UCL new students Newsfeed

The

ucl.ac.uk/srs/our-services/student-support-and-wellbeing/staff">Student Support and Wellbeing Team, within Student and Registry Services, have developed a webpage for all new UCL students called the Newsfeed.

What is the Newsfeed?

The Newsfeed is an information and communication platform that seeks to introduce all new students who will be starting at UCL in September to the various aspects of life at UCL and life in London. It serves as an induction tool which allows us to provide essential information in bite-sized chunks so students can gradually digest and process the information in the run up to the start of their studies with us.

Last year the Newsfeed was well received amongst new students and had almost 30,000 users during the time it was live, almost half of whom were returning visitors. We're keen to expand on this even further this year by featuring more departments across UCL.

The Newsfeed has five sections, each concentrating on a different aspect of university life:

· Joining features key UCL pre-arrival and enrolment information

· Support focusses on the support services

· International provides information specific to international students, including ISOP and information about culture and life in the UK

· Student Life contains general information including events at UCL and in London

· Inspire Me is comprised of short interviews with UCL staff, students and alumni whose achievements, experiences and knowledge we would like to share in order to inspire others and share information from a range of perspectives

Why are we doing this?

We want to ensure students are fully equipped for their studies and familiar with the services and opportunities available to them - either at UCL, through UCLU or in London. We also want to provide guidance to international students to prepare them for life in the UK, to help them adjust to a new culture and living away from home.

Starting university can be daunting for all new students and we want to help enhance students' confidence by promoting opportunities and providing advice and resources from support services, as well as from other students and alumni via the Inspire Me section. The Newsfeed also aims to make students feel a part of the UCL student community before they arrive and encourage them to get involved with university life.

How does it work?

The Student Support and Wellbeing Team will be publishing 2-3 articles a day until mid-October. We will be working with various teams, departments and services across the university to try and ensure we represent as many aspects of UCL life as possible.

Students can subscribe to particular sections of the Newsfeed via RSS feeds and can 'Like' our Facebook page where we will post links to new articles as and when they are published on the website. Additionally, all students will receive fortnightly emails to remind them to check back for new content.

How can you use the Newsfeed?

We want to hear from you! We have been working with some teams already, but to ensure students are well-informed about all UCL has to offer, we would be keen to receive contributions from a wide variety of departments and services. Contributions could include:

· A general information/welcome message (perhaps including any distinctive features or strengths of your department of faculty)

· Recent news or achievements that you'd like to share with new students

· Current work, research or projects that have an effect on the wider community both in the UK and internationally

· Upcoming events (especially events students can get involved in during September/October)

· Being featured in our 'Inspire Me' section (a section that proved particularly popular in last year's feedback)

If you'd like your department or service to be featured or are interested in taking part in a short Q&A for our 'Inspire Me' section (or know someone who is!), please email Annie Warren - annie.warren.12@ucl.ac.uk

We look forward to hearing from you.

UCL Student Support and Wellbeing, UCL Student & Registry Services