Students' suggestions lead to huge campus improvements


A string of improvements are being introduced at DMU – and all have come as a result of feedback from students.

The Kimberlin Library is now open around the clock with its many facilities available 24/7 and for 365 days a year (apart from in exceptional circumstances).

That was just one of the improvements to the student experience that were brought in this term as part of the university's #loveDMU campaign, which aims to ensure students have the best time possible at DMU. Others include:

  • An additional 1,000 bursaries for the #DMUglobal visit to New York for final year undergraduates in January, in total worth £600,000
  • A £100 grant, the Employability Award, to every final-year undergraduate student to help them find a job
  • Up to £1m additional investment in DMUsport
  • A further £500,000 spent on reducing unavoidable and unique costs in those programme areas where they were greatest.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dominic Shellard, DMU Governor Professor Robert Harris and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Andy Collop also gathered feedback during impromptu appearances at some recent final year lectures.

vijay-patel-building-img
Vijay Patel Building

As a result, another raft of additional investment has now been announced as part of #loveDMU, including:

  • The Vijay Patel Building and Gateway House will stay open for all students at weekends from January 9
  • Extra checkout points are to be added to the Food Village to reduce queues
  • A ‘heat and eat’ area will come on-stream in January in the refurbished Campus Centre and in the new Riverside Café in the Vijay Patel building
  • More drinking water outlets are to be added to the Vijay Patel and Hawthorn buildings
  • Additional printers are being rolled out across campus and steps are being taken to fix broken ones more quickly
  • More than 180 ebooks have been added to the library
  • A new ‘Leisure Reads’ library collection has been added to promote reading for pleasure and wellbeing
  • A £30,000 investment has been added to the £150,000 spent in the summer on more AV loans equipment
  • Additional CAD computing capacity will be added to the Kimberlin Library by January and more laptops by February.

“They’re taking on board what we think, which is really good,” said Adult Nursing second year student Tiffannie Roberts, 21, from Birmingham.

“They’re moulding the university for us, it’s not just about what the lecturers and other staff want, it’s about what we as students think.

“This is important because we can also take ownership of our university to know that the changes we have made will benefit us and future students.

“I’ve definitely seen improvements in the time that I’ve been here. It’s been really good to see the changes. When I came here in January 2015, the Vijay Patel Building wasn’t there, now it’s nearly done.

“Since I started at this university I have seen it change, grow and develop and it's been great to witness and be a part of.”

Details of how students can share their views and opinions on life at university are available on the DMU Let’s Talk page.

Posted on Thursday 15 December 2016

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