team continue to support students on the scholarship programme virtually: 75% of these scholars are now engaging with a Facebook group, packed with useful and informative posts to keep them connected during lockdown. Reception’s live chat and membership queries by email remain busy, and the team have replied to over 1500 member enquiries.

Spring on campus

If you’re missing campus, you might enjoy these pictures from Martin Hewitt-Moran from the Bramall team. It’s definitely a lot quieter than usual!

Students in action

Students who have been leaving accommodation have been generously donating to a food bank operation, run by University of Birmingham student volunteers.

Jarratt Hall was commandeered as a storage unit once the food bank outgrew the houses of the students involved, and the Catering team joined in the donations from campus stores. Now the food bank has outgrown Jarratt Hall, too, and has moved to a local church.

Well done to the students who have donated, and especially the volunteers who are doing an amazing job supporting Selly Oak residents in need.

Ramadan advice

How are you managing Ramadan this year? Whether you’re working from home or on campus, it’s inevitably a challenge this year without the usual opportunities to gather together.

To help out our isolated students on campus, we asked Graphic Designer Naz from Campus Services Marketing to share her experience of fasting alone. We thought you might find her tips useful too – especially if you’re not able to be with all your family at the moment.

“I can relate to feeling lonely when you’re the only one fasting. I lived in Brussels for a year, and fasting during my year away was so hard. It’s not the same situation, but this is what I did or tried to do in general:

• Don’t skip suhoor (pre-dawn meal) It’s super easy to just not eat, especially when you have nobody to wake you or if you can’t be bothered. Setting many alarms helps!
• Eat high fibre, wholewheat, or oats for suhoor They’ll help keep you going.
• Iftar over Facetime, Skype, Zoom or similar
• Drink lots of water and lay off the caffeine
• Eat as much fruit as you can at iftar
• Prep your food It’s easy to not eat as much as you should when you don’t have anyone to make it for you, or if you don’t have the energy to, but prepping your food gives you something to do and also makes you miss home a little less. See if you can make the same thing they’re eating at home. I used to facetime my mom whilst I cooked along with her.
• Keep fried, high fat, sugary foods to a minimum Though it all tastes good when you have it, it’ll actually make your fast the next day a lot harder.
• Keep to your usual routine as much as you can

Hopefully this helps!”

Please use Zoom, Facetime etc to virtually attend congregational prayers, and to meet virtually with friends and family outside your household for iftar.

Visit London’s central mosque online for more advice and useful information.

The teams that make up Campus Services keep the University running, all year round.

Now that we are on restricted campus operations, that hasn’t changed. Staff across Accommodation, Cleaning, Security, Catering, Edgbaston Park Hotel and Nurseries continue supporting the University’s students and academics on site, while others continue their roles at home.

Here’s a round up of the latest stories from campus.

At the Vale Village, the accommodation services and sites teams are still hard at work. With a small but important number of students still in residence, they’re providing regular welfare checks – supported by our wonderful cleaning teams – and delivering food to students who are self-isolating. The Costcutter supermarket team are also still working to keep everyone safely supplied with essentials.

Security are still here 24/7, keeping the estate and all remaining staff and students safe from harm. They’ve got some extra help, too: meet Max. (Can we keep him when all this is over, please?)

Catering have been out and about to support the local community and our NHS heroes. They’ve been donating food supplies from the stores, delivering them directly to the QE hospital, and to the Selly Oak foodbank which has been set up by students. They’ve also delivered food, drinks and snacks to homeless charities in the city centre and around Birmingham.

The Elms Day Nursery has stayed open to care for the children of essential key workers. They’ve been busy enjoying the spring sunshine in the garden. To support all their families at home, the nurseries teams are writing personal letters to children, hosting story time on Youtube, and sharing their artwork to lift all our spirits. Look for #rainbowsfromhome on Facebook.

UBSport are helping us all stay active at home, thanks to Virtual Sport & Fitness on Facebook. The team have been sharing their expertise with virtual classes, challenges and workout ideas, from live Body Attack (with 67 attendees!) and circuits to nutritional advice, personalised cycling workouts and a psychologist’s review. The group already has nearly 2000 members and is open to all – join today. 

Winterbourne House and Garden is closed. However, like other botanic gardens around the country, a skeleton staff of gardeners are visiting (one person, once a day) to keep this important collection alive. The Winterbourne team are also offering brilliant remote support for anyone using this opportunity to get out into their gardens, by answering questions and offering advice. Join in ‘Ask a Gardener’ on Twitter or Facebook.

Cleaning staff are still working hard to keep any open buildings clean and safe, both for staff to work in, and for students and staff who live here.

Edgbaston Park Hotel has remained open solely to house NHS staff who have come to support the efforts against the virus.

Those of you who are working from home are also ensuring that essential tasks can continue, supporting students, and maintaining services across the board. Worklink have processed over 300 requisitions in 2 weeks to ensure casual staff are paid, including for cancelled work. The Conferences and events team are hard at work designing solutions for remote conferencing, working closely with the Bramall audio-visual team.

Thank you to Campus Services staff from the Director

Thank you all.

In this extraordinary time, you are doing extraordinary things. Please take time over this Easter break to rest and I do hope it will not be long before we can meet, face to face.

Take care,

Simon Bray
Director of Campus Services