Gateway News

Have your say about your RAU experience

Taking part is easy go to www.thestudentsurvey.com you can use your phone, tablet or computer 

Can't get to a computer? Frank Garner Room 10 is open everyday 12-2pm from 26 January- 6 February for you to take part  
 

As a thank you you will be eligible for a £5 voucher to spend on campus.

Plus if your school reaches 100% response rate first there's a free buffet dinner for you and your school colleagues.

We really value your feedback, it gets used to help inform continuous improvement here at the RAU, for more information check out the guide.

Improved RAU library and IT support

Recent (2013) statistics from SCONUL (the Society of College National and University Libraries), as reported by RAU Librarian Peter Brooks at the last Academic Board, reveal that library and IT services, resources and facilities at the Royal Agricultural University (when expressed on a full-time student basis) are at least equivalent to or better than many other higher education institutions in the UK universities sector.

The independent SCONUL data compares the RAU with other places including Bath University; the University of West of England; Gloucestershire University; Bath Spa University; Harper Adams and Writtle College.  The comparison shows that:

• the number of  study spaces for RAU students with wireless connection is much greater than many other universities
• book and journal provision (in both print and in digital formats) compares very favourably
• opening hours also compare well following improvements 

In addition, the latest data from UCISA (Universities and Colleges Information System Association) confirms that:

• the RAU benefits from 100% Wi-Fi coverage
• the number of students per IT workstation is comparable with many other UK universities

Peter Brooks said: “Although we would not build a proposed new Library and Learning Centre in the same way with so much new technology available, current RAU library and IT learning support facilities are more than holding their own when compared to other universities.”

Professor Paul Davies said: “The library is at the heart of the RAU. We intend to ensure it remains an essential learning resource for all our students, and that it continues to compare well with other UK university provision. The RAU will continue to invest substantially to make sure that RAU learning support services remain key to our institution.”

New RAU Student Jobs Portal success

Ruth Lancaster, Careers Adviser at the RAU, has recently reported a massive 137, 385 pages views on the new RAU Student Jobs Portal over the last 12 months. Since 20 January 2014, when the new portal was launched, 910 job opportunities in total have been advertised to students at the University. For 2015, from 5 January to date, 64 new jobs have been added – with 114 jobs opportunities currently on offer.

Ruth Lancaster said: “The jobs market in the land-based sector remains buoyant at the present time – and we are very pleased that potential employers continue to provide the RAU with so many good opportunities for our student employment. Many of these opportunities will lead to excellent careers – and it is very encouraging indeed, as well as satisfying, to be able to bring them to the attention of our student community.”

Professor Paul Davies said: “The 96.5% employment statistics for undergraduates and 97% for postgraduates, within six months of leaving the RAU, doesn’t happen by accident. The Careers Service at RAU continues to provide considerable help – and we are delighted, of course, that many good employers continue to come back to ‘The Royal’ to recruit the best young staff. It doesn’t surprise me, of course, with the talent and ability of many of our RAU students – and is something we should continue to celebrate. As always, the University hopes current final year students will succeed in a similar way – and we, as always, will continue to provide support and wish them well.”

The gym is now open!

We’ve opened the freshly-painted doors to the RAU’s brand new sports and fitness centre!

The new RAU fitness centre, which is free for students living on-campus and £15 for non-residents, now houses all of the recently updated exercise machines from the current gym, plus one new piece of cardio equipment and five new resistance machines.

Located at the former squash courts opposite Cedar Lodge, it includes one redecorated squash court and room for fitness classes and activities; such as yoga and pilates.

From Monday 2 February, the old sports hall will be available for clubs to book for indoor training sessions, as well as badminton and table tennis.

The term time opening hours are Monday to Friday 7am – 10pm, Saturday 10am – 5pm, and Sunday 10am – 3pm. In the holidays it will be open Monday to Friday 7am – 7pm.

To find out more about the gym, or to book the sports hall or any of the exercise classes, please contact Mark Long by emailing gym@rau.ac.uk or dropping into the gym.

The new fitness centre has been created in response to the student survey, which asked for enhanced sports facilities and an undercover sports hall. If you’ve got any comments or suggestions about the new facilities, or any other facilities on campus, please contact Sue Davies via sue.davies@rau.ac.uk or the Student Union.

Send us your designs for the 2015 RAU Christmas card

We’re looking for something fantastically festive to grace the cover of our 2015 RAU Christmas card, and we’d love for all you creative types to help us with the design! With more cold weather on its way, it’s the perfect time to get out and about in the beautiful Cotswold countryside.

Submit your snaps, sketches and suitably seasonal designs and you could see your creation immortalised on this year’s Christmas card. We’re open to every medium, from photography to potato printing, as long as it represents the University in some way shape or form! 

How to enter

Simply send your entry to emily.bush@rau.ac.uk or drop it in to the marketing office in the Bathurst Wing. Please include your name and course.

The winner, as well as designing our new card, will be credited on the back of the card, which will be sent to friends of the University around the world, including leading industry figures. Additionally, the winner will receive 20 copies of the card.

The theme is ‘the RAU’. This can be interpreted in many forms, for instance the building(s), people and activities that make the RAU special.

Closing date:  Friday 19 June 2015

Competition guidelines

1. This competition is open to current RAU students
2. A maximum of three entries will be accepted per entrant
3. The cover design must represent the RAU
4. Entries can be photography or artwork, but must be original and copyright must belong to the entrant. By submitting a design the entrant is giving the RAU permission to reproduce it.
5. Any photo entries can be submitted as a JPEG / GIF image and must be a minimum of 300dpi.
6. The competition will be judged by a small panel of members of staff from across the RAU. The winner will be announced at the beginning of the autumn term, and will be contacted directly.

Print Services are on the move!

The print room will soon be moving to its new home in the old RAU shop.

It’ll be even easier to get all of your printing and photocopying done. The new print room will be easily accessed from the library foyer, and will share a helpdesk with IT services – so you can quickly nip in without having to leg it across campus!

The print room is open Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm and offers the following services:

• Printing/ Photocopying – in black & white and colour on standard paper, thicker 100gsm paper, card and coloured paper
• Binding – SureBind binding for dissertations (black strip) and Wire-O binding
• Photography – taking passport photos and printing on photographic paper
• Laminating – both A4 and A3

The print room is currently located in George Wing, just drop in for all of your printing requirements. 

Did you know we’re in the TOP 10 universities in the UK for enterprise?

Entrepreneurial students can take advantage of fantastic support and business mentoring opportunities here at the RAU, and it shows!

Our dedicated Enterprise team help students to develop their own business ideas and receive the tailored support they need to maximise their full potential.

We’ve recently created a brand new Enterprise and Entrepreneurship programme to make sure we’re providing support at all levels:

• “Think it” for those just starting out
• “Try it” for those gaining market research and starting to formulate the business model
• “Launch it” for those ready to start trading
• “Grow it” to help you continue to develop your new business 

We also run a number of workshops and business competitions, such as the recent Mini Grand Idea challenge, which encourage idea generation.

To find out more email Katy Duke, Student Enterprise Co-ordinator at enterprise@rau.ac.uk or visit the RAU student enterprise webpage.