Student Representatives made the following points:
The School of Informatics has a physical distance from KB and there is a sense of a lack of belonging to the College of Science and Engineering; many students have never been to King’s Buildings, and even staff have noted a sense of separation
There is a feeling of segregation between Schools even on KB campus, and there needs to be more of a sense of community
There is no budget or opportunity for students to organise College-wide events
It would be nice to have points to look forward to, ideas being such as board games events, sports days, talent shows, cultural celebrations such as Chinese New Year: if there were events to attend, a greater sense of community would follow
Such events could be aimed at the whole community
An example was given of a recent award of £1K from the Student Partnership Agreement which resulted in an event with a good mixture of students and staff from different disciplines, though the time and stress of organisation was noted
Although funding is appreciated, there could be a more effective utilisation of existing spaces and resources
Points noted by the Student Experience and Curriculum Officer ahead of the meeting:
By way of raising awareness, there is boules and giant Jenga equipment stored at the Nucleus, along with the table tennis equipment
Is there scope or appetite for something such as a CSE social committee, run by students, and perhaps overseen by CSE Events or Student Representatives?
Further points were noted:
Many staff also feel that the sense of community could be strengthened, and it is thought that the pandemic has had an impact; this is thought to relate to society’s changed attitudes and day-to-day culture, rather than it simply being a case of ‘putting things back in place’
The best engagement is seen in student-led and student-driven contexts
There is a student internship currently being advertised to help promote inclusivity on KB campus, and although this is from an EDI perspective re promotion of inclusive symbolism, it is hoped that the initiative will help to build a sense of community
The Nucleus Student Task Group is overseen by Patrick Walsh, and focuses on enhancing the social use of the Nucleus; Bintang Dirya is a member of this Task Group
Arising from the Nucleus Student Task Group, and in answer to points made re budget, there is a Nucleus Student Activities Support Fund, details as follows:
This new fund has recently been announced, more details available via this link: https://www.ed.ac.uk/science-engineering/other/nucleus-student-activities-support-fund
The fund is to support student activities taking place in (and around) the Nucleus Building The fund will provide one-off financial contributions of normally up to £500 (but in exceptional circumstances up to £1000) to support, enhance and develop student-led activities taking place in the Nucleus
The fund also intends to support wider aims within the College and University, and therefore activities should seek to achieve one or more of the following:
Build a sense of community (ideally across all Schools and units within the College of Science and Engineering);
Use spaces within the Nucleus in novel ways;
Encourage engagement with the wider community;
Improve the student experience; and/or
Support student wellbeing
The fund is open to any student society recognised by Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) or any CSE student group. The activity must be held within or on the grounds around the Nucleus Building. Activities that have already taken place at the time of the relevant deadline will not be eligible for funding.
Application is via an online form
The fund will be open to applications at four points during the year, with deadlines of:
15th of November (for activities at the start of semester 2)
15th of February (for activities at the end of semester 2)
1st of May (for activities at the start of following academic year’s Welcome Week)
1st of September (for activities at the end of Semester 1)
Queries should be sent to nucleus.bookings@ed.ac.uk
Discussion ensued:
Representatives noted that this funding is good for societies in CSE, but not for creating larger crossover events involving such as the School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences
It was noted that there is nothing to prevent societies collaborating on larger joint events
Student Experience Grants are also available, up to £5K: https://www.ed.ac.uk/student-experience-grants
The earlier-mentioned Student Partnership Agreement is a potential source of funding: https://www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic-development/funding/spa-funding
CSE is currently looking into a cross-College fund, though this would require involvement from multiple Schools within CSE; this is in early stages of consideration, though more information is available via Stephen Warrington
There may be scope for some support with the logistics of organising events from the College Office in due course, though further consideration will need to be given to capacity and resourcing
It was highlighted that the College Communications Manager can continue to advertise events through the College Student Newsletter
A feeling was expressed that the expectations regarding the ‘university experience’ and the reality have been very different, with a sense of there being no quick fix to the issues discussed.
Discussion then focused on encouraging students onto King’s Buildings campus, with the emerging sense being that – although work is underway to get a bar open on campus by way of encouraging general socialising – larger events would have more of a pull. Balls, hack-a-thons, barbeques and sports days were suggested, as was having a film-festival of sorts in the Nucleus. The issue of licencing was raised, with the suggestion that showing student-made films and hosting student bands would not involve copyright licence issues. It was suggested that something akin to an ‘art show’ might be effective.
Suggestions for making KB more attractive were shared:
Installing more lights and perhaps covered walkways to protect people from rain and blustery weather
Piloting an extension to the shuttle bus timetable, to facilitate cross-campus visits
Pop-up vintage shops / flea-market; inviting-in the local community
The VP Education noted that EUSA has hosted flea-markets in its spaces, and that Reps are well-placed to pilot efforts to increase a sense of community through organising events, such as smaller weekly events at a convenient place and time; Reps discussed that such events could be built-upon and used as a means for different societies to work together
The discussion touched-on attracting ‘big names’ to campus, with the awarding of honorary degrees being mentioned as a possible way of utilising the services of those already visiting the University; it was suggested that there may be scope to look into a specific budget for such as this as part of something like a ‘festival of creative learning’, perhaps taking place in late May. Such an event might include a bar, ice-cream van, food trucks and a candy-floss machine.