I want to begin by congratulating ALL students (and staff) for coming through what was possibly one of the most challenging times the sector has faced in recent history – I am of course referring to the pandemic! We have all had to hop between distance, hybrid and face-to-face learning, and the fact that we have been able to survive it speaks volumes about our ability to show resilience in the face of major challenge. We have of course all struggled in our own way, and I realise that some have struggled more than others (And that is okay). If you have been struggling for whatever reason it is important that you reach out to your programme lead or your personal tutor –We are always happy to talk and to get you the right support from teams within the University.
Despite the pandemic we have observed a real growth in the plethora of extracurricular activities students and staff have been driving together on campus. The School Art exhibition, Salford PassionFlash and a series of book clubs have all been delivered successfully, all of which add immense value to the creativity, communication skills and ultimately employability of our graduates. I was also delighted to observe a growth in student-led social events within Biomedicine. Actively taking part in such events and opportunities is all part of the university experience and can open so many unexpected opportunities! This year we also saw students from Biomedicine playing a major role in the development and delivery of several outreach events, including the celebration of Biomedical Science week and the Biomedicine summer school. These activities are instrumental to our social responsibility, the development of employability skills and the steady growth of our programmes. Can I take the opportunity to thank all who took part and also encourage students to grab these opportunities when they arise in future (Look out for communication from Tahmina Hussein and Prof Chloe James).
Alongside the bespoke mentorship offered to students by a number of academics, I was particularly pleased to see the success of the Human and Natural Sciences careers festival – I will give a special mention to those sessions focused on the NHS clinical sciences training route, Public health careers and also the sessions hosted at the Health School simulations suite designed for students aspiring to become clinicians. Thank you to all the presenter and a special thanks to the Health School for allowing us access to their wonderful facilities. We will host the summer careers festival once again in 2023 – can I encourage you all to take part, especially those starting level 6 in September as you will not get the chance again! In the meantime, do engage with in-year career events and the Careers and Enterprise services: https://www.salford.ac.uk/careers.
So, what about the coming academic year? Of course, all the aforementioned opportunities will once again be co-delivered by students and staff so please do look out for the communications. There will also be some new opportunities in the pipeline, and I want to take the opportunity to invite you to reach out and get involved from the outset. The academic team are keen to expand on innovative and ‘fun’ teaching practice in the classroom and we would welcome your involvement in this area – by this I am referring to playful learning approaches for both online and in-person sessions (e.g. escape games and digital games). If this sounds interesting to you feel free to drop me an email at S.Namvar@salford.ac.uk.