What a year it’s been!
As the end of semester one nears and a new year is nearly upon us, it’s time to look back on an eventful and successful year for Buckinghamshire New University.
In January, the university’s immediate focus was to help our students navigate the latest lockdown, which included a regularly updated one-stop shop of website COVID-19 FAQs and emails to students within 24 hours of any government announcement.
BNU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Braisby, published an open letter to students’ landlords, encouraging them to be supportive and offer payment breaks or contract breaks. For the entire 2020/21 academic year, BNU gave £850k of accommodation to students in our halls of residence and made rent rebates totalling £800k to all students with halls contracts when government restrictions forced campuses to close.
A new initiative to encourage universities and colleges to support Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showman and Boater (GTRSB) students into and within higher education was also launched. The GTRSB Pledge aims to widen participation and tackle any impact of social exclusion for these communities, with BNU one of the first universities to sign-up.
In February, BNU’s Aylesbury campus hosted its first mass COVID-19 vaccination site, joining forces with the NHS and Buckinghamshire Council. This latest contribution to helping its local community involved some of the university’s nursing staff helping to train almost 40 COVID-19 vaccinators so that the vaccination site could go ahead as planned.
March saw BNU score highly in the first Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) with strong performance in three key areas, including: skills, enterprise and entrepreneurship; public and community engagement; and working with the public and third sectors. The university also took the next step in tackling period poverty for its students following a campaign by Bucks Students’ Union by providing free products in all campus bathrooms.
In April, BNU’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Braisby, lobbied government and appeared on local radio about how the government’s restrictions were “leaving thousands of students in limbo”, so they could come back to learn on campus when the government lifted restrictions for certain practical courses.
There were many reasons for BNU to be proud in May. Alice Finnigan, a student nurse at the university was praised by social media personality Grace Victory for helping her to recover fast from a COVID-induced coma. BNU alumnus Ian Rivers started his solo crossing of the Atlantic, which he would go on to complete in September. Meanwhile, the Human Performance Lab was praised for helping volunteers achieve a “remarkable health turnaround” after featuring in a new Channel 4 health programme.
In June, BNU climbed 22 places in the 2022 Complete University Guide league table of UK universities, the joint third highest rise of all institutions. The university also rose 21 places into the UK’s top 30 for student satisfaction with its quality of teaching (27th). It was also a great month for our art and design students, whose Class of 2021 hosted an online exhibition drawing inspiration from social inequality and sustainability. BNU’s creative students also designed a new logo for Buckinghamshire Culture.
July saw BNU complete their British Inspiration Trust (BRIT) 2021 Challenge by successfully completing 10,054 miles and raising nearly £2,500 for five young adult mental health charities. The initial targets of 2,021 miles and £2,021 were smashed after three weeks of lung-busting activity. The institution also received the Ministry of Defence’s Gold Award for outstanding support for those who serve, veterans and their families.
In preparation for the new term, BNU launched a new BSc (Hones) Paramedic Science degree in partnership with local NHS trusts in August. Fully subscribed for this year, students will take part in placements supported by South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) and London Ambulance Service (LAS). BNU was also recognised for helping talented athletes to reach their potential in education alongside achieving success in their sport, through the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS).
During the summer months, the university also took the opportunity to implement some technological changes following student feedback. We enhanced and developed BNU Connect so that all students can now receive their results online. We developed and promoted our digital bundle so that all students can access and benefit from all digital services at any time, in any place. We also launched MyBNU – a one-stop virtual community to give students 24/7 access email, Blackboard, attendance monitoring and timetables.
September saw students finally return to our campuses and face-to-face teaching starting again. Our 2020 graduates celebrated their achievements 16 months after originally planned and the university. BNU also achieved its highest ever ranking in the Guardian University Guide 2022 by rising 15 places to 77, the 18th highest rise across all UK universities. In the UK’s Good University Guide 2022 rankings, BNU ranked: 10th for spend on services and facilities; 25th for student-staff ratio, and 7th for its postgraduate employment rate (98%).
With the new term in full swing, October was a busy month for BNU’s students and alumni. This year’s graduates returned for another week of ceremonies in wet conditions, however, this did not dampen their mood as they rejoiced in their achievements alongside their families and friends.
One of our final year BA (Hons) Fashion Design students received a significant scholarship from the British Fashion Council and became the first BNU student and first person from Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showmen and Boater (GTRSB) heritage to do so. Meanwhile, 22 sports therapy students gave up their weekends to provide treatments and support fundraising efforts at the Tour De Vale and the London Marathon.
As part of its Black History Month events and work with the local community, BNU hosted a public debate on the Wycombe food poverty ‘crisis’ in October that featured Bucks Council, local foodbanks and community interest groups. The month’s schedule also included a visit to Cressex Community School for a thought-provoking discussion about racism and race equality with year 10 students.
In November, BNU reiterated its commitment to being carbon net zero by 2030 – 20 years earlier than the government’s target – following a series of projects that have reduced its carbon footprint by 55% since 2011.
To cap off a successful year for the university and its students, a BNU international aviation regulation and law student, Martin Geršl, won a prestigious European award for his Master’s research on near-sightedness among pilots at an award ceremony during the European Aviation Conference in December. His research concluded that reduced peripheral vision did not pose a safety issue, but decreased visual acuity in low light could affect safety to some extent.