The NSBO Network
The Nordic Association for Student Housing was established in 1975 and is a co-operation between Nordic student housing companies. The main purpose of NSBO is sharing knowledge about student housing in the Nordic countries. It’s a meeting place for inspiration of planning, construction and maintenance of student housing and serving the students living in them. Members include Universities, University Students Unions and private providers.
The NSBO hosted a webinar on 3rd April, which brought together representatives from the UK, USA, Netherlands, Lithuania, Finland and Norway, to share knowledge and exchange best practice on the current CV-19 situation within the student housing context.
The webinar was an opportunity to share best global practices, horizon scanning and feeling connected amongst the Covid-19 outbreak before breaking into breakout sessions to discuss issues more intimately.
The NSBO network is open for anyone with an interest in student housing from a Nordic perspective. As part of the network you receive our newsletter twice a year, new reports and invitations to our events. The conferences and meeting places organized by NSBO creates personal contacts between colleagues from the different countries and companies. These contacts have often led to further meetings, study visits, new knowledge and experiences.
What was apparent from discussions, and the pre webinar survey completed, was that there were shared issues and concerns emanating from each of the different countries represented. These included vacancies, financial implications, practical ways to locate students to ensure ongoing support, and the rise in mental health related issues.
The UKTGA will continue to work with colleagues from the NSBO as well as other organisations, to ensure that we continue to provide you with up-to-date information within a national and global context on town gown relations.
The NSBO network is open for anyone with an interest in student housing from a Nordic perspective. As part of the network you receive our newsletter twice a year, new reports and invitations to our events. The conferences and meeting places organized by NSBO creates personal contacts between colleagues from the different countries and companies. These contacts have often led to further meetings, study visits, new knowledge and experiences.
Network benefits
- Invitation to all their events
- Contact access to student housing operators all over the Nordic countries
- NSBO Newsletter (twice a year)
- Reports and statistics
Join the NSBO network here:
Join the NBSO network by register your contact information below. If you have any questions, regarding the network or the Nordic student housing market, don’t hesitate to contact.
Town & Gown: Issues, Trends, Collaborations and Ideas for Today’s College Town
Enjoy and follow this Flipboard® online magazine, “Town & Gown: Issues, Trends, Collaborations and Ideas for Today’s College Town” – a roundup of news and information from across the US, UK and elsewhere that is for and about college
towns (https://flipboard.com/@marcwhitt/town-gown-issues-trends-collaborations-ideas-for-today-s-college-town-57sepl4ay). This free resource is edited by Marc Whitt (marc.whitt@uky.edu), Director of Media & Strategic Relations at the University of Kentucky’s Office of Public Relations and Strategic Communications. Marc also serves as a part-time instructor in UK’s Department of Integrated Strategic Communication and is a former member of the International Town & Gown Association Board of Directors. His first book, PR Lessons Learned Along the Way: Strategies, Tips & Advice for the Higher Ed and Nonprofit Public Relations Professional (Cherrymoon Media), is set for release in June 2020. Marc invites you to connect with him on Twitter (@marcwhitt) or LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/marcwhitt).
Exeter's Glass Caddy Scheme
Exeter University's Student Community Wardens have been delivering the termly 'Glass Caddy Scheme' for over five years and, due to increasing demand, we are pleased that we are now trialling the scheme as a monthly service.
The Glass Caddy Scheme simply involves collecting glass from multiple student properties who do not have access to a vehicle, and delivering the glass to the closest bottle bank. This scheme was initially developed with our Students' Guild in response to the fact that Exeter does not provide doorstep glass collections. Glass was sometimes being placed in grey waste and many students without cars struggled to transport the glass to glass banks.
The service is strictly offered to students without access to a vehicle. They also use the scheme to highlight the benefits of not taking a car to the city.
Using one collection vehicle to collate multiple glass donations into one glass bank 'visit', also reduces Exeter's carbon footprint.
The surge in demand for the service has led to a monthly trial of the scheme.
We are pleased to see that this recycling trend also coincides with a significant spike in student donations of unwanted goods to charities like The British Heart Foundation for their 'Give It Don't Bin It' campaign. Increased awareness of the recycle/reuse message has been very positive and we hope to build on this success with other projects.
JAM at Queen’s awarded Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation funding to “unlock hidden talent"
Queen’s Junior Music Academy (JAM) has been successful in the latest round of funding by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, one of Britain’s leading charities supporting the arts and music.
The Foundation has awarded £14,760 to JAM at Queen’s to fund bursaries over the next three years for a new Strings programme. Additional funding has been provided by the Music for All programme to purchase new string instruments.
A total of £225,405 has been given to arts and heritage projects in Northern Ireland, Scotland and throughout England, aimed at breaking down barriers to participation in the arts. The Foundation has prioritised projects that engage young people and individuals from hard-to-reach and minority backgrounds.
The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation was set up by Lord Lloyd Webber in 1992 to promote the arts, culture and heritage for the public benefit; since inception Andrew has been the principal provider of funding for all its charitable activities.
Since 2011, the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation has given £20.5 million in grants and performing arts scholarships, positively affecting hundreds of thousands of people across the UK and beyond. In 2018 alone, it provided financial backing and sustainability to 111 projects, totalling over £3.1 million.
To read the full article, click here.
Exeter Boosts BHF Donations
A recent Impact Report from the British Heart Foundation has confirmed that University of Exeter Students have contributed significantly to charitable donations for the 2019 period.
Not only did students contribute to a record surge in charity shop donations, but the total value of bags donated in the 2019 period was £54,600, compared to £4788 the previous year.
BHF have calculated that these donations are equivalent to 31.2 Tons of items being diverted from the waste stream – this equates to 317,522 kgs of CO2 greenhouse gas emissions
This significant increase is very encouraging and demonstrates a growing environmental awareness from students seeking to re-purpose re-usable items.
“A lot of additional work was carried out by the University’s Community Liaison Team to ensure that Students departing the city in the Summer had access to donation bags and drop-off points. Work has already begun on planning for this year’s scheme and we hope to see a further increase in donations”
Rory Cunningham, Community Liaison Manager
For more information regarding the British heart Foundations campaigns, visit their website: https://www.bhf.org.uk/
Queen's and City Council Launch Belfast Climate Commission
Queen’s University Belfast and Belfast City Council have launched the Belfast Climate Commission, to drive action on the climate crisis.
The Commission will play a key role in place-based climate action necessary to achieve the UK Government’s target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050.
Co-chaired by Queen’s University and Belfast City Council, the Commission is one of three city-based climate commissions across the UK (Belfast, Edinburgh and Leeds), funded by the Economic and Social Research Council for the Place-Based Climate Action Network (PCAN). Working alongside existing city structures and programmes, the Commission has been established to translate climate policy into action ‘on the ground’ to bring about transformative change.
The Place-based Climate Action Network (PCAN) was introduced at an event recently held at Parliament Buildings, Stormont. The network will establish Commissions in Belfast and Edinburgh, and will extend the Leeds Climate Commission, which was the first to be established in 2017. The Commissions will help the local delivery of the UK’s climate change objectives by supporting action in cities through a partnership made up of the private, public and civic sectors.
For a more in-depth analysis of the Climate Commission, please refer to Belfast City Council website or Queen's University website.
For more information on the PCAN network, please visit: https://www.cccep.ac.uk/place-based-climate-action-network-p-can/
For further information about the Belfast Energy Transition and Climate Resilience Commission, please contact Professor John Barry at j.barry@qub.ac.uk and follow @PCANcities on Twitter.
The Secret Life of Students
Many of us who work in Higher Education have interactions with students on a day-to-day basis. But how much do we really know about the complete student experience, especially living in an off-campus community?
Being able to fully understand these experiences is vital when it comes to offering Universities' off-campus services, making sure that these services are fulfilling the needs of our students. It is imperative that the institutions with a high proportion of students living off-campus can continue to promote community cohesion with the diverse communities in which our students reside.
'The Secret Life of Students' is a series of short YouTube films designed to educate students about what to expect about life off-campus. The series focuses on specific policy areas which includes student safety, housing, noise and anti-social behaviour, waste and recycling and community engagement.
The series will form part of our 'Halls 2 Home' campaign, which is delivered by Manchester Student Homes, which provides support to students before, during, and after the transition from halls of residence into their own home.
And so; with the help of CampusLife, our very own UKTGA North West representative, Poppy Humphrey, packed her bags and embarked on a week long trip down memory lane, and went back to settle in with her new student housemates!
Take a look at the trailer below!
https://youtu.be/sRAW_KMToLQ
Reclaim the Night - Unite, join the fight, and reclaim the night!
On Monday 25 November 2019 over fifty students, staff and community members from St Andrews took part in the Students’ Association’s Reclaim the Night event. Reclaim the Night is a global movement to end sexual violence and gender-based violence.
Over the past forty years, thousands have marched to protest this violence, to support survivors, and to fight for everyone's right to safety.
This year's march was the 5th annual event held in St Andrews. Hosted by the gender equality societies of St Andrews, the event was open to all and was part of this year’s Community Relations Week activities. The night started with poster making at the Student Union followed by a march through the town. The crowds were joined by Professor Sally Mapstone, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of St Andrews who spoke about her own experiences of Reclaim the Night marches from her university days.
In addition, a safe space was available for the duration of the event. The event was organised by the Feminist Society, SRC Member for Gender Equality, For Her, Got Consent, Her Choice, HeForShe St Andrews, Saints LGBT+, and Sexpression. The event was supported by Community Relations and the University.
Follow The Winds of Change: Action on Climate Change
On Friday 20 September 2019, students and staff of the University of St Andrews and the wider community drew a line in the sand for climate change.
Recognising that enough is enough on Friday 29 November 2019 students, school children and citizens from Fife gathered in St Andrews at St Salvator’s Quad and then proceeded down together to West Sands beach for speeches from the political candidates and the planting of six windmills in the sand to highlight the importance of renewable energy resources.
The event called for participants to plant the seeds for a better future and follow the winds of change. What does climate action mean in St Andrews? These global climate strikes have changed the narrative of climate politics. Activism works. Solutions are needed and action is needed, and our participants stood together to call for renewable energy solutions that consider citizen voices and community concerns.
St Andrews' Christmas Coffee and Cake
The wardennial team of one of the University of St Andrews halls of residence opened their doors to their neighbours for festive coffee and cake on Sunday 8 December 2020.
The first event of its kind in recent years, the session at University Hall saw some fifteen local residents meet over thirty residential students and their hall’s Warden and Assistant Warden.
An afternoon of warm drinks, delicious cakes, and free-flowing conversation proved a big hit and the team are already planning more sessions to bring residents and their student neighbours together.
Other halls across the University are looking to run similar sessions in 2020, with planning underway for Burns Night celebrations as well as Cheese and Wine evenings.