Hello and welcome to Foundation Year Investigates 2025!

We’re excited to introduce this year’s edition of FYI, entitled Through the Lens, and give you a glimpse into the themes and highlights that shape it.

But before we dive in, here’s a quick overview of what the Foundation Year at Birmingham Newman University is all about.

The Foundation Year offers students a flexible route into more than twenty-five-degree programmes—from law and the humanities to teacher training, nursing, and business studies. That’s a wide range of possibilities!

What sets the Foundation Year at Newman apart is its focus on building essential academic skills—like essay writing, referencing, communication, and digital literacy—while also encouraging students to explore new and sometimes challenging ideas in a supportive, inclusive environment. It’s a space where students are empowered to grow, both intellectually and personally, and to become active members of the Newman community.

FYI 2025 – Empathy, Perspective, and Seeing the World Anew

This year’s edition of FYI invites readers to explore how the Foundation Year experience fosters empathy, encourages students to consider the perspectives of others, and opens new ways of seeing the world. Many students on the Foundation year are motivated by their interest in people, their desire to help and guide others, and their curiosity to understand their perspectives.

Through a rich collection of student voices and creative work, FYI 2025 highlights how engaging with diverse ideas and experiences can transform not only academic understanding but also foster personal growth.

Highlights include:

• Reflections from Newman Alumnus and former Foundation Year student Susie, whose foundation year experience helped her find her voice, grow in confidence, and pursue her passion for History.

• A collection of Student Profiles in which students reflect on their motivations for beginning their journeys at Newman, their experience of the foundation year, and the advice they would give to students first joining the course.

• A series of Independent Research Projects by students exploring the Digital World and its influence, for good or ill, on their subject discipline.

• A research commentary by a Foundation Year student on hidden and forgotten underground spaces in British cities.

Each contribution is a testament to the power of empathy and the importance of seeing the world through many lenses. As John Henry Newman put it: “I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons.”

Dr. Rory Booth , Dr. Frankie Hines & Dr. Pushpa Kumbhat- Lecturers in Foundation Year

 Birmingham Newman University